Top 60 Mike Ditka Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “You’re never a loser until you quit trying.”

— Mike Ditka

Featured in: Failure Quotes, Positivity Quotes, Never Give Up Quotes, Giving Up Quotes, Commitment Quotes

2. “Success is about taking advantage of opportunity.”

— Mike Ditka

3. “In life, you get what you tolerate.”

— Mike Ditka

4. “Losers quit when they’re tired. Winners quit when they’ve won.”

— Mike Ditka

Featured in: Hard Hitting Quotes, Sports Quotes, Quitting Quotes

5. “Success is never permanent, and failure is never final.”

— Mike Ditka

6. “Before you can win, you have to believe you are worthy.”

— Mike Ditka

7. “Coffee, It’s the life blood that fuels the dreams of champions!”

— Mike Ditka

8. “Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.”

— Mike Ditka

9. “Those who live in the past are cowards and losers.”

— Mike Ditka

10. “Promises are empty words if you’re not keeping them.”

— Mike Ditka

11. “You gotta live in the moment. I don’t care what you’ve done in your life, it has nothing to do with what you’re gonna do or what you can do. The past is history, tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift-that’s why they call it the present.”

— Mike Ditka

12. “George Halas throws nickels around like man hole covers.”

— Mike Ditka

13. “If things came easy, then everybody would be great at what they did.”

— Mike Ditka

14. “You have to be tough.”

— Mike Ditka

15. “If you’re not in the parade, you watch the parade. That’s life.”

— Mike Ditka

16. “The ones who want to achieve and win championships motivate themselves.”

— Mike Ditka

17. “The shoulder surgery was a success. The lobotomy failed.”

— Mike Ditka

18. “I don’t believe in living in the past. Living in the past is for cowards. If you live in the past, you die in the past.”

— Mike Ditka

19. “One of my favorite things is mayonnaise and I have to tell you that. I love mayonnaise, but I don’t eat it any more. If I do I put light mayonnaise on it, which I know is still not good but it’s a lot better than the other one and I don’t eat it that much.”

— Mike Ditka

20. “Failure isn’t fatal unless you let it be.”

— Mike Ditka

21. “Success is about having. Excellence is about Being!”

— Mike Ditka

22. “Life’s not about money. Look at achievements, accomplishments. It’s about having fun. It’s about enjoying life.”

— Mike Ditka

Featured in: Fun Quotes

23. “I don’t think anything is unrealistic if you believe you can do it. I think if you are determined enough and willing to pay the price, you can get it done.”

— Mike Ditka

24. “The greatest gift we have is the gift of life.”

— Mike Ditka

25. “Motivation comes from within each individual. It’s a personal thing. It’s pride, guts, desire, whatever you want to call it; some people have it in their bellies, and some don’t.”

— Mike Ditka

26. “I think your alcohol intake has to change. You know, usually a big person feels they can drink anything they want to and as much as they want to and I’ve cut that way back.”

— Mike Ditka

27. “If you don’t play, then don’t pick up a paycheck. Competition is why you play the game. I understand they’ve already reached some goals. That’s all good. But if you can make history, take a shot at it.”

— Mike Ditka

28. “Jesus’s first temptation was to be relevant: to turn stones into bread. Oh, how often I wished I could do that!”

— Mike Ditka

29. “He’s just jealous. You know what they say. Empty tin cans make the most noise, and he’s an empty tin can. This game is between the Bears and the Eagles, not Ditka and Ryan. We all know who would win that one. Ditka, hands down.”

— Mike Ditka

30. “There are teams that are fair-haired, and those that aren’t so fair-haired. Some teams are named Smith, some Grabowski. We’re Grabowskis!”

— Mike Ditka

31. “Cap Boso? How could I cut a guy with a name like that?”

— Mike Ditka

32. “If God had wanted man to play soccer, he wouldn’t have given us arms.”

— Mike Ditka

33. “We have a strange and wonderful relationship – he’s strange and I’m wonderful.”

— Mike Ditka

34. “Sometimes, God gives you physical talent and takes away the brain.”

— Mike Ditka

35. “When I put some Tabasco on things, and there’s really nothing in Tabasco, it’s not bad for you in any way, so that’s kind of become my substitute. Now you got to get used to a hot mouth, but that’s okay.”

— Mike Ditka

36. “Can’t make chicken salad out of chicken noodle.”

— Mike Ditka

37. “I do like beer, but lately I’ve started drinking non-alcoholic beer and I like the taste of it and I don’t get the alcohol, so that’s a good alternative also.”

— Mike Ditka

38. “You remember what happened when Eddie Pipp got hurt? A guy named Lou Gehrig took over.”

— Mike Ditka

39. “People want a cop-out, listen I’m a realist and I talk about motivation, talk about all the things it takes to be greater or are important to win and people want to use excuses all the time.”

— Mike Ditka

40. “Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is about having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be.”

— Mike Ditka

41. “I don’t know how to put it, but yet you know we have so many people who the way they look at life, the way they work depends on what happens, us winning or losing. It’s kind of crazy. So, I kind of got caught up in that, I’m gonna try to stay away from that.”

— Mike Ditka

42. “Some people are willing to pay the price and it’s the same with staying healthy or eating healthy. There’s some discipline involved. There’s some sacrifices.”

— Mike Ditka

43. “I always tell people I want to live to be 150 and they say why would you want to do that. I say, well there’s a few people I haven’t made mad yet, I want to get them.”

— Mike Ditka

44. “What’s the difference between a three-week-old puppy and a sportswriter? In six weeks, the puppy stops whining.”

— Mike Ditka

45. “Here’s what I tell anybody and this is what I believe. The greatest gift we have is the gift of life. We understand that. That comes from our Creator. We’re given a body. Now you may not like it, but you can maximize that body the best it can be maximized.”

— Mike Ditka

46. “Eating properly is great. I mean you cut the fat down, cut the cholesterol out, but still you got to get your rest and you got to have some form of exercise.”

— Mike Ditka

47. “Well, after I had the heart attack, it was a very simple choice. What the doctor told me I did and I did it religiously. I ate nothing but lean turkey breast or chicken breast or a piece of fish that was very lean. I mean I stayed away from everything.”

— Mike Ditka

48. “Really, if I’m gonna eat a meat, I’d rather eat venison than anything and I do like it a little on the rare side. That’s probably my favorite meat and I’ve had some awfully good venison in some of the great restaurants.”

— Mike Ditka

49. “Basically, my problem was attributed to stress more than anything. I don’t know what that does and I guess doctors can tell you that there’s chemicals that build up in your system when you go through a lot of stress and constant stress.”

— Mike Ditka

50. “When I get my heart rate up, I get good exercise and I think it’s good for a lot of things, plus it’s not hurting my hips right now.”

— Mike Ditka