Top 53 Quotes & Sayings by Don Yaeger

Emmitt Smith has run past legends, danced with stars and posed for the sculptor crafting his Hall of Fame bust. He's built upon his athletic talents by working hard, seizing opportunities and reaching out to others for advice when he needed it.

Magic Johnson was in the seventh year of his Hall of Fame career when thoughts of his basketball afterlife led him to the office of uber-executive Michael Ovitz, co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, Hollywood's most powerful agency.

Powerful, quick and agile, Serena Williams thrives on winning.

In sports and in business, the greatest leaders are those who make the best decisions in the most crucial of situations. They are the ones who focus their energy on turning tough decisions into winning decisions.

Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, has long believed that he, his staff and players should be as devoted to family time as they are to playing time, as focused on giving to charities as they are to taking the ball away from opponents.

If you've built your identity only on your professional accolades and awards, what is going to be left of your legacy when those trophies tarnish and those records get broken? The Great Ones understand the importance of being well-rounded.

With a tennis racket strapped tightly to her hiking pack, Martina Navratilova began her ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro. The tennis legend had visions of celebrating at the summit of Africa's highest peak by hitting a couple balls to see how far they might fly in the thin air at 19,341 feet.

Bill Veeck was a charismatic and somewhat eccentric owner-fan during the post-WWII years.

A shared experience can energize a team toward its common goal more quickly than a direct order ever will.

John Wooden made a name as a coach but also a life as a mentor.

As the Olympic torch neared Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980, signaling the opening of that year's Winter Olympics, newspapers and magazines throughout the world offered predictions on who would win medals in the major sports. Not a single publication gave the American men's hockey team a chance against the world powers.

Companies that understand the purpose and philosophy behind the 'why' are usually astute, high-performing organizations that tap directly into the pulse of those they benefit the most.

Most coaches would consider leading a team to an Olympic gold medal a capper for a pretty good year. The same goes for winning an NCAA national championship. Or a FIBA world championship. Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke Blue Devils and Team USA, led teams to each of these honors... within about 24 months.

Jamie Moyer was in his third year as a major league pitcher and was, by his own admission, still wide-eyed, watching everything going on around him and soaking it in. He paid particular attention to older teammates on his Chicago Cubs squad, hoping to emulate habits that had allowed those veterans to extend their careers.

If Albert Einstein was right, Cal Ripken should have been a CEO or politician rather than a shortstop, because Ripken led by example over and over... and over again.

That's one of the great oddities of baseball: Success is relative. A hitter who fails 70 percent of the time at the plate is a potential member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and many World Championship teams lose more than 70 games during their title-winning seasons.

Decisions are the frequent fabric of our daily design.

Marino was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005, and his name always comes up when the conversation centers on the greatest quarterbacks of all time. But his greatness comes with an asterisk: He never won the Big Game.

Camaraderie doesn't happen by accident; developing a strong sense of trust, accountability, and togetherness around team goals requires intentional effort.

Charles Wang, owner of the New York Islanders, serves as something of a cautionary tale in terms of how heavy owner involvement can sink a franchise.

I listened to my kids talk about me as a parent, and I learned about things they wished I'd done and said. And I wished that I had done more of those things.

Chris Paul is one of the brightest stars in the National Basketball Association, a must-see player with the New Orleans Hornets whose deft ball skills and eye-popping speed have attracted admirers all over the world.

Seeing the intensity and power she brings to the game, it's hard to imagine her being anything but single-minded in pursuing tennis. But Serena Williams has other passions, too. In fact, there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day, week or month for one of the world's most gifted athletes to chase her many interests.

Sometimes legends find themselves remembered more for what they have not done than for their accomplishments. But those resume gaps can also help drive them to achieve even greater things in new arenas.

If the players understand and accept that their leader is steering their direction through thoughtful, careful measures, then they will pull together to give the best effort every time.

In the 1970s, professional sports found a different breed of team owner in George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees.

Not winning a title gives fuel to sportswriters and talking heads who question an athlete's true value.

As a teenager, Monica Seles won some historic matches on the tennis court, dominating opponents and filling a room with trophies.

Tony La Russa is considered among the best in his business. Yet nearly half the time he led his organizations into competition, they were defeated - 2,728 wins, 2,365 losses.

Michael Jordan taught me after our game of one-on-one: A loss is not a failure until you make an excuse. When excuses are no longer an option, you can focus your attention on the job you have to do, and not why it didn't get done.

