John Wooden Motivational Quotations

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

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

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

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.

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

You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.

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

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

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

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

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.

Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating. Youngsters need good models more than they need critics. It's one of a parent's greatest responsibilities and opportunities.

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

Don't get discouraged: it is often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock. Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.

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

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

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.

Happiness begins where selfishness ends.

Never mistake activity for achievement.

Never try to be better than someone else. Learn from others, and try to be the best you can be. Success is the by-product of that preparation.

I don't believe in looking back. If you make a decision that you think is the proper one at a time, then that's the correct decision.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

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

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

Ability is a poor man's wealth.

Listen if you want to be heard

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

What you do in practice is going to determine your level of success. I used to tell my players, 'You have to give 100 percent every day. Whatever you don't give, you can't make up for tomorrow. If you give only 75 percent today, you can't give 125 percent tomorrow to make up for it.'

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.

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 never yelled at my players much. That would have been artificial stimulation, which doesn't last very long. I think it's like love and passion. Passion won't last as long as love. When you are dependent on passion, you need more and more of it to make it work. It's the same with yelling.

Always think of passing the ball before shooting it.

You've never heard of them- and you never will .

It isn't about what you do, but how you do it

Be quick, but don't hurry.

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.