Use Today to Prepare for Tomorrow

“My father used the immediate to prepare us for the future.”
— Coach John Wooden, The Game Plan for Life

The wisdom in this line is simple but powerful. It brings together two timeframes, the immediate and the long-term. You hold a picture of who your children might become, but you use the small moments of today to prepare them for that future.

This line stayed with me long before I became a father. It settled into my mind, and when the boys arrived, I put this into practice.

When they were little and still learning to read and talk, I bought picture books for them. These explained how planets move or how telephones work, all with bright illustrations. We would sit on the floor and turn the pages one by one. Sometimes they listened, and sometimes they just scribbled on the pages and ruined them, but it still became part of our rhythm.

Later I gave them a Picture Bible. We read a story every day. Somewhere in those nightly readings, they got hooked on reading. It helped that our home library was always there. I would casually talk about the books lying around, the ones that had shaped my thinking. They moved from Geronimo Stilton to Agatha Christie, then wandered into books like Personal MBA and The 40 Laws of Human Nature. They were stepping into conversations with people far wiser than me, and I was glad those voices were guiding them.

To keep the habit steady, we began our Sunday café ritual. Each boy carries his Kindle, I bring my Kobo, and we settle into a corner at Starbucks or Third Wave. We order something and read quietly for an hour. No talking. Just reading. Many of the ideas we discover there return later at home as dinner conversations.

And the dinner table has grown into its own classroom. We talk about everything, from the Bible to investing, from world events to whether idli is the perfect healthy food. These conversations shape how they think and understand the world. They build our bond today while preparing them for their future in small, unnoticed ways.

Reading is a conversation with eminent minds. I keep hoping these small, steady habits will shape who they become long after these moments have passed.

Don’t wait passively for the future. Use the immediate to prepare for it.

# About the Book

The Game Plan for Life captures John Wooden’s timeless wisdom on leadership, character, and legacy.

Buy the book: https://amzn.to/4nOzBmS
Read my full review: Book Review – A Game Plan For Life by John Wooden

This is part of 100 Ideas That Shaped Me from Books I Read