Top 160 Lou Holtz Quotes (2025 Update)
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51. “If you don’t make a total commitment to whatever you are doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking.”

— Lou Holtz

52. “No matter how bad someone has it, there are others who have it worse. Remembering that makes life a lot easier and allows you to take pleasure in the blessings you have been given.”

— Lou Holtz

53. “The key to winning is choosing to do God’s will and loving others with all you’ve got.”

— Lou Holtz

54. “Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.”

— Lou Holtz

55. “People eyeing you as a potential leader tend to ask three questions: Are you committed? Do you care about me? Can I trust you?”

— Lou Holtz

56. “Winners and losers aren’t born, they are the products of how they think.”

— Lou Holtz

57. “Everybody is looking for instant success, but it doesn’t work that way. You build a successful life one day at a time.”

— Lou Holtz

58. “The answer is surprisingly simple. Just do right. Live an honorable life.”

— Lou Holtz

59. “There are certain things in this world we all have in common such as time. Everybody has sixty seconds to a minute, sixty minutes to an hour, twenty-four hours to a day. The difference is what we do with that time and how we use it.”

— Lou Holtz

60. “Everything ends badly, otherwise it would not end.”

— Lou Holtz

61. “On this team, we’re all united in a common goal: to keep my job.”

— Lou Holtz

62. “Sacrifice, discipline and prayer are essential. We gain strength through God’s word. We receive grace from the sacrament. And when we fumble due to sin – and it’s gonna happen – confession puts us back on the field.”

— Lou Holtz

63. “You must have dreams and goals if you are ever going to achieve anything in this world.”

— Lou Holtz

64. “When all is said and done, more is said than done.”

— Lou Holtz

65. “Underconfidence breeds underachievement.”

— Lou Holtz

66. “It’s good to be successful but it’s great to be significant.”

— Lou Holtz

67. “A team wins with the elimination of mistakes and with people who want to win and can’t stand losing.”

— Lou Holtz

68. “Everybody wants to talk about their rights and privileges. Twenty-five years ago, people talked about their obligations and responsibilities. – as spoken by Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame Coach.”

— Lou Holtz

69. “You’ve got to have great athletes to win, I don’t care who the coach is. You can’t win without good athletes but you can lose with them. This is where coaching makes the difference.”

— Lou Holtz

70. “Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it.”

— Lou Holtz

71. “God answers prayers, but he doesn’t always answer it your way.”

— Lou Holtz

72. “How do you know what it’s like to be stupid if you’ve never been smart?”

— Lou Holtz

73. “You can’t motivate a group of people or a Team. You have to motivate people individually, and that motivation has to be in an environment in which that person has a goal – something they want to accomplish in their lives.”

— Lou Holtz

74. “I think that we have opportunities all around us – sometimes we just don’t recognize them.”

— Lou Holtz

75. “You will never be indecisive if you know your purpose.”

— Lou Holtz

76. “You always have to prepare for the obstacles that are going to come. Consequently, when they do come, it doesn’t affect you mentally near as much as when you’re unprepared for them.”

— Lou Holtz

77. “Don’t let failure get you down. Babe Ruth struck out over 1,300 times.”

— Lou Holtz

78. “For victory in life, we’ve got to keep focused on the goal, and the goal is Heaven.”

— Lou Holtz

79. “I don’t think we can win every game. Just the next one.”

— Lou Holtz

80. “God looks after children, animals and idiots.”

— Lou Holtz

81. “The way you motivate a football team is to eliminate the unmotivated ones.”

— Lou Holtz

82. “I used to pray that God would make me a great athlete, and He never did.”

— Lou Holtz

83. “You build a successful life a day at a time.”

— Lou Holtz

84. “If you’ve been there, no explanation is necessary. If you haven’t, none is adequate.”

— Lou Holtz

85. “One day you are drinking the wine, and they next day you are picking the grapes.”

— Lou Holtz

86. “The standards you establish for others must reflect the standards you set for yourself. No one will follow a hypocrite.”

— Lou Holtz

87. “You live up – or down – to your expectations.”

— Lou Holtz

88. “The best way to save face is not to use the lower half.”

— Lou Holtz

89. “The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren’t in a very good mood.”

— Lou Holtz

90. “The freedom to do your own thing ends when you have obligations and responsibilities.”

— Lou Holtz

91. “It’s a better view if you’re standing up than if you’re laying down.”

— Lou Holtz

92. “I believe that having a spiritual life is so important in everybody’s life.”

— Lou Holtz

93. “You can pay people to perform, but you can’t pay people to excel.”

— Lou Holtz

94. “If you make a fist and hold it for two hours, you won’t be able to pick up a glass because you’ll be so weak. Let’s stay loose. Let’s have fun.”

— Lou Holtz

95. “Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger.”

— Lou Holtz

96. “Remember this. Bear Bryant retired at age 69, and he died 28 days after he stopped coaching. If you don’t have something, and a purpose in your life, you’re gonna die.”

— Lou Holtz

97. “One reason I won’t compromise is because I believe honesty helps you win over the long haul. You can win a game tomorrow and lose a team. You can lose a game tomorrow and win a football team.”

— Lou Holtz

98. “See, winners embrace hard work.”

— Lou Holtz

99. “My wife doesn’t even want to spend 2 hours with me.”

— Lou Holtz

100. “If you don’t demand that your people maintain. High performances to remain on your team, Why should they be proud of the association?”

— Lou Holtz