John Wooden was born on October 14, 1910. He was an American basketball player and head coach at UCLA, where he won 10 national championships in 12 years.
Wooden’s book “A Wooden Life” is a candid account of his life and coaching career. He rose to the top in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s as one of the most successful coaches in history with a record 10 NCAA titles to his name. His UCLA teams led by Hall-of-Fame players like Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, and others had an impressive 88% winning rate that contributed to his legacy as an astounding coach who rarely lost a game against other significant colleges or universities.
Wooden’s values and techniques made him a great coach and a great leader, who leaders in business and education still study to this day.
These 120 quotes from john wooden are very insightful and inspiring to be successful in life
“You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”
“I think you have to be what you are. Don’t try to be somebody else. You have to be yourself at all times.”
“All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.”
“The best competition I have is against myself to become better.
“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
“Discipline yourself, and others won’t need to.”
“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”
“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.”
“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.”
“Young people need models, not critics.”
“If you are afraid to fail, you will never do the things you are capable of doing.”
“Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.”
“What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”
“Mistakes come from doing, but so does success.”
“Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.”
“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
“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.”
“It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it.”
“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
“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.”
“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.”
“How hard you work at correcting your faults reveals your character.”
“When opportunity knocks, it’s too late to prepare.”
“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
“It’s important to keep trying to do what you think is right no matter how hard it is or how often you fail. You never stop trying. I’m still trying.”
“You are not a failure until you start blaming others for your mistakes.”
“If you’re not making mistakes then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
“If you’re true to yourself, you’re going to be true to everyone else.”
“Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendships 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.”
“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.”
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
“Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”
“If I were a young coach today, I would be extremely careful in selecting assistants.”
“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you capable of becoming.”
“The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.”
“I don’t believe in fate.”
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”
“Never lie, never cheat, never steal.”
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
“The worst thing about new books is that they keep us from reading the old ones.”
“The best competition I have is against myself to become better.”
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”
“Happiness begins where selfishness ends.”
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
“You can do more good by being good than any other way.”
“Earn the right to be proud and confident.”
“If you stay intent and your ability warrants it, you will eventually reach the top of the mountain.”
“Well, if you’re true to yourself you’re going to be true to everyone else.”
“Love is the most important thing in the world. Hate, we should remove from the dictionary.”
“Talent is god-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
“We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.”
“I think permitting the game to become too physical takes away a little bit of the beauty.”
“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.”
“Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.”
“If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.”
“I am just a common man who is true to his beliefs.”
“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”
“Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.”
“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
“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.”
“Measure yourself by…what you have accomplished with your ability”
“Well, your greatest joy definitely comes from doing something for another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return.”
“If there’s anything you could point out where I was a little different, it was the fact that I never mentioned winning.”
“It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.”
“Be quick, but don’t hurry.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Never mistake activity for achievement.”
“Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.”
“Just do the best you can. No one can do more than that.”
“The most important thing in the world is family and love.”
“No one can really honestly be the very best, no one.”
“We can agree to disagree, but we don’t need to be disagreeable.”
“You have to apply yourself each day to becoming a little better. By applying yourself to the task of becoming a little better each and every day over a period of time, you will become a lot better.”
“Don’t mistake activity with achievement.”
“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
“The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.”
“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”
“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.”
“Today is the only day. Yesterday is gone.”
“If a player’s not doing the things he should, put him on the bench. He’ll come around.”
“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.”
“Tell the truth. That way you don’t have to remember a story.”
“Adversity is the state in which man most easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.”
“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.”
“Be prepared and be honest.”
“It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.”
“Poetry, biographies, and all the other great books will greatly enrich your life. There are so many that are so good, and they are all available to you.”
“You may do it materially or with time, ideas, or work. Making the effort to contribute is what counts. The effort is what counts in everything.”
“Just try to be the best you can be; never cease trying to be the best you can be. That’s in your power.”
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
“Coach Wooden didn’t treat everybody the same; he treated people the way they deserved to be treated.”
“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.”
“A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit.”
“The key ingredient to stardom is the team.”
“Don’t give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.”
“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
“Succeeding is performing at your best when your best is required.”
“I had three rules for my players: No profanity. Don’t criticize a teammate. Never be late.”
“Always try to be the very best that you can be. Learn from others, yes. But don’t just try to be better than they are.”
“I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.”
“Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating…too often fathers neglect it because they get so caught up in making a living they forget to make a life.”
“I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.”
“I don’t believe in praying to win.”
“Next to love, balance is the most important thing.”
“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.”
“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.”
“Defense is a definite part of the game, and a great part of defense is learning to play it without fouling.”
“It is the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.”
“I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.”
“The most important thing in the world is family and love.
“Listen if you want to be heard”
“You can lose when you outscore somebody in a game. And you can win when you’re outscored.”
“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.”
“I don’t think I was a fine game coach. I’m trying to be honest. I think I was a good practice coach.”
“Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.”
“Make each day your masterpiece“
“Passion is momentary; love is enduring.” “The doer makes mistakes.”
