John Wooden

John Wooden

36 quotes

John Wooden, an American basketball coach, is widely remembered for insights that continue to resonate with readers everywhere. The range of their thinking — from Best to Time — speaks to an intellectual restlessness that shows in every quote. We feature 54 quotes from John Wooden spanning Best, Time, Success, Good, and Peace, making them one of the most prolific voices in our archive. Start here and see if you agree: "Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts."

“If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

— John Wooden

Time

All Quotes by John Wooden

“I think permitting the game to become too physical takes away a little bit of the beauty.”

— John Wooden

Beauty

“Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you.”

— John Wooden

Life

“The most important thing in the world is family and love.”

— John Wooden

Family

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

— John Wooden

God

“We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.”

— John Wooden

Change

“I talked to the players and tried to make them aware of what was good and bad, but I didn't try to run their lives.”

— John Wooden

Good

“I found golf was too time consuming, but I did enjoy it.”

— John Wooden

Time

“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.”

— John Wooden

Best

“There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer.”

— John Wooden

Faith

“I'm not going to say I was opposed to the Vietnam War. I'm going to say I'm opposed to war. But I'm also opposed to protests that deny other people their rights.”

— John Wooden

War

“There's as much crookedness as you want to find. There was something Abraham Lincoln said - he'd rather trust and be disappointed than distrust and be miserable all the time. Maybe I trusted too much.”

— John Wooden

Time

“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

Art

“Passion is momentary love is enduring.”

— John Wooden

Love

“I'm glad I was a teacher.”

— John Wooden

Teacher

“Friendship is two-sided. It isn't a friend just because someone's doing something nice for you. That's a nice person. There's friendship when you do for each other. It's like marriage - it's two-sided.”

— John Wooden

Friendship

“Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.”

— John Wooden

Great

“I was built up from my dad more than anyone else.”

— John Wooden

Dad

“If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”

— John Wooden

Time

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

— John Wooden

Best

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

— John Wooden

Best