John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the “Wizard of Westwood,” as head coach at UCLA he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including a record seven in a row.
Born: October 14, 1910 United States
Died: June 4, 2010 United States
Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
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.
You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
Be quick, but don’t hurry.
Listen if you want to be heard.
Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you.
It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.
Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.
Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.
Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them.
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.
Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
Never mistake activity for achievement.
Be prepared and be honest.
Ability is a poor man’s wealth.
If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.
Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
Happiness begins where selfishness ends.
Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.
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.
You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.
Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.
If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?
I had three rules for my players: No profanity. Don’t criticize a teammate. Never be late.
We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.
All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.
Well, if you’re true to yourself you’re going to be true to everyone else.
Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.
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.
Don’t give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.
Just do the best you can. No one can do more than that.
It’s not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.
The most important thing in the world is family and love.
Never lie, never cheat, never steal.
Young people need models, not critics.
