Words from a Master

by 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.

Its what you learn after you know it all that counts.

...For years now, I have carried a little cross in my pocket. Few people, except my
immediate family, are aware of it at all. It was clutched in my hand during all of the games I coached.

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

Sports do not build character; they reveal it...

The athlete who says that something cannot be done should never interrupt the one who is doing it.

Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character
is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

There's no great fun, satisfaction or joy derived from doing something that's easy.

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

Happiness begins where selfishness ends. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Earn the right to be proud and confident.

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

Discipline yourself, and others won’t need to.

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

Don't mistake activity for achievement...

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

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

Although I wanted my players to work to win, I tried to convince them they had always won when they had done their best.

If you lose self-control everything will fall. You cannot function physically or mentally or in any other way unless your emotions are under control.

Young people need models, not critics...

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