John Wooden

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

Ability is a poor man’s wealth.
John Wooden

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
John Wooden

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

Although there is no progress without change, not all change is progress.
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

Be prepared and be honest.
John Wooden

Being average means you are as close to the bottom as you are to the top.
John Wooden

Be true to yourself.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
John Wooden

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

Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.
John Wooden

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

Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.
John Wooden

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
John Wooden

Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
John Wooden

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

Don’t mistake activity with achievement.
John Wooden

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

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
John Wooden

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

If I were ever prosecuted for my religion, I truly hope there would be enough evidence to convict me.
John Wooden

If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.
John Wooden

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

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

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

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

It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.
John Wooden

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

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

Listen if you want to be heard.
John Wooden

Make every day your masterpiece.
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

Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.
John Wooden

Never mistake activity for achievement.
John Wooden

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.
John Wooden

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

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.
John Wooden

Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.
John Wooden

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

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

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

Tell the truth. That way you don’t have to remember a story.
John Wooden

The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
John Wooden

The key ingredient to stardom is the team.
John Wooden

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

The people who turn out best are those people who make the best out of the way things turn out.
John Wooden

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

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

There is nothing stronger than gentleness.
John Wooden

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

What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.
John Wooden

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.
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

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

Your reputation is what you’re perceived to be, your character is what you really are.
John Wooden