Wooden Wins! - Ambition
Our Pyramid of Success focus this month will be on Sincerity. At American Heritage Charter Schools, we celebrate the core value of “Honor One Another”.

The Secret to Maintaining Meaningful Relationships
Craig Impelman

On the right side of the Pyramid of Success, below patience, there are four additional pieces of mortar: sincerity, honesty, reliability and integrity. These are qualities that, together, encompass the genuineness, strength and impact of human character.

In his book Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, with Jay Carty, Coach Wooden defined sincerity and its importance in the following manner: “Friendship, loyalty, cooperation and team spirit each occupy building blocks in the Pyramid of Success. What do these blocks say about success? They tell us that we cannot become successful unless we interact with others. Sincerity is the mortar that binds together the blocks of friendship, loyalty, cooperation and team spirit. Therefore, sincerity is also necessary to reach the apex.

“Sincerity may not make a friend, but it will keep one. It often takes a while to be validated, but once a person knows that our word, character and steadfastness have withstood the test of life, a firm friendship can be established and maintained.
“When we realize that a friend can be counted on during times of need, when we see that his or her values don’t blow around in the breeze, and when he or she stands up for us, we are far more apt to stand up for him or her—and vice versa.”

Under each piece of mortar on the Pyramid, in parentheses, there is some brief application advice for that mortar. In the original version of the Pyramid, Coach had suggested that sincerity was a trait that “makes friends.” After revising the Pyramid years later, Coach changed the application advice for sincerity to instead read, “keeps friends.” Coach had an important motivation for this change. He wanted to make certain that we understand that sincerity will help us do something more important than simply winning over new friends—that it will, in fact, allow us to earn their trust and loyalty in such a way that we are able to maintain and grow those friendships into lasting and mutually edifying relationships.

Coach’s aim in promoting sincerity was to challenge us to speak and act in truth about our beliefs, goals, loyalty and team spirit. Whether it is a military leader or an office manager or a basketball coach, people who are following a sincere and honest leader will do more for him or her than they will for an insincere one—especially when the pressure is on.

The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the word “sincerity” stems from the Latin word “sincerus,” which means “clean, pure, sound.” The root word itself, “sincerus,” might have actually originally been a compound of “sin” (one) and “crescere” (to grow)—referring to something that grows and develops untainted by anything else. That’s a wonderful picture of what sincerity really is: a striving to grow toward a goal unsullied or uncorrupted by anything less than pure motives. That’s the kind of growth that inspires confidence and a willingness to follow.

But beyond that, the definition also reminds us that when we are sincere with each other, we can grow together as one toward our shared purpose.

Key Idea: “Sincerity may not make a friend, but it will keep one."

@Home
Activity: Sincerity with the Real vs. Fake Test: Look at the Photo at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FANGqv3uHYO_7SJzr1rmM2M8ZrzAzV0u/view?usp=sharing
Family Response: Is the photo real or fake? What some other things in life that are fake (Magic Tricks, Food Displays, etc.)? If the opposite of sincerity is fake, what are some things in our life that are true and sincere? On a scale from 1-10 how are you doing being sincere in your friendships and other relationships?

On Campus
Activity: Watch the following : "Be all that you can be" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms9pxvEbILs
Staff Response: Answer these following questions: 1. Had you heard the Army slogan before? 2. Why do you think it is important to be all that you can be? 3. How would others look at you as a friend? Sincere or insincere?

In the Class
Activity: Create you own slogan about "Sincerity" and design a Billboard (https://www.passiton.com/your-billboards/create). (Example: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16anPG_w3xNJl92FmU_UrSCALWJH9S0M2/view?usp=sharing)
Class Response: Share the different billboard designs and hang projects in the classroom.

On the Field
Activity: Watch the the video about how Peyton Manning encouraged his teammates, friends, and family in this video called "Sincerely, Peyton" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYJFj_DiZfg&t=4s
Team Response: Write write a hand written letter to a teammate, coach, teacher, or family member with words of encouragement and gratitude and sign it "Sincerely, (Your Name)"

Resources:
Article
https://www.success.com/the-secret-to-maintaining-meaningful-relationships/

Real vs Fake Photo
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FANGqv3uHYO_7SJzr1rmM2M8ZrzAzV0u/view?usp=sharing

Be All That You Can Be Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms9pxvEbILs

Billboard Creator Tool
https://www.passiton.com/your-billboards/create
(Example : https://drive.google.com/file/d/16anPG_w3xNJl92FmU_UrSCALWJH9S0M2/view?usp=sharing)

Pass it On Spot
https://www.passiton.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/127-change-the-world

Sincerely, Peyton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYJFj_DiZfg&t=4s