Top 55 John Wooden Quotes

Defense is a definite part of the game, and a great part of defense is learning to play it without fouling.

I’ve been blessed in so many ways.

Just do the best you can. No one can do more than that.

I don’t believe in fate.

Never lie, never cheat, never steal.

I was built up from my dad more than anyone else.

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

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

Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.

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

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

Earn the right to be proud and confident.

Love is the most important thing in the world. Hate, we should remove from the dictionary.

If I were a young coach today, I would be extremely careful in selecting assistants.

I met Tiger Woods when he was younger. He’s amazing – obviously technically, but his mental approach, too. He’s really something.

We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.

Never mistake activity for achievement.

Passion is momentary; love is enduring.

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

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

I don’t believe in praying to win.

I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.

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

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.

I’m not afraid to die.

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

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

If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?

I found golf was too time consuming, but I did enjoy it.

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

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.

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

I don’t think I was a fine game coach. I’m trying to be honest. I think I was a good practice coach.

If I am through learning, I am through.

Young people need models, not critics.

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

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.

It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.

I’m not going to say I was opposed to the Vietnam War. I’m going to say I’m opposed to war. But I’m also opposed to protests that deny other people their rights.

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

No one can really honestly be the very best, no one.

You can do more good by being good than any other way.

I’m no wizard, and I don’t like being thought of in that light at all. I think of a wizard as being some sort of magician or something, doing something on the sly or something, and I don’t want to be thought of in that way.

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

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

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 think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.

What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.

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

Friendship is two-sided. It isn’t a friend just because someone’s doing something nice for you. That’s a nice person. There’s friendship when you do for each other. It’s like marriage – it’s two-sided.

I think that in any group activity – whether it be business, sports, or family – there has to be leadership or it won’t be successful.

My eyesight is not nearly as good. My hearing is probably going away. My memory is slipping too. But I’m still around.

Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.

I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.

All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.