As a former Division I college basketball player, I'm always excited this time of year as practices get under way. It is like the holiday season: new shoes, new teammates, and a new season. Even though it has been years since I have played in a competitive basketball game, it gets me fired up about the season of my current life and business. In honor of the season I think it is only appropriate to make a special tribute to one of the game's all-time greatest coaches, the late John Wooden.
Nicked named the "Wizard of Westwood," Wooden won 10 National Championships. But Wooden was more than a winner on the hard courts—he was a philosopher and a developer of people and teams. Studying his philosophies can help anyone interested in success.
In honor of his 10 championships, below are 10 of my favorite quotes by Wooden. Read them and apply them to your life and work.
1. "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
2. "If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier."
“If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.”
3. "Some of my greatest pleasures have come from finding ways to overcome obstacles."
4. "Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."
5. "Players [people] with fight never lose a game, they just run out of time."
“Players [people] with fight never lose a game, they just run out of time.”
6. "I grew up on a farm. We learned that there was a season to plant, a season to water, and season to harvest. The planting and watering could be laborious, but without those stages, there would never be a harvest."
7. "Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read."
8. "If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
9. "There is a choice you have to make in everything you do. So keep in mind that in the end, the choice you make, makes you."
10. "Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts."
“Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”
What are your favorite quotes? Please add to the conversation – comment below or on Twitter at @gregbellspeaks.