John wooden quotes

Knowledge is not enough to get desired results. You must have the more elusive ability to teach and to motivate. This defines a leader; if you can't teach and you can't motivate, you can't lead.

A mistake is valuable if you do four things with it: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.

Stay the course. When thwarted try again; harder; smarter. Persevere relentlessly.

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.

The uphill climb is slow,but the downhill road is fast.

Confidence - Poise and confidence are not possible unless you have prepared correctly. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Poise and confidence are a natural result of proper preparation.

We’re all imperfect and we all have needs. The weak usually do not ask for help, so they stay weak. If we recognize that we are imperfect, we will ask for help and we will pray for the guidance necessary to bring positive results to whatever we are doing.

Success travels in the company of very hard work. There is no trick, no easy way.

I think anyone's success depends on working hard, Industriousness and Enthusiasm, enjoying what you are doing. You can't work your best if you're not enjoying what you are doing. No way you can force yourself to.

Profound responsibilities come with teaching and coaching. You can do so much good–or harm. It’s why I believe that next to parenting, teaching and coaching are the two most important professions in the world.

When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That's the only way it happens - and when it happens, it lasts.

Remember this, the choices you make in life, make you.

If you spend too much time learning the 'tricks' of the trade, you may not learn the trade. There are no shortcuts. If you're working on finding a short cut, the easy way, you're not working hard enough on the fundamentals. You may get away with it for a spell, but there is no substitute for the basics. And the first basic is good, old fashioned hard work.

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.

Adversity often produces an unexpected opportunity. Look for it ! Appreciate and utilize it! This is difficult to do if you're feeling sorry for yourself because you're faced with adversity.

Leaders must have patience for those under your supervision. Don't expect too much too soon. Maybe it was easy for you, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy for somebody else. Be sure you have patience.

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

Perfection is impossibility but striving for perfection is not. Do the best you can. That is what counts.

Opponents are working very hard to defeat us. Let's not do it for them by defeating ourselves from within.

The two hardest things to handle in life are failure and success.

I am not as good as I ought to be. I am not as good as I want to be. I am not as good as I'm going to be. But I am thankful that I am better than I used to be.

Champions are brilliant at the basics.

To win once you must have talent, but to win again you must have character.

Give me 100 percent. You can't make up for a poor effort today by giving 110 percent tomorrow. You don't have 110 percent. You only have 100 percent, and that's what I want from you right now.

The more concerned we become over the things we can't control, the less we will do with the things we can control

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.

Never allow anyone else to define your success.

Make each day your masterpiece. Life is now. Life is not later on.

Mistakes come from doing, but so does success.

There is nothing stronger than gentleness.

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

Dwelling in the past prevents doing something in the present.

There is no substitute for work. Worthwhile results come from hard work and careful planning.

Show me what you can do; don't tell me what you can do.

Don't look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at time. That's the only way it happens-and when it happens, it lasts.

How you run the race - your planning, preparation, practice, and performance - counts for everything. Winning or losing is a by-product, and aftereffect, of that effort.

Too often we get distracted by what is outside of our control. You can't do anything about yesterday. The door to the past has been shut and the key thrown away. You can do nothing about tomorrow. It is yet to come. However, tomorrow is in large part determined by what you do today. So make today a masterpiece. You have control over that.

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.

There is no more powerful leadership tool than your own personal example.

Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.

Happiness begins when selfishness ends.

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.

Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, the habits you are developing now will be with you for the rest of your life.

There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.

Remember this your lifetime through: Tomorrow there will be more to do. And failure waits for all who stay With some success made yesterday. Tomorrow you must try once more, And even harder than before.

You must be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way.

We will begin by learning how to tie our shoes.

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

Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books - especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day.

Good judgment, common sense, and reason all fly out the window when emotions kick down your door.

Promise yourself you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible. Promise to think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best in yourself and others. Promise to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future.

Be quick without hurrying.

The best competition I have is against myself to become better

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

A player who makes a team great is better than a great player.

Having the courage to make decisions and take action. Never be afraid to fail. You have nothing to fear if you have prepared to the best of your ability.

Make each day a masterpiece. Don't think your best days are out there somewhere. Why not today? Why can't today be a great day? It can if you believe it will.

Discipline yourself, and others won't need to.

Adaptability is being able to adjust to any situation at any given time.

Don't let making a living prevent you from making a life.

The four laws of learning are: the first is demonstration of what you want. The second is the criticism of the demonstration. The third is the imitation of the correct model, and the fourth is repetition, over and over until it becomes habit where is you don't think about it.

We're not all equal as far as intelligence is concerned. We're not equal as far as size. We're not all equal as far as appearance. We do not all have the same opportunities. We're not born in the same environments, but we're all absolutely equal in having the opportunity to make the most of what we have and not comparing or worrying about what others have.

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

You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.

Well, if you're true to yourself you're going to be true to everyone else.

Never be disagreeable just because you disagree.

Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you.

Good values are like a magnet – they attract good people.

There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you.

Great leaders are always out front with a banner, instead of behind with a whip.

Young people need models, not critics.

The eight laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.

I also wanted my basketball players to know that I really cared about them. Forget basketball; as a person, I cared, I cared about their family.

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.

If you do enough small things right, big things can happen

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

What is right is more important than who is right.

Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.

It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.

If we fail to adapt, we fail to move forward.

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 would spend almost as much time planning a practice as conducting it. Everything was planned out each day

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 mistake activity for achievement.

My bench never heard me mention winning. My whole emphasis was for each one of my players to try to learn to execute the fundamentals to the best of their ability. Not to try to be better than somebody else, but to learn from others, and never cease trying to be the best they could be; that's what I emphasized more than anything else.

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

The score will take care of itself when you take care of the effort that precedes the score.

Respect every opponent, but fear none.

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.

Big things are accomplished only through the perfection of minor details.

Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read.

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

The most powerful leadership tool you have is your personal example.

Be slow to correct and quick to commend.

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

It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.

Others may have more ability than you, they may be larger, faster, quicker, better jumpers ... but no one should be your superior in respect to team spirit, loyalty, enthusiasm, cooperation, determination, industriousness, fight effort, and character.

Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.

Over-coaching can be more harmful than under-coaching. Keep it simple!

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

When opportunity comes it is too late to prepare.

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

How hard you work at correcting your faults reveals your character.

Hustle makes up for many a mistake.

Working with others makes us much more than we could ever become alone

Do your best every day. Live each day as if it's your masterpiece.

Without proper self-evaluation, failure is inevitable.

Surround yourself with people strong enough to change your mind.

Champions never complain, they are too busy getting better

It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it.

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

Be at your best when your best is needed.

Don't permit fear of failure to prevent effort. We are all imperfect and will fail on occasions, but fear of failure is the greatest failure of all.

There is no pillow as soft as a clear conscience.

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.

If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.

People want to believe you are sincerely interested in them as a person, not just what they can do for you.

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.

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.

It matters not the subject taught, nor all the books on all the shelves, What matters most, yes most of all, is what the teachers are themselves.

Be more concerned with what you can do for others than what others can do for you. You’ll be surprised at the results.

The purpose is to help, to prevent, to correct, to improve, rather than to punish. Criticism is not meant to punish, but rather to correct something that is preventing better results. The only goal is improvement.

Make sure that team members know they are working with you, not for you.

Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character.