Top 400 John Wooden Quotes (2023 Update)
Page 8 of 9

351. “Dictators lead through fear; good coaches do not.”

— John Wooden

352. “You must believe in what you’re doing, that what you’re doing is the proper thing, the right thing. And you must have faith that things will end up as they should, which doesn’t mean as you want them to, but things will work out as they should.”

— John Wooden

353. “Condition comes from hard work during practice and proper mental and moral conduct between practices.”

— John Wooden

354. “Well, your greatest joy definitely comes from doing something for another, especially when it was done with no thought of something in return.”

— John Wooden

355. “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

356. “You may be better than the rest, but you are not a success until you have made the effort to become the best you can be.”

— John Wooden

357. “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

358. “I continually stress to my players that all I expect from them at practice and in the games is their maximum effort.”

— John Wooden

359. “Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value.”

— John Wooden

360. “Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible.”

— John Wooden

361. “I talked to the players and tried to make them aware of what was good and bad, but I didn’t try to run their lives.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

363. “Ten strong horses could not pull an empty baby carriage if they worked independently of each other.”

— John Wooden

364. “Nothing can give you greater joy than doing something for another.”

— John Wooden

365. “Always think of passing the ball before shooting it.”

— John Wooden

366. “To win once you must have talent, but to win again you must have character.”

— John Wooden

367. “I like to spend time in the past, with the things that have been important to me.”

— John Wooden

368. “I’m glad I was a teacher.”

— John Wooden

369. “We may not be the best conditioned team in the country, but our players think they are.”

— John Wooden

370. “Too often, we just ask for help instead of really giving thanks for the many things that we’ve had and are so helpful to us that we did nothing to deserve, so we should give thanks each and every day and pray for guidance in helping us along the proper path.”

— John Wooden

371. “Defense is a definite part of the game, and a great part of defense is learning to play it without fouling.”

— John Wooden

372. “I’ve never stopped trying to do what’s right. I’m not doing it to earn favor with God. I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do.”

— John Wooden

373. “I think that in any group activity – whether it be business, sports, or family – there has to be leadership or it wont be successful.”

— John Wooden

374. “Decisions are more apt to be accepted when you’ve listened to suggestions first. I wanted them to see the reason behind what I asked of them, not to do things just because I said so.”

— John Wooden

375. “You better play together as a team or you sit.”

— John Wooden

376. “In my opinion, being an effective leader requires being an effective listener. The most productive leaders are usually those who are consistently willing to listen and learn.”

— John Wooden

377. “Don’t permit fear of failure to prevent effort.”

— John Wooden

378. “Wisdom subdues bigotry.”

— John Wooden

379. “The outstanding coach is a teacher that gets all his squad to accept the role that he considers to be the most important for the welfare of all.”

— John Wooden

380. “I don’t believe in praying to win.”

— John Wooden

381. “While you, the leader, can teach many things, character is not taught easily to adults who arrive at your desk lacking it. Be cautious about taking on reclamation projects regardless of the talent they may possess. Have the courage to make character count among the qualities you seek in others.”

— John Wooden

382. “Too many people look on outscoring someone as winning, I never tried to get that across to my players.”

— John Wooden

383. “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

384. “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

385. “I found the bench to be the greatest ally when I had to make individuals comply with what was best for the team.”

— John Wooden

386. “As I grow older, I appreciate things that I didn’t appreciate much when I was younger. I am thankful more than I used to be. I’ve been reasonably healthy, and I feel blessed. And each morning I can think, this is going to be a good day!”

— John Wooden

387. “I would not tolerate profanity from anyone, anytime. I’d blow the whistle, pull you from the court and put you on the bench and talk to you before I would put you back in.”

— John Wooden

388. “One of the greatest motivating factors is the pat on the back, although with some individuals, you have to make the pat a little lower or a little harder.”

— John Wooden

389. “Don’t be afraid to fail. The greatest failure of all is failure to act when action is needed. Use the information that you’ve acquired in the past through the experiences you’ve had and act with self-control – but act.”

— John Wooden

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

— John Wooden

391. “Forget favors given; remember those received.”

— John Wooden

392. “When people ask me now if I miss coaching UCLA basketball games, the national championships, the attention, the trophies, and everything that goes with them, I tell them this: I miss the practices.”

— John Wooden

393. “The close games are usually lost, rather than won. What I mean by that is games are mostly won because of the opponent making mistakes during crucial moments.”

— John Wooden

394. “The life lessons taught by John Wooden have become legend. Here’s a collection of some of the greatest ‘Woodenisms.’”

— John Wooden

395. “I believe we are most likely to succeed when ambition is focused on noble and worthy purposes and outcomes rather than on goals set out of selfishness.”

— John Wooden

396. “When the legs go, the heart soon follows.”

— John Wooden

397. “Promise to think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best from yourself and others.”

— John Wooden

398. “Those of us who have been blessed with worldly success have an even greater responsibility to make an impact with our time, talents, and resources.”

— John Wooden

399. “When we aren’t alert, we miss opportunities to improve ourselves. We should always watch for circumstances or situations that can help or harm us and be eager to learn from these encounters.”

— John Wooden

400. “It is most difficult, in my mind, to separate any success, whether it be in your profession, your family, or as in my case, in basketball, from religion.”

— John Wooden