John Wooden

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

Next to love, balance is the most important thing.

If I am through learning, I am through.

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

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

Mr. Vince Lombardi is supposed to have said, “Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.” Well, if he said that, I disagree. I believe making total effort is everything.

The individual who is mistake-free is also probably sitting around doing nothing. And that’s a very big mistake.

Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions. The correct question is: Did I make my best effort? That’s what matters. The rest of it just gets in the way.

Adversity often produces the 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.

The goal I believe is important is the goal of making the most of your abilities. That goal is within your reach.

Mix idealism with realism and add hard work. This will often bring much more than you could ever hope for.

Be quick but don’t hurry.

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

I challenge you to show me one single solitary individual who achieved his or her own personal greatness without lots of hard work.

You always win when you make the full effort to do the best of which you’re capable.

Industriousness is the most conscientious, assiduous, and inspired type of work. A willingness to, an appetite for, hard work must be present for success. Without it you have nothing to build on.

In classic times, the courageous struggle for a noble cause was considered success in itself. Sadly, that ideal has been forgotten. But it is well worth remembering.

I always stress condition with my basketball players. I don’t mean physical condition only. You cannot attain and maintain physical condition unless you are morally and mentally conditioned.

Don’t worry about them. Let them worry about you.

Failure isn’t fatal, but a failure to change might be.

Hard work without enthusiasm leads to tedium. Enthusiasm without industriousness leads to unrealized potential. When combined, they cement a solid foundation.

I wanted to create good habits in those under my leadership—not only in the mechanics of playing basketball, but also in the fundamentals of being a good person.

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

Never be satisfied. Work consistently to improve. Perfection is a goal that can never be reached, but it must be the objective. The uphill climb is slow, but the downhill road is fast.

The hallmark of successful leadership is consistently maximum performance. Emotionalism opens a leader to inconsistency. Seek intensity coupled with emotional discipline. Display those behaviors then demand them from those you lead.

But, most people, and many leaders, lack real Patience. Benjamin Franklin understood its value quite well: ‘Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.’

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

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

Be uncomfortable being comfortable, discontent being content.

Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out.

You can do nothing about yesterday, and the only way to improve tomorrow is by what you do right now.

My basic philosophy was to prepare for each opponent with the same intensity and respect regardless of whether they were undefeated or hadn’t won a single game. Respect all; fear none; concentrate on improving and executing our own system to the highest level possible. That was always my approach.

A good leader never stops learning. A great leader never stops teaching.

A good leader always seeks improvement—always.

Before our team left the locker room and entered the arena… my final words were always about the same: ‘When it’s over, I want your heads up. And there’s only one way your heads can be up—that’s to give it your best out there, everything you have.’