Quotes by John Wooden – to whom goes all the credit.

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

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. Read discussion of this John Wooden quote

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

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.
Discussion of this character versus reputation quote by John Wooden

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

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.
Commentary on this John Wooden quote.

Ability is a poor man’s wealth.

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

Be prepared and be honest.

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

Good judgment, common sense, and reason all fly out the window when emotions kick down your door.
Commentary about this John Wooden quote on emotions

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
Read full post discussing this quote by 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.

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

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.
Full discussion of this John Wooden quote

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

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

Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be quick, but don’t hurry.
This quote by John Wooden discussed here.

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

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

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.
Read more with commentary on this John Wooden quote

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

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

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.

Players with fight never lose a game; they just run out of time”

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.
Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.

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

When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. See the small improvements one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens–and when it happens, it lasts.
Discussion of this John Wooden quote on small improvements.

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Ability may be an even greater gift than wealth, if you use it wisely. Would you rather be born with the ability to play as well as Bill Walton, or teach as well as John Wooden, or instead be given 5 million dollars and told to go have fun, but you weren’t good at anything? Those among you who would take the money are missing the point so far. The ability to accomplish something useful is a great gift. Sometimes, in our routine lives, we miss the fact that we can walk, think, know who we are, and do something useful. We do not consider the pain a person feels when those gifts are taken away. When you cannot walk yourself to answer the door, you will remember all those annoying times when someone tried to sell you something and “made” you get up and answer the door for “no good reason”.
Cherish the ability that you do have, and if you have great ability, I hope you now realize how it can be a source of great wealth and happiness to you. Even if you never soar to great heights by the worlds’ standards, you have a God given wealth inside of you.