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."

“Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.”

— John Wooden

Change

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

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

— John Wooden

Dad

“If I am through learning, I am through.”

— John Wooden

Learning

“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

“I'm glad I was a teacher.”

— John Wooden

Teacher

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

— John Wooden

Best

“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

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

— John Wooden

Great

“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

“It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.”

— John Wooden

Learning

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

— John Wooden

Time

“Don't give up on your dreams, or your dreams will give up on you.”

— John Wooden

Dreams

“Love is the most important thing in the world. Hate, we should remove from the dictionary.”

— John Wooden

Love

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

— John Wooden

Best

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

— John Wooden

Change

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

— John Wooden

Best

“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

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

— John Wooden

Positive

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

— John Wooden

Good