Top 400 John Wooden Quotes (2024 Update)
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301. “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

302. “Cultivate the ability to make decisions and think alone. Do not be afraid of failure, but learn from it.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

304. “When you give total effort – everything you have – the score can never make you a loser. And when you do less, it can’t somehow magically turn you into a winner.”

— John Wooden

305. “Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, the habits you are developing now will be with you for the rest of your life.”

— John Wooden

306. “When you choose to become part of a team, you cease to exist as an individual.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

308. “People want to believe you are sincerely interested in them as a person, not just what they can do for you.”

— John Wooden

309. “Place the team above yourself always.”

— John Wooden

310. “Knowledge is not enough to get desired results. You must have the more elusive ability to teach and to motivate. This defines a leader; if you can’t teach and you can’t motivate, you can’t lead.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

312. “It is harmful to compare yourself to others. Others will do that for you.”

— John Wooden

313. “I always talked to my players about today. It’s the only day that matters.”

— John Wooden

314. “Honors are very fleeting, just as fame is; cherish friendship more.”

— John Wooden

315. “I always stress condition with my basketball players. I don’t mean physical condition only. You cannot attain and maintain physical condition unless you are morally and mentally conditioned.”

— John Wooden

316. “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.”

— John Wooden

317. “I do not judge success based on championships; rather, I judge it on how close we came to realizing our potential.”

— John Wooden

318. “Motivating through fear may work in the short term to get people to do something, but over the long run I believe personal pride is a much greater motivator. It produces far better results that last for a much longer time.”

— John Wooden

319. “Every person under your supervision is different. They’re all different. They’re identical in most ways, but not in all ways. You have to study and analyze every individual under your supervision and try to work with them in a way that will be most productive.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

321. “Whatever you’re doing, you must have patience.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

323. “Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.”

— John Wooden

324. “Real happiness comes from the things that can not be taken away from you.”

— John Wooden

325. “Being yourself; not acting. You therefore can function near your own level of competence. Satisfy you own expectations rather than those of others.”

— John Wooden

326. “You’d like to see your team reasonably happy, but that’s not your job. Gain their respect and get them to accept their roles.”

— John Wooden

327. “In spite of all that doctors know, and their studies never end, the best cure of all when spirits fall is a kind note from a friend.”

— John Wooden

328. “You never fail if you know in your heart that you did the best of which you are capable.”

— John Wooden

329. “Passion is temporary. It doesn’t last long. Love is enduring. And that’s the important thing. If we all had love in our lives to the degree that we should, it would be much happier.”

— John Wooden

330. “We can plan a roadtrip or a workday down to the last detail but the unexpected will always arise. If we are not malleable, we will get left behind.”

— John Wooden

331. “If there’s anything you could point out where I was a little different, it was the fact that I never mentioned winning.”

— John Wooden

332. “The person who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success. I expected my players to make mistakes, as long as they were mistakes of commission. A mistake of commission happens when you are doing what should be done but don’t get the results you want.”

— John Wooden

333. “Real wealth comes to the person who learns that we are paid best for the things we do for nothing.”

— John Wooden

334. “You have success within. It’s up to you to bring it out.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

336. “Winning and losing aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, but the trip to the destination is.”

— John Wooden

337. “Never be disagreeable just because you disagree.”

— John Wooden

338. “Opponents are working very hard to defeat us. Let’s not do it for them by defeating ourselves from within.”

— John Wooden

339. “Mistakes come from doing, but so does success.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

341. “Good players can take coaching; great players can take coaching and learn.”

— John Wooden

342. “You get ideas across better through listening and the pat-on-the-back method than you do with a kick on the pants.”

— John Wooden

343. “It matters not the subject taught, nor all the books on all the shelves, What matters most, yes most of all, is what the teachers are themselves.”

— John Wooden

344. “I never yelled at my players much. That would have been artificial stimulation, which doesn’t last very long. I think it’s like love and passion. Passion won’t last as long as love. When you are dependent on passion, you need more and more of it to make it work. It’s the same with yelling.”

— John Wooden

345. “Being true to ourselves doesn’t make us people of integrity. Charles Manson was true to himself, and as a result, he rightly is spending the rest of his life in prison. Ultimately, being true to our Creator gives us the purest form of integrity.”

— John Wooden

346. “Goals should be difficult to achieve because those achieved with little effort are seldom appreciated, give little personal satisfaction, and are often not very worthwhile. There is a price to be paid for achieving anything of significance.”

— John Wooden

347. “Not everyone is equipped to be a leader, but in a sense, everyone is a leader to someone, even though you’re not equipped. I think parents are a leader to youngsters, teacher are leaders, coaches are leaders, businessmen are leaders.”

— John Wooden

348. “What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.”

— John Wooden

349. “Without organization and leadership toward a realistic goal, there is no chance of realizing more than a small percentage of your potential.”

— John Wooden

350. “Reverse the ball one time for a good shot, two times for a great shot, three times for a layup.”

— John Wooden