Michael Jordan Quotations

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.

My father used to say that it's never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, 'You never know what you can accomplish until you try.'

Gambling is legal and betting is legal, for what I bet.

Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.

I won't have any competitive instincts in any sports, other than golf. I can't see being competitive in sports any more.

Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming the majority owner of an NBA franchise.

I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.

I want to be the bridge to the next generation.

To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate.

In any investment, you expect to have fun and make money.

In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.

It's a heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can and provide entertainment for everyone who wanted to watch basketball. Obviously, people may not agree with that; again, I can't live with what everyone's impression of what I should or what I shouldn't do.

I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.

Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some ways that's about life too.

I think the players win the championship, and the organization has something to do with it, don't get me wrong. But don't try to put the organization above the players.

When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it's time for me to move away from the game.

You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.

If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.

My heroes are and were my parents. I can't see having anyone else as my heroes.

Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you're in a fight.

The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.

The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.

There is no 'i' in team but there is in win.

I'm not a Twitterer, I'm not a twerker, I'm not a Facebooker, I'm not nothing. I'm old school.

I do not have a problem, I enjoy gambling, but I think people are trying to make it seem like I have a problem, because people really don't know.

In reality, I never want to grow up.

How many times have your parents told you not to do things, and the next thing you know, you go do it? And you realized you shouldn't have done it.

I can't speak for the future. I have no crystal ball.

It's a habit of mine now, noticing labels, logos, shoes.

We all fly. Once you leave the ground, you fly. Some people fly longer than others.

There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I've always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It's been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It's a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.

My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn't stand the sideline.

When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.

My challenge when I came back was to face the young talent, dissect their games, and show them maybe that they needed to learn more about the game than just the money aspect.

Being Michael Jordan means acting the same as I always have.

When I was playing before I retired, I never really understood the appreciation and the respect that people gave me. People had treated me like a god or something, and that was very embarrassing.

I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent.

For a competitive junkie like me, golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you have accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball.

The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.

It's absolutely wrong that I don't want guys to challenge me. And the people who say that aren't in the room.

I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era.

I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life.

I realize that I'm black, but I like to be viewed as a person, and this is everybody's wish.

Do I need my number retired throughout the course of the league to acknowledge what I've done? No.

It's hard to say if the NBA is hurt by the influx of younger players, but it's definitely impacted the league.

I never thought a role model should be negative.

I want people to understand, gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the framework of what it's meant to be, which is fun and entertaining.

I'd like to be settled into somewhat of a normal life. Somewhat. I know it's never going to be completely normal.

I wasn't really a work-conscious type of person. I was a player. I loved to play sports.

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot... when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

I will not quit this game because of what the media has done to me.

One day, you might look up and see me playing the game at 50. Don't laugh. Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.

I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who loved challenges.

As athletes, we're used to reacting quickly. Here, it's 'come, stop, come, stop.' There's a lot of downtime. That's the toughest part of the day.

Playing sick. That is so hard to do. It has to be a total mental challenge, as well as the physical challenge.

Even when I'm old and grey, I won't be able to play it, but I'll still love the game.

one of the finest media companies in the world.

I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot... and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's precisely why I succeed''.

I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying.

I don't want this to feel like a funeral.

I am hooked. Next year, I am looking to expand the team, looking to compete. I want to win.

He had no idea what was going on here. I feel sorry for the guy.

I saw firsthand the interest in basketball over there, and it made me reconsider. Nothing is final, but I'm certainly considering playing.

Over the next two years, we'll see a lot of change,

We gave up two five-on-three goals. And that really hurt us.

We had felt that a merger with another consulting firm might create a stronger entity, ... That turned out to be probably too big a bite for the other consulting firm.

There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players andnever win titles. Most of the time, those players aren't willing tosacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, inthe end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individualgoals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullestis that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accoladeswill take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork andintelligence win championships.

Michael Jordan is sort of...the hip-hop version of Dr. J

We have made real progress in turning around the network performance.

I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot . . . and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

They should have never made that call, ... They complained about the refs all year.

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot . . . when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

The game is my life. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.

You have to be uncompromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared... Excellence isn't a one-week or one-year ideal. It's a constant. There will be days when you don't feel on top of your game, or meetings in which you aren't at your best, but your commitment remains constant. No compromises.

There was never any fear for me, no fear of failure. If I miss a shot, so what?

Patience. I will become what I know I am.

Look me in the eye. It’s ok if you’re scared. So am I. But we are scared for different reasons. I am scared of what I won’t become. And you are scared of what I could become. Look at me. I won’t let myself end where I started. I won’t let myself finish where I began. I know what is within me, even if you can’t see it yet. Look me in the eyes. I have something more important than courage. I have patience. I will become what I know I am.

I can never stop working hard. Each day I feel that I have to improve. Hardwork...Determination...I gotta keep pushing myself.

Accept a loss as a learning experience, and never point fingers at your teammates

Never think of the consequences of failing for you will always think of a negative result. Think only positive thoughts and your mind will gravitate towards those thoughts!

I'd take 12 guys who had a strong passion for the game over 12 guys who don't respect the game.

I am competing with what I am capable of.

You have to be un-compromised in your level of commitment to whatever you are doing, or it can disappear as fast as it appeared. Commitment cannot be compromised by rewards.

Nothing of value comes without being earned.

If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I won't look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder.

Sometimes a winner is just a dreamer who never gave up.

I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it... I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it's an illusion to me.

A leader can't make excuses. There has to be quality in everything you do. Off the court, on the court, in the classroom.

If you put your mind to doing whatever it is you want to do, good things can happen.