John Wooden Quotes

The most important thing in the world is family and love.

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

I had three rules for my players: No profanity. Don't criticize a teammate. Never be late.

- John Wooden

Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Passion is momentary; love is enduring.

- John Wooden

In the end, it's about the teaching, and what I always loved about coaching was the practices. Not the games, not the tournaments, not the alumni stuff. But teaching the players during practice was what coaching was all about to me.

- John Wooden

Teaching players during practices was what coaching was all about to me.

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

Somebody asked me - you know, how come it took you so long to win a national championship? And I said, 'I'm a slow learner; but you notice when I learn something, I have it down pretty good.'

- John Wooden

Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.

- John Wooden

It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.

- John Wooden

I worry that business leaders are more interested in material gain than they are in having the patience to build up a strong organization, and a strong organization starts with caring for their people.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

There's as much crookedness as you want to find. There was something Abraham Lincoln said - he'd rather trust and be disappointed than distrust and be miserable all the time. Maybe I trusted too much.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

I'd be satisfied just coaching in high school. I turned down a number of colleges when I was teaching in South Bend, Indiana, before I went into the service. I honestly believe that if I hadn't enlisted in the service, I would never have left high school teaching. I'm sure I would have never left.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

If there's anything you could point out where I was a little different, it was the fact that I never mentioned winning.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

If a player's not doing the things he should, put him on the bench. He'll come around.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Well, your greatest joy definitely comes from doing something for another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return.

- John Wooden

I don't believe in praying to win.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

When you hurry you're more apt to make mistakes. But you have to be quick. If you're not quick you can't get things done.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Failure is never fatal. But failure to change can and might be.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.

- John Wooden

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.

- John Wooden

I seldom was ever off my seat on the bench during the game.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

I'm glad I was a teacher.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.

- John Wooden

Ability is a poor man's wealth.

- John Wooden

Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.

- John Wooden

Earn the right to be proud and confident.

- John Wooden

Never lie, never cheat, never steal.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game. And you can win when you're outscored.

- John Wooden

I talked to the players and tried to make them aware of what was good and bad, but I didn't try to run their lives.

- John Wooden

The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Just try to be the best you can be; never cease trying to be the best you can be. That's in your power.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Young people need models, not critics.

- John Wooden

I've been blessed in so many ways.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Be prepared and be honest.

- John Wooden

Discipline yourself, and others won't need to.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.

- John Wooden

I don't believe in fate.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

Never mistake activity for achievement.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

I'm not afraid to die.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden

If I am through learning, I am through.

- John Wooden

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

- John Wooden