John Wooden Quotes

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

You haven't taught until they've learned.

First be the best and then be first

Never lie; never cheat; never steal. Don't whine; don't complain; don't make excuses.

Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible.

Good coaching is about leadership and instilling respect in your players. Dictators lead through fear - good coaches do not.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

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.

I think you have to be what you are. Don't try to be somebody else. You have to be yourself at all times.

We can give without loving, but we can't love without giving. In fact, love is nothing unless we give it to someone.

The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be afraid to use it, either for the star player or anyone else.

I think permitting the game to become too physical takes away a little bit of the beauty.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

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

A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit.

A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group - that's teamwork.

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

The time to prepare isn't after you have been given the opportunity. It's long before that opportunity arises. Once the opportunity arrives, it's too late to prepare.

Success is peace of mind in knowing you did your best.

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

Players with fight never lose a game, they just run out of time

Loyalty is very important when things get a little tough, as they often do when the challenge is great. Loyalty is a powerful force in producing one's individual best and more so in producing a team's best.

It is important for us to see that our mentors are human and therefore fallible; it makes our own shortcomings more tenable.

The athlete who says that something can't be done should never interrupt the one who's doing it

Rest when you need to, but never quit.

Never allow anyone else to define your success.

Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.

The ability to see the good in others and the bad in ourselves is perfect vision.

When it's over and you look in the mirror, did you do the best you were capable of? If yes, you will probably be ok with the outcome

Big things are accomplished when we master the little things.

Respect a man, and he will do all the more.

You must believe in what you're doing, that what you're doing is the proper thing, the right thing. And you must have faith that things will end up as they should, which doesn't mean as you want them to, but things will work out as they should.

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

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

Once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player.

Our land is everything to us.... I will tell you one of the things we remember on our land. We remember that our grandfathers paid for it - with their lives.

The goal in life is the same as in basketball: make the effort to do the best you are capable of doing--in marriage, at your job, in the community, for your country. Make the effort to contribute in whatever way you can. You may do it materially or with time, ideas, or work. Making the effort to contribute is what counts. The effort is what counts in everything.

Hardship brings people closer together if you share it.

You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes

Passion is momentary; love is enduring.

You get ideas across better through listening and the pat-on-the-back method than you do with a kick on the pants.

A coach's primary function should be not to make better players, but to make better people

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.

I think that in any group activity - whether it be business, sports, or family - there has to be leadership or it wont be successful.

There is great joy in doing something for somebody else with no thought in receiving anything in return.

IF you are not making mistakes, then you are not doing anything.

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.

I am just a common man who is true to his beliefs.