Let’s talk about Hall of Fame Player, Coach, and Political Activist George Raveling.

George Raveling is an American former College Basketball player and coach. He played at Villanova University, and was the head coach at Washington State University (1972–1983), the University of Iowa (1983–1986), and the University of Southern California (1986–1994).

Raveling also famously asked Martin Luther King Jr, after he gave the “I Have A Dream” speech, for the pages of the speech and was standing with Dr. King at the podium having provided security for him during the “March On Washington” event.

He has received the Lifetime Achievement award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and was inducted to both the College Basketball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

So what can we learn about creative businesses from a man in the world of sports and political activism?

Here are 3 things Ryan Holiday (of the Daily Stoic) talks about learning from George Raveling that we can apply to our daily lives!

(Full Episode Linked Below)

1. Always Be Reading

George’s grandmother told him that the slave masters used to hide money in books because they thought the slaves would never read them. The takeaway being that there’s money in books, there’s power in books, and there’s freedom in books. That’s why when powerful people want to control a society they attack and limit our self-education.

2. Remind yourself to be a Difference Maker

George talk about starting his day by asking himself the question “Are you going to be a positive difference maker today?” and repeating that throughout the day to keep it at the forefront of his mind. I think that if we take a moment to focus our intentions on being a “Positive Difference Maker” it will very much change the way we approach not only our work but every interaction we have throughout the day.

3. You Can Learn from Anyone

George talks about how he sees a vast spectrum of different people as his mentors. Not just from people in the past like Plato, Socrates, or Jesus Christ, or from people from his own time like Dr. King. You can learn from anyone including people younger than you, people living different lives than you, even people who you vehemently disagree with most of the time; you can still learn from them. One of the most powerful things you can do is choose to learn from peoples experiences rather than to disregard them. Everyone can be a teacher if you reframe how you look at them.

I hope you take this advice to heart and try to apply it as you go through your days this week! Keeping an open mind and shifting my focus on learning from everyone is a huge reason why I was able to transition into full time music. I was able to learn from friends both successful and not so much; and everyone gave me something different to apply and internalize, or something to stay clear and do the opposite of in my own day to day.

Let me know which of these lessons spoke to you the most by replying to this email!

Keep On Creating

- drû

Need more to dive into?

Content Mentioned:

• Full Episode of The Daily Stoic with Ryan Holiday

Currently Reading:

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• “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey

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