John Wooden Quotes

Perfection is what you are striving for, but perfection is an impossibility. However, striving for perfection is not an impossibility. Do the best you can under the conditions that exist. That is what counts.

Don't mistake activity with achievement.

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

"Be prepared and be honest." -John Wooden

A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.

I prize intensity and fear emotionalism. Consistency in high performance and production is a trademark of effective and successful organizations and those who lead them. Emotionalism destroys consistency. A leader who is ruled by emotions, whose temperament is mercurial, produces a team whose trademark is the roller coaster — ups and downs in performance; unpredictability and un-dependability in effort and concentration; one day good, the next day bad.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail . . . Never mistake activity for achievement . .

There is nothing stronger than gentleness,

Discipline yourself and others won't need to.

Too often fathers neglect it because they get so caught up in making a living they forget to make a life.

When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare.

Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.

I wanted to win every single game I ever played in or coached. Absolutely. I wanted to win. But, I understood that ultimately the winning or losing may not be under my control. What was under my control was how I prepared myself and our team. I judged my success, my “winning,” on that. It just made more sense.

Young people need models, not critics.

The best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.