Top 535 Quotes & Sayings by John Wooden - Page 8

Discipline yourself - so others don't have to.

The star of the team IS the team. 'We' supercedes 'me'.

Every person under your supervision is different. They're all different. They're identical in most ways, but not in all ways. You have to study and analyze every individual under your supervision and try to work with them in a way that will be most productive.

The life lessons taught by John Wooden have become legend. Here's a collection of some of the greatest 'Woodenisms.'

There are no big things, only a logical accumulation of little things done at a very high standard of performance.

Stubborness we deprecate, Firmness we condone, The former is our neighbors trait, The latter is our own.

Mentors are available at all stages of your leadership life - early, middle and late. Seek them out and listen; absorb their knowledge and use it.

Being yourself; not acting. You therefore can function near your own level of competence. Satisfy you own expectations rather than those of others.

If you stay intent and your ability warrants it, you will eventually reach the top of the mountain.

Each of us has a huge capacity to learn and to achieve. Being ever alert makes the task of becoming all we are capable of becoming so much easier.

Honors are very fleeting, just as fame is; cherish friendship more.

The best way to improve your team is to improve yourself.

Our titles would not have been possible without the unselfishness displayed by all our teams, the team wins, not the individuals

Hardship brings people closer together if you share it.

With the experience to judge, one need not pre-judge.

All that matters is the pressure you put on yourself. External pressures cause people to choke. While you can't control what happens to you, you can control how you react.

Never confuse activity with accomplishment.

Too many people look on outscoring someone as winning, I never tried to get that across to my players.

Being your best when your best is needed. The ability to enjoy challenges when things become difficult and to derive exhilaration from them.

Ten strong horses could not pull an empty baby carriage if they worked independently of each other.

Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating

The coach must never forget that he is, first of all, a teacher. He must come (be present), see (diagnose), and conquer (correct). He must continuously be exploring for ways to improve himself in order that he may improve others and welcome every person and everything that maybe helpful to him.

My assistants and I often would spend more time planning a practice than the actual practice itself

The important things to me are your faith, your family and your friends. If you have that, you have everything.

I like to give opinions, not suggestions

You should never try to be better than someone else, you should always be learning from others. But you should never cease trying to be the best you could be because that's under your control and the other isn't.

I believe correcting is the positive approach. I believe in the positive approach. Always have.

Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Enthusiasm brushes off upon those with whom you come in contact.

A life not lived for others is not a life, a game not played for others is not a game.

Discipline yourself so others won't have to.

A mentor must always guide, never push. It was my job to listen to them, offer my perspective, and encourage them to pursue the ideals they believed to be true.

Constantly be aware and observing. Always seek to improve yourself and the team.

Nobody is defeated until he starts blaming somebody else. My advice to you is don't fix the blame. Fix the problem.

Make each day a masterpiece.

Since the most important responsibility of a coach in regard to the actual playing of the game is to teach his players properly and effectively to execute the various fundamentals of the game, he is first of all a teacher.

Build shelter against a rainy day.

Be quick but do not hurry.

If you let social activities take precedence over your academic activities, then you will soon lose your basketball activities.

For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are to progress. If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren't able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment.

Make friendship a fine art.

Success may result in winning, but winning does not necessarily mean you are a success.

No matter how you total success in the coaching profession it all comes down to a single factor - talent. There may be a hundred great coaches of whom you have never heard in basketball, football, or any sport who will probably never receive the acclaim they deserve simply because they have not been blessed with the talent. Although not every coach can win consistently with talent, no coach can win without it.

When you see a successful individual, a champion, you can be very sure that you are looking at an individual who pays great attention to the perfection of minor details.

No one is an overachiever. How can you rise above your level of competency? Everyone is an underachiever to different degrees. The harder you work, the more luck you will have.

Never complain about the officiating. It does no good. During the game I don't want to be fighting two opponents.

You better play together as a team or you sit.

Whatever you're doing, you must have patience.

Conditioning is essential to success in basketball.

In spite of all that doctors know, and their studies never end, the best cure of all when spirits fall is a kind note from a friend.

He who truly seeks God has found Him.

Strive to accomplish the very best you are capable of. Nothing less than your best effort will suffice.

It takes 10 hands to score a basket

The team with the most talent usually wins.

Most people think of poise as calm, self-assured dignity; but I call it “just being you”.

Don't mistake activity with achievement.

Be quick, but don't hurry.

Kindness makes for much better teamwork.

Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings everyday.

No individual should take the blame for a loss, because no individual should get the credit for a victory.