When he worked, he really worked. But when he played, he really PLAYED.

I do these things to prove to me that I can.

I was determined to show people what I could achieve.

How he pushed himself to become the player he is today, that’s extraordinary. He took every step he needed to be that goal machine. Every one.

He has called on the best that was in us. There was no such thing as half-trying. Whether it was running a race or catching a football, competing in school—we were to try. And we were to try harder than anyone else. We might not be the best, and none of us were, but we were to make the effort to be the best. "After you have done the best you can", he used to say, "the hell with it".

He was one of the very best.

His resolve is not to seem, but to be, the best.

My dominance in the hurdles was mainly because of my determination to become a world-class hurdler, and I ensured that I put in my best for the country in those days.

Repetitive exceptional performance became a habit.

To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are.

I’ll insist my competitor is the greatest, so that when I beat him, I won’t be calling myself the greatest — I’ll be proving it through my actions.

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.

Dinoli had to clawed himself to first rank in public relations by sheer exertion, coupled with judicious backstabbing.

I wanted to work hard. I wanted to prove myself somehow worthy of the good things I had known.