John Wooden Quotes

Make friendship a fine art.

Our teams at UCLA had four perfect seasons, but we never played a perfect game, never played as well as we could. That’s perfection. We didn’t reach perfection, but we constantly strove toward it.

EXPLAIN TO EACH TEAM MEMBER PRECISELY HOW HIS OR HER CONTRIBUTIONS CONNECT TO THE WELFARE AND SUCCESS OF THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION

You never stop trying.

Does worrying about it, complaining about it, change it? Nope, it just wastes your time. And if you complain about it to other people, you’re also wasting their time. Nothing is gained by wasting all of that time.

A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself for the group, for the good of the group — that's teamwork.

There is also the professional mentor, a person whose success in his or her career can be a source of practical wisdom and inspiration. This success might be mea sured in material gain or far-reaching influence, or in lives touched and relationships fostered. These mentors can offer a model for good business, ethical practices, and effective work habits, and they often provide the motivation we need to seize whatever opportunities come our way.

It is the little things that are vital. Little things make the big things happen.

I told players at UCLA that we, as a team, are like a powerful car. Maybe a Bill Walton or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Michael Jordan is the big engine, but if one wheel is flat, we’re going no place. And if we have brand new tires but the lug nuts are missing, the wheels come off. What good is the powerful engine now? It’s no good at all.

IF YOU DON’T THINK OF YOUR TEAM AS A FAMILY, WHY SHOULD THE TEAM THINK OF YOU AS HEAD OF THE FAMILY?

You often find what you’re looking for.

Even if we were big underdogs I always felt anything could happen. Often enough, I was right. That’s also why I never assumed we were going to win.

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

Nothing Is Stronger than Gentleness

Set your standards high; namely, do the absolute best of which you are capable. Focus on running the race rather than winning it. Do those things necessary to bring forth your personal best and don’t lose sleep worrying about the competition. Let the competition lose sleep worrying about you. Teach your organization to do the same.