Coach John Wooden says one of the most important lessons his father taught him was to be true to himself. That meant not trying to be anyone else, follow the pack or compare himself to others. When I left home to go to military school, college and the Army, my father hugged me and said quietly, “Remember who you are.” It took hundreds of mistakes and years of maturing for me to appreciate those words and what they actually mean. Remember who you are means you are an individual with conviction about what you value. Individualism is a bedrock American value. We are independent thinkers and achievers. It made our country great.

Remember who you are means your behavior and choices reflect not only on you but your family, friends and colleagues. It means you represent not just yourself but the rest of us, too. All of this is a heavy responsibility that we should not shirk. When my father left home at age 15 to make his way in the world, did my grandparents tell him that? Probably. My father walked more than 300 miles from south Georgia to South Carolina for a promised job. He hitched rides on wagons, did chores for farm wives for the chance to sleep in their barns and kept walking. It probably took him weeks to get here.

In the movie, “The Lion King,” the young lion is told to remember who he is. It is the central message of the story. And at first, the young lion does not want to accept his responsibility, to retreat into childhood. “Can’t I go back?” he asks. No. None of us can. In Forbes magazine, Amy Rees Anderson wrote that she encouraged her colleagues to “remember the values that made us the amazing company that we have become today.” She was reassuring them after she sold the business to a large corporation. That can be unsettling for those who work in a friendly, family-owned business.

Amy stressed these points to them:

• Be honest at all times. Do what is right despite the consequence, No exceptions.

• Respect everyone, everywhere, every time. Such respect is reciprocated.

• Choose a good attitude. Be happy, be nice and, for heaven’s sake, smile.

• Be dependable and trustworthy. Keep your promises. Live what you believe.

• Adapt to change. Embrace new challenges. Overcome your fears.

• Be open to and act on feedback.

• Go the extra mile for coworkers, clients, shareholders and those who may never be able to do anything for you.

• Be a high performer with high productivity. Give 100% everyday.

• Be smart. Know the company, the industry, the clients and your importance to the success of all that we do. Coach John Wooden, one of the greatest teachers in college basketball history, said his father taught him “two sets of threes.” The first set is about honesty. Never lie. Never cheat. Never steal. The second deals with adversity. Don’t whine, complain or make excuses. All of us can live by such simple rules. What’s tough is doing it.

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