Top 400 John Wooden Quotes (2026 Update)
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251. “Make greatness attainable by all.”

— John Wooden

252. “I would spend almost as much time planning a practice as conducting it. Everything was planned out each day.”

— John Wooden

253. “Acquire peace of mind by making the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”

— John Wooden

254. “Mentors are available at all stages of your leadership life – early, middle and late. Seek them out and listen; absorb their knowledge and use it.”

— John Wooden

255. “I constantly caution our teams: ‘Play your game, just play your game. Eventually, if you play your game, stick to your style, class will tell in the end.’ This does not mean that we will always outscore our opponent, but it does insure that we will not beat ourselves.”

— John Wooden

256. “The important things to me are your faith, your family and your friends. If you have that, you have everything.”

— John Wooden

257. “It is normal to enjoy praise and dislike criticism. True character is when you prevent either from affecting you in a negative matter.”

— John Wooden

258. “No one is an overachiever. How can you rise above your level of competency? Everyone is an underachiever to different degrees. The harder you work, the more luck you will have.”

— John Wooden

259. “Class is an intangible quality which commands, rather than demands, the respect of others.”

— John Wooden

260. “As a leader, you must be filled with energy and eagerness, joy and love for what you do. If you lack enthusiasm for your job, you cannot perform to the best of your ability. Industriousness is unattainable without Enthusiasm.”

— John Wooden

261. “Thou didst thy best, that is success.”

— John Wooden

262. “Remember, results aren’t the criteria for success – it’s the effort made for achievement that is most important.”

— John Wooden

263. “The true athlete should have character, not be a character.”

— John Wooden

264. “For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are to progress. If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren’t able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment.”

— John Wooden

Featured in: Fun Quotes

265. “No individual should take the blame for a loss, because no individual should get the credit for a victory.”

— John Wooden

266. “What a leader learns after you’ve learned it all counts most of all.”

— John Wooden

267. “An effective leader allows exceptions to the rule for exceptional results or when circumstance demands.”

— John Wooden

268. “I am just a common man who is true to his beliefs.”

— John Wooden

269. “1. Be on time. 2. Never criticize a teammate. 3. Never use profanity.”

— John Wooden

270. “Constantly be aware and observing. Always seek to improve yourself and the team.”

— John Wooden

271. “Joy makes the longest journey too short.”

— John Wooden

272. “Don’t beat yourself. That’s the worst kind of defeat you’ll ever suffer.”

— John Wooden

273. “A mentor must always guide, never push. It was my job to listen to them, offer my perspective, and encourage them to pursue the ideals they believed to be true.”

— John Wooden

274. “Many leaders don’t listen, and it is one of the greatest methods we have of learning. You need to listen to those under your supervision and to those who are above you.”

— John Wooden

275. “Lead, don’t drive. And give credit. Don’t blame. If an officer on your team suggested something and it worked well, give them credit. If it doesn’t work well, you take the blame because you made the decision.”

— John Wooden

276. “Since the most important responsibility of a coach in regard to the actual playing of the game is to teach his players properly and effectively to execute the various fundamentals of the game, he is first of all a teacher.”

— John Wooden

277. “I don’t believe in looking back. If you make a decision that you think is the proper one at a time, then that’s the correct decision.”

— John Wooden

278. “Nobody is a real loser-until they start blaming somebody else.”

— John Wooden

Featured in: Real Quotes

279. “A good banker isn’t careless with pennies; a good leader isn’t sloppy about details.”

— John Wooden

280. “We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.”

— John Wooden

281. “Sincerity may not help us make friends, but it will help us keep them.”

— John Wooden

282. “How hard you work at correcting your faults reveals your character.”

— John Wooden

283. “We can become great in the eyes of others, but we’ll never become successful when we compromise our character and show disloyalty toward friends or teammates. The reverse is also true: No individual or team will become great without loyalty.”

— John Wooden

284. “It is important for us to see that our mentors are human and therefore fallible; it makes our own shortcomings more tenable.”

— John Wooden

285. “The athlete who says that something can’t be done should never interrupt the one who’s doing it.”

— John Wooden

286. “Be true to yourself. Be true to those you lead.”

— John Wooden

287. “Some of my greatest pleasures have come from finding ways to overcome obstacles.”

— John Wooden

288. “Be slow to correct and quick to commend.”

— John Wooden

289. “I never met a person from whom I did not learn something.”

— John Wooden

290. “You can respect a person without necessarily liking that individual.”

— John Wooden

291. “One of the greatest motivating things that a coach has is the bench. They all love to play, all of them. You sit them on the bench, and they come around pretty good.”

— John Wooden

292. “We’re all imperfect and we all have needs. The weak usually do not ask for help, so they stay weak. If we recognize that we are imperfect, we will ask for help and we will pray for the guidance necessary to bring positive results to whatever we are doing.”

— John Wooden

293. “Why do we dread adversity when we know that facing it is the only way to become stronger, smarter, better?”

— John Wooden

294. “Your energy and enjoyment, drive and dedication will stimulate and greatly inspire others.”

— John Wooden

295. “It’s important to keep trying to do what you think is right no matter how hard it is or how often you fail. Never stop trying.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

297. “If pursuing material things becomes your only goal, you will fail in so many ways. Besides, in time all material things go away.”

— John Wooden

298. “I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.”

— John Wooden

299. “You must have respect, which is a part of love, for those under your supervision. Then they will do what you ask and more.”

— John Wooden

300. “We are all equal in that we can all strive to become the best we are capable of becoming. We can always improve but we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others. We get in trouble when we start trying to measure up to someone else.”

— John Wooden