Top 535 Quotes & Sayings by John Wooden - Page 7

Wisdom subdues bigotry.

You will never outperform your inner circle.

Never allow anyone else to define your success.

Loyalty is a cohesive force that forges individuals into a team.

Don't permit fear of failure to prevent effort.

You can’t do anything about yesterday, and the only way to improve tomorrow is by what you do right now.

Drink deeply from good books.

Be slow to correct and quick to commend.

Winning breeds winning.

When you give total effort - everything you have - the score can never make you a loser. And when you do less, it can't somehow magically turn you into a winner.

The problem with new is you don't have time for the old ones.

Never be disagreeable just because you disagree.

Before success comes patience... when we add to our accomplishments the element of hard work over a long period of time, we'll place a far greater value on the outcome. When we are patient, we'll have a greater appreciation of our success.

Motivating through fear may work in the short term to get people to do something, but over the long run I believe personal pride is a much greater motivator. It produces far better results that last for a much longer time.

Make your "yes" mean yes, and your "no" mean no.

Dictators lead through fear; good coaches do not.

Work without joy is drudgery. Drudgery does not produce champions, nor does it produce great organizations.

Don't beat yourself. That's the worst kind of defeat you'll ever suffer.

People ask me if I'd permit fancy things, like dunks. Well, if they did dunk, it was with no fancy flair. No behind-the-back dribbles or passes unless necessary. If it was for show, you were on the bench.

Cooperation - To get cooperation, you must give cooperation. Always seek to find the best way rather than insisting on your own way.

My philosophy of defense is to keep the pressure on an opponent until you get to his emotions

When you choose to become part of a team, you cease to exist as an individual.

If pursuing material things becomes your only goal, you will fail in so many ways. Besides, in time all material things go away.

Joy makes the longest journey too short.

We should never let ambition cause us to sacrifice our integrity or diminish our efforts in other areas. However, we need to remember that we never reach a serious goal unless we have the intention of doing so.

Never let your emotions overrule your head.

You are no better than anyone else and no one is better than you.

Your reputation is what you're perceived to be, Your character is what you really are

Consideration for others brings many things.

You cannot antagonize and be a positive influence, and you will antagonize when you discipline through emotion.

We may not be the best conditioned team in the country, but our players think they are.

Those of us who have been blessed with worldly success have an even greater responsibility to make an impact with our time, talents, and resources.

A gifted player, who is not a team player, will ultimately hurt the team.

Winning games, titles and championships isn't all it's cracked up to be, but getting there, the journey, is a lot more than it's cracked up to be.

Champions are brilliant at the basics.

Passion is temporary. It doesn't last long. Love is enduring. And that's the important thing. If we all had love in our lives to the degree that we should, it would be much happier.

Cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it.

In 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard. Each week we worked very hard. Each season we worked very hard. Four fourteen years we worked very hard and didn't win a national championship. However, a national championship was won in the fifteenth year. Another in the sixteenth. And eight more in the following ten years.

Ability may get you to the top, nut it takes chracter to keep you there - mental, moral, and physical.

We can plan a roadtrip or a workday down to the last detail but the unexpected will always arise. If we are not malleable, we will get left behind.

It is impossible to attain proper physical condition without being sound both mentally and morally.

I constantly caution our teams: 'Play your game, just play your game. Eventually, if you play your game, stick to your style, class will tell in the end.' This does not mean that we will always outscore our opponent, but it does insure that we will not beat ourselves.

Intensity makes you stronger. Emotionalism makes you weaker.

It isn't about what you do, but how you do it

Be true to yourself. Be true to those you lead.

Without organization and leadership toward a realistic goal, there is no chance of realizing more than a small percentage of your potential.

When I am through learning, I am through.

It's too late for preparation when opportunity strikes.

Be more interested in character than reputation

You can always look back and see where you might have done something differently, changed this or that. If you can learn something, fine, but never second-guess yourself. It's wasted effort.... Does worrying about it, complaining about it, change it? Nope, it just wastes your time. And if you complain about it to other people, you're also wasting their time. Nothing is gained by wasting all of that time.

As I grow older, I appreciate things that I didn’t appreciate much when I was younger. I am thankful more than I used to be. I’ve been reasonably healthy, and I feel blessed. And each morning I can think, this is going to be a good day!

I am not a strategic coach; I am a practice coach.

Why can't we have patience and expect good things to take time?

In life, worthwhile accomplishments and acquisitions take time. Usually the better the reward, the more time it takes to acquire it.

I grew up on a farm. We learned that there was a season to plant, a season to water, and season to harvest. The planting and watering could be laborious, but without those stages, there would never be a harvest.

I always talked to my players about today. It's the only day that matters.

Rest when you need to, but never quit.

No building is better than its structural foundation, and no man (woman) is better than his (her) mental foundation. When I prepared my original Success Pyramid years ago, I put industriousness and enthusiasm as the two cornerstones with LOYALTY right in the middle of the pyramid - Loyalty to yourself and to all those dependent upon you.

I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.

Approval is a greater motivator than disapproval, but we have to disapprove on occasion when we correct. It’s necessary. I make corrections only after I have proved to the individual that I highly value him. If they know we care for them, our correction won’t be seen as judgmental. I also try to never make it personal.