Ucla Basketball Coach John Wooden Quotes

I tried to teach them [his sons] that about the importance of self-discipline, and that the culture of yes is built on a foundation of no.

The great dividend is not necessarily outscoring an opponent. The guaranteed dividend is the complete peace of mind gained in knowing you did everything within your power, physically, mentally, and emotionally, to bring forth your full potential." – John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden told players who scored to give a smile, wink, or nod to the player who gave them a good pass. “What if he’s not looking?” asked a team member. Wooden replied, “I guarantee he’ll look.” Everyone values encouragement and looks for it.

As former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said, “Things turn out the best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

Reputation is not, in fact, the most important thing. As famed UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once explained: “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.

Alan Eustace called Bill’s approach “free-form listening”—academics might call it “active listening,” a term first coined in 19576—and in practicing it Bill was following the advice of the great UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who felt that poor listening was a trait shared by many leaders: “We’d all be a lot wiser if we listened more,” Wooden said, “not just hearing the words, but listening and not thinking about what we’re going to say.”7 Bill’s listening was usually accompanied by a lot of questions, a Socratic approach.