We should all strive to be extraordinary, and that starts with a focus on our own capabilities instead of those of our opponents.

My formal education as an extension to my college degree in journalism was the time that I spent working with the student newspaper. I would argue that my greatest education occurred by working for the student newspaper. It wasn't necessarily the classroom work that made my formal education special. It was the idea that I had the opportunity to practice it before I went into the real world.

One way Great Teams can share their visions is by creatively laying out their plans and visions, creating a road map for its members to follow. A Great Team outlines expectations for all members of an organization and for the organization as a whole. This clear-cut set of objectives - a road map - enables the organization to set benchmarks and goals and ultimately to lay the foundation for its own success.

Emmitt Smith has run past legends, danced with stars and posed for the sculptor crafting his Hall of Fame bust. Hes built upon his athletic talents by working hard, seizing opportunities and reaching out to others for advice when he needed it.

A group of amazingly high achievers can be brought together and play together, and all believe that they are competing for something bigger than themselves. Those players are so used to being patted on the back and told how good they are. Frankly, those are usually the hardest people to remind that they are aspiring to achieve something bigger than themselves.

We all think that the answer to everything is to add more and to do more and to try more. Sometimes you have to have the discipline to say no and to believe in the process that you have established.

You gotta do common things, uncommonly well.

In the end, leadership comes down to consistency and strong, confident action upon which the team can rely - and this doesnt mean imposing a bunch of rules.

John Wooden would say never mistake activity for achievement. Sometimes we think we're really doing well on a given day. But 'What did you accomplish?' is the question that we should really be asking not 'What did we do?'

Great companies connect to the heartstrings of their employees to make their purposes known.

One way Great Teams can connect their team members together is through the glue of mentoring.

The great ones realize that what you did yesterday guarantees you nothing today. The challenge is too many people are busy celebrating yesterday's success.

External scouting is of limited value if it's not teamed with rigorous self- examination. Successful coaches or managers have learned the value of utilizing an outside opinion to give them a fresh look at their personnel. This unbiased view provides an even greater insight, which in turn helps the coach develop flexibility within the team.

It’s not about making money for themselves or the company, but making a difference in the lives of others.

What I know now is that everybody in life, no matter where you are or what you do, must be able to sell in order to be successful. I used to believe that I could be successful on talent alone. What I realize now is that I can only be successful if I can have people buy my talent.

Companies that understand the purpose and philosophy behind the "why" are usually astute, high- performing organizations that tap directly into the pulse of those they benefit the most. When utilized correctly, this understanding can create a powerful sense of duty and purpose for business teams because the employees know exactly whom they are working for and to what end.

There is a strong sense of understanding, appreciation, shared responsibility, and trust that unites and motivates the team to work together.

Leadership belongs to all of us. I'm a big believer in John Maxwell, a leadership speaker and author, who talks about the 360-degree leader. Before leading others, you have to learn to lead yourself. Wherever you work in an organization you have to learn to lead up, lead down, and lead side to side. Leadership belongs to all of us. You have to see yourself, and believe in yourself in the way that we are talking about here to give to those that you lead.

I'm a believer that charisma makes a huge difference in people's decisions to follow you. However, it's not just that you say it well, but it's that you know it well. It helps if you can say it well enough that people want to follow you. Charisma isn't required, but it makes a big difference.

When leaders of a professional team perform a scan, they examine the trends dominating their customer demographics, education, government policy, and especially their competition.

Knowing your opponent is a crucial part of emulating and defeating that opponent. But scouting is only the first step. Too many leaders spend countless hours studying an opponent's every move in the search for an edge. The Great Teams understand not only how to scout but also how to exploit the weaknesses of a competitor. These teams analyze every perspective and option and position themselves to take full advantage of any knowledge gained about an opponent.

The challenge CEOs will face three to five years from now is the same one that they face today. That is engagement. It's hard to keep people engaged in what they are doing. As this generation grows up around social media like Twitter where things are 140 characters, how do you keep them engaged all hours every day at work? How do you keep them focused on the big goals you have?

The success of corporate mentorship programs developed by some of the Great Teams in business demonstrates how powerful this concept can be and what a difference it can make. As General Electric has shown, when a corporate culture includes mentorship, the end result is a dynamic learning environment with leaders constantly shaping leaders.