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."

“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

All Quotes by 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 of which you are capable.”

— John Wooden

Best

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

— John Wooden

Best

“No one can really honestly be the very best, no one.”

— John Wooden

Best

“I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession.”

— John Wooden

Future

“Passion is momentary love is enduring.”

— John Wooden

Love

“Just do the best you can. No one can do more than that.”

— John Wooden

Best

“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

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

— John Wooden

Family

“You can do more good by being good than any other way.”

— John Wooden

Good

“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

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

— John Wooden

Life

“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

“Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”

— John Wooden

Best

“I'm glad I was a teacher.”

— John Wooden

Teacher

“If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.”

— John Wooden

Positive

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

— John Wooden

Time

“Defense is a definite part of the game, and a great part of defense is learning to play it without fouling.”

— John Wooden

Great

“My eyesight is not nearly as good. My hearing is probably going away. My memory is slipping too. But I'm still around.”

— John Wooden

Good

“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

“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