Quotes By John Wooden

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

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.

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

Passion is momentary; love is enduring.

You can do more good by being good than any other way.

Ability is a poor man's wealth.

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

My eyesight is not nearly as good. My hearing is probably going away. My memory is slipping too. But I'm still around.

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.

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.

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

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

I think permitting the game to become too physical takes away a little bit of the beauty.

Earn the right to be proud and confident.

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.

No one can really honestly be the very best, no one.

All of life is peaks and valleys. Don't let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.

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.

Love is the most important thing in the world. Hate, we should remove from the dictionary.

Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.

If I were a young coach today, I would be extremely careful in selecting assistants.

I seldom was ever off my seat on the bench during the game.

Discipline yourself, and others won't need to.

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

I don't believe in praying to win.

Be prepared and be honest.

Just do the best you can. No one can do more than that.

I'd be satisfied just coaching in high school. I turned down a number of colleges when I was teaching in South Bend, Indiana, before I went into the service. I honestly believe that if I hadn't enlisted in the service, I would never have left high school teaching. I'm sure I would have never left.

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

I found golf was too time consuming, but I did enjoy it.