Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.

“Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.” — these words, spoken by John Wooden, carry the quiet thunder of timeless wisdom. They are simple, yet they strike deep, like the chisel of truth cutting through the stone of human restlessness. In them lies a lesson as old as life itself: that the present moment is the only ground upon which we truly stand. The past is but shadow, memory, dust upon the wind. The future is mist yet unformed. Only today — this sacred breath, this single sunrise — belongs to us.

In the spirit of the ancients, this teaching would have been given by a sage upon a mountain, or a master to a disciple who spent too long gazing backward. “Yesterday is gone,” he would say, “and its chains are made of memory.” For the human heart clings to what was — to glories that have faded, to sorrows that cannot be undone. Yet no man can walk forward while staring behind him. To live fully, one must release the ghosts of yesterday and awaken to the power of now. In this way, Wooden’s words are both a comfort and a command: a comfort, for they free us from regret; a command, for they demand that we act with courage and purpose in the present hour.

John Wooden, the great teacher and coach, lived by this truth. His greatness was not born in trophies or fame, but in his discipline of the soul. He taught his players not merely to win games, but to master themselves — to give all they had, every day, for today was the only field upon which victory could be won. He often reminded them that success is found in effort, not in outcome; in character, not in applause. When his teams triumphed, he did not dwell on glory; when they lost, he did not linger in defeat. He lived as he taught: “Yesterday is gone.” And thus, he remained forever at peace — unshaken by praise or criticism, anchored in the calm strength of the present.

There is an echo of this wisdom in the story of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor of Rome. Burdened with the rule of an empire, surrounded by betrayal and war, he wrote to himself each dawn: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” He understood, as Wooden did, that life happens only in this moment — that the past cannot be reclaimed, and the future cannot be controlled. In every sunrise, he found a new beginning. The weight of yesterday fell away, and he began again, free. So too must we rise each day as if reborn, for this — this breath, this heartbeat — is the only certainty we are ever given.

Yet how easily we forget this truth. The heart clings to old failures, replaying them like a lament. The mind dreams of what might come, fearing or desiring a future not yet born. In doing so, we abandon the gift of today — the only place where joy can be felt, where change can be made, where love can be given. Yesterday is gone, and no prayer, no tear, no will of man can call it back. To live in it is to live among ghosts. To dwell only in tomorrow is to build castles in air. But to live in today — to stand fully awake in this moment — is to walk in the light of truth.

Wooden’s wisdom is thus both practical and spiritual. It is a call to action. To live in today means to give your best now — to speak the kind word, to take the bold step, to forgive, to begin again. It means to stop waiting for perfect conditions, for the right time, for tomorrow’s promise. The right time is now. The power is now. The only life that truly belongs to you is unfolding now, in this single, unrepeatable day.

So, dear listener, remember this: “Today is the only day.” Treat it as sacred. Wake each morning as if the world begins anew, and you are its creator. Leave behind the regrets that rot the heart, and let go of the past that no longer breathes. Do not chase the horizon of tomorrow before you have walked the ground beneath your feet. Live today with courage, gratitude, and wonder — for yesterday is gone, and the beauty of life is found only in this eternal moment called now.