Quotes from John Wooden

never dreamed about winning a national championship. It happened before I even thought it was possible. What I was dreaming about each year, if you want to call it that, was trying to produce the best basketball team we could be.

Go Out of Your Way to Praise Those "Quiet" Performers Who Make Things Happen.

Those of us who have been blessed with worldly success have an even greater responsibility to make an impact with our time, talents, and resources;

Make the best of what you've got; play the cards you are dealt. Walt Disney once said, "There is no education like adversity." However, to gain this education you must be tough enough to overcome adversity rather than allowing adversity to overcome you.

Make friendship a fine art.

Never believe you're better than anybody else, but remember that you're just as good as everybody else.

Seek Players Who Will Make the Best Team Rather Than the Best Players.

Set your standards high; namely, do the absolute best of which you are capable. Focus on running the race rather than winning it. Do those things necessary to bring forth your personal best and don't lose sleep worrying about the competition. Let the competition lose sleep worrying about you. Teach your organization to do the same.

I never dreamed about winning a national championship. What I was dreaming about was trying to produce the best basketball team we could be. My thoughts were directed toward preparation, our journey, not the results of the effort. That would simply have shifted my attention to the wrong area, hoping for something out of my control.

Reputation is what others perceive you as being, and their opinion may be right or wrong. Character, however, is what you really are, and nobody truly knows that but you. But you are what matters most.

You must define success as making the complete effort to maximize your ability, skills, and potential in whatever circumstances—good or bad—may exist.

Condition Your Team to Love the Struggle.