John Wooden Quotes

Lincoln himself once said, “The worst things you can do for those you love are the things they could and should do for themselves.” He fiercely believed in self-sufficiency, and in the maturity and character that struggles and hardships can bring.

Being a role model is the most powerful form of educating. Youngsters need good models more than they need critics

Coach Wooden didn’t treat everybody the same; he treated people the way they deserved to be treated.

You can't live a perfect day unless you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you.

All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.

A leader who is through learning is through.

You should never try to be better than someone else, you should always be learning from others. But you should never cease trying to be the best you could be because that’s under your control and the other isn’t.

I am not what I ought to be, Not what I want to be, Not what I am going to be, But I am thankful that I am better than I used to be.

Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.

Alertness, the ability to be constantly observing, absorbing, and learning from what’s going on around you, is a critical component for the individual in charge, the leader who strives for continuous improvement. You must constantly be awake, alive, and alert in evaluating yourself as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your organization and your competitors.

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

Ciò che conta è quello che impari quando sai già tutto.

Make friendship a fine art.

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.

Drawing up plans such as these diagrams is the easy part. I did it thousands of times. Creating a successful organization with people who execute the plans at a level of Competitive Greatness — now, that’s the challenge of leadership.