Tag Archives: quotes by John Wooden

Top 10 John Wooden Quotes

John Wooden Quotes
Coach Wooden Teaches Lew Alcindor

I find  former UCLA Coach John Wooden quotes particularly inspiring and true.  For teamwork, hard work, leadership, faith or success, you can’t go wrong with looking for some advice from the late, great John Wooden.   First below you will find a top ten list that was released in the Christian Science Monitor of their favorite John Wooden quotes.

Without further ado my top 10 John Wooden Quotes…

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

9. Ability is a poor man’s wealth.

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

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

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

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

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

3. 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.

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

1. Never mistake activity for achievement.

Here are a few more John Wooden Quotes that I like:

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

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

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

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

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”

‘The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.’

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

‘Young people need models, not critics.’

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

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

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

‘The best way to improve the team is to improve us.’

I hope you enjoyed my collection of John Wooden Quotes!!