67 John Wooden Quotes (Wisdom and Life)

Welcome to our collection of great John Wooden Quotes!

John Wooden Quotes on Inspiration and Leadership
Quotes on Success from John Wooden
More Great Quotes from John Wooden
John Wooden Biography

John Wooden Quotes on Inspiration and Leadership

Confidence comes from being prepared. John Wooden

Adversity is the state in which people most easily become more acquainted with themselves. John Wooden

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. John Wooden

Listen if you want to be heard. John Wooden

A leader is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

You can’t live a perfect day until you do something for someone who will never be able to repay you. John Wooden

If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier. John Wooden

It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit. John Wooden

Young people need models, not critics. John Wooden

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. John Wooden

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes. John Wooden

Remember this: the choices you make in life, make you. John Wooden

Repetition, A person must hear something several times to believe it. A person must do something several times to achieve it. John Wooden Quotes

In the end, it’s about the teaching, and what I always loved about coaching was the practices. Not the games, not the tournaments, not the alumni stuff. But teaching the players during practice was what coaching was all about to me. John Wooden

Quotes on Success from John Wooden

Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life. John Wooden

Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of knowing that you did your best to become what you are capable of becoming. John Wooden

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

The person who is afraid to face failure seldom has to face success. John Wooden

Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out. John Wooden

Just do the best you can. No one can do more than that. John Wooden

You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one. John Wooden

If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? John Wooden

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. John Wooden

Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best at which you are capable. John Wooden

Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts. John Wooden Quotes

The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching. John Wooden

More Great Quotes from John Wooden

A player who makes a team great is better than a great player. John Wooden

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

The smallest good deed is better than the best intention. John Wooden

The more concerned we become with the things we can’t control, the less we will do with the things we can control. John Wooden

Our titles would not have been possible without the unselfishness displayed by all our teams, the team wins, not the individuals. John Wooden

A strong leader accepts blame and gives the credit. A weak leader gives blame and accepts the credit. John Wooden

If I am through learning, I am through. John Wooden

Be prepared and be honest. John Wooden Quotes

Although there is no progress without change, not all change is progress. John Wooden

Hard work is essential, and only you know if you’re giving it everything you’ve got. People who always try to cut corners will never come close to realizing their full potential. John Wooden

Don’t permit fear of failure to prevent effort. We are all imperfect and will fail on occasions, but fear of failure is the greatest failure of all. John Wooden

Happiness begins where selfishness ends. John Wooden

The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.

The main ingredient in stardom is the rest of the team. John Wooden

Time spent getting even would be better spent trying to get ahead. John Wooden

Be quick, but don’t hurry. John Wooden

You can never make up for a lost day… Don’t think you can make up for it by working twice as hard tomorrow. If you have it within your power to work twice as hard, why aren’t you doing it now? John Wooden

You discipline those under your supervision to correct, to help, to improve–not to punish. John Wooden

Being average means you are as close to the bottom as you are to the top. John Wooden

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. John Wooden

It takes time to create excellence. If it could be done quickly, more people would do it. John Wooden

Discipline yourself so that others won’t have to. John Wooden

Talent is God-given – be humble. Fame is man-given – be thankful. Conceit is self-given – be careful. John Wooden

I’d rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent. John Wooden

You can do more good by being good than any other way. John Wooden

Never mistake activity for achievement. John Wooden

Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights. John Wooden

You must be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way. John Wooden

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden Quotes

Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who’ll argue with you. John Wooden

You handle things. You work with people. John Wooden

Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them. John Wooden

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be. John Wooden

Never be disagreeable just because you disagree. John Wooden

Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books – especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day. John Wooden

By becoming a little better each and every day, over a period of time, you will become a lot better. John Wooden

John Wooden Biography

John Robert Wooden is widely regarded as the best NCAA basketball coach of all time.

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) basketball teams were coached by John Robert Wooden, popularly referred to as the Wizard of Westwood, who won 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles in 12 seasons (1964–1965, 1967–1973, and 1975).

In 1960, Wooden was recognized as a player in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, but his influence on the sport was far from over. He oversaw a second victory the following season after guiding UCLA to a perfect 30-0 record, the national title, and Coach of the Year honors in 1963–64.

Several of his UCLA teammates went on to have successful careers in the NBA, most notably Gail Goodrich, Bill Walton, and Lew Alcindor (after known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

He was born on October 14, 1910, in Hall, Indiana, and died on June 4, 2010, in Los Angeles, California.

He was raised on a small farm without electricity, starting early each morning to assist with milking the cows and performing other farm duties before going to school. His father laid the initial bricks for him for what would eventually become the Success Pyramid.

With a handmade basketball and a tomato basket as a hoop, Wooden and his three brothers Maurice, Daniel, and William started playing a basic game of basketball in a barn. But 17 years later, after relocating to Martinsville, he would coach the high school basketball team there to the state title in Indiana in 1927.

Wooden, a guard at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, was an All-American basketball player for three seasons (1930-32) and was awarded a Western Conference (Big Ten) medal for athletic and scholastic distinction. Before joining the US Navy in 1943, he coached high school basketball in Kentucky and Indiana.

Soon after, in 1932, he wed Nell Riley, the love of his life.

Early in his career, Wooden worked as an English teacher and athletics coach at South Bend Central High School in Indiana and Dayton High School in Kentucky.

Even after his retirement in 1975, Wooden remained a significant presence in the sporting world. After he retired, he was honored with a number of accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003 and the Reagan Distinguished American Award in 1995.

Wooden left behind an everlasting impact, and the life principles he imparted continue to have a positive impact not just on those in the world of athletics but also on people who are working toward achieving their own individual goals.

Must Read

Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections on and Off the Court by John Wooden

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