Send me your favorite quotes that get you pumped up!!!
Believe In Yourself
To be really good at anything, you’ve got to go over the top. Success seldom comes from moderation.
Practice Makes Permanent
"Understanding the cause of failure is important. Understanding the cause of success is far more powerful."
One Pitch At A Time
I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.Thomas Jefferson
Winners thrive on pressure, losers fear it.
We all get 24 hours a day. It’s the only thing that’s equal. It’s up to us as to what we do with those 24 hours.
Practice without improvement is meaningless.
The dictionary is the only place success comes before work
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun and when you have fun, you can do amazing things.
Do you want to excel & distinguish yourself as a Champion, or do you want to live among the average?
It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.
–W. Edwards Denning
Winners are simply willing to do what losers aren’t.
The Player's Role: Demonstrate a desire to play, a commitment for accomplishing your goals, and a “can do” attitude.
“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” -- Lou Holtz
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."--Unknown
If you have the ability to play or coach softball ~ don't waste it! Play or coach to the absolute best of your ability. There are others who would like to be in your shoes, but just don't have the ability or opportunity. Make the most of yours.
"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
--Theodore Roosevelt
Believe in yourself and at least give your best effort. If you take no action because you fear failure, you're doomed anyway.
"The best way to predict your future is to create it."--Unknown
Don't wait for a lucky break or hope for something good to happen ~ make your own "luck."
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." --Eleanor Roosevelt
Make something happen ~ it doesn't take much to get a "big hit" or make a "big play."
"Tough Times Never Last ~ but Tough People Do" ~ Robert H. Schuller
Don’t practice? Don’t dream.
If you don't know where you are going, you will end up somewhere else."
Yogi Berra
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
If you practice “smart,” fewer pitch repetitions re required than if you merely set a fixed number of pitches and go through the motions with no specific goals in mind.
One of the major objectives of using good pitching mechanics is to maximize the efficiency of energy transferred to the ball.
A successful pitcher keeps the leadoff hitter from reaching first base and puts the first pitch over for a strike – the two most important rules of pitching. Nolan Ryan
Only three or four outs directly affect the outcome of any given game…One of the greatest challenges of pitching is to recognize these critical situations and rise to the occasion with consistency and a competitive spirit. Tom Seaver
The artful pitcher must take the inevitable peaks and valleys of pitching in stride and never give in to the batters or lose sight of his/her own strengths. Tom Seaver
Maintaining concentration depends on what I call tunnel vision; nothing else in the world exists but the catcher’s target, the hitter and my perfect delivery. Nolan Ryan
It’s not where you start but where you finish.
April Heinrichs, Coach of the US women’s national soccer team
To be successful in anything, a person must always want to be better, not only than your opponent but better than your last performance. Done correctly, being competitive is a wonderful way to always try to be a better person by learning from your mistakes and capitalizing on your successes.
Hale Irwin, All-time victory leader on the Senior PGA tour
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you land among the stars"
I believe I’m one of the best pitchers in the world – I know I am as far as results go. But you can’t live on your legacy. Every time I step on the mound I have to prove it.
Michele Smith, US Olympic softball team pitcher in 1996 and 2000
The team with the best athletes doesn’t usually win. It’s the team with the athletes who play best together.
Lisa Fernandez, Star softball pitcher & 3-time USA Olympic gold medalist
One of the most awesome things about sports, particularly team sports, is that everything you need to do to be successful on the playing field carries over directly into life. In a team sport you have to learn how to work together, to set goals, and then work toward those goals in a productive way. You learn to be responsible and you learn how to not only depend on others, but also be independent so you can support others.
Sheila Cornell Douty, US Olympic first baseman on 1996 & 2000 gold-medal-winning softball teams
I’m not exceptionally fast or overly powerful. But I have a good work ethic, and I make up for it by using technique and trying to be smarter.
Dot Richardson, US Olympic softball player on the 1996 and 2000 gold-medal-winning team
If you believe you can, you’re right. If you believe you can’t, you’re right!
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."Aristotle
Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. John Wooden
Be quick but don’t hurry. John Wooden
What you do when no one else is looking wil determine how good you’ll be. Anson Dorrance, UNC soccer
“I don’t ever doubt myself. I don’t feel any pressure..I just try to stay calm, follow my game plan and not overthrow.” –Dwight Gooden
“It’s the old story. You might be able to fool your coaches, or your teammates, or your opponents. But, you can never fool yourself in anything. I believe that the more critical you are of your own performance—the higher standards you have—the better you become at what you do.” – Don Maynard
“The player who can understand the difference between where he is reasonably trying to go, as opposed to where others want him to end up, approaches his game from the right direction.” The Mental Game of Baseball
“Your concern must be on what you can do to enable yourself to perform to your capabilities.” The Mental Game of Baseball
The word “don’t” will not get through to the body. The word carries no functional image. The body tends to do what it hears most clearly; the mind tells the body what it sees most clearly. So thinking about what you don’t want to happen greatly increases the chance that it will happen.” –The Mental Game of Baseball
“The player predicting failure fails” –The Mental Game of Baseball
“It’s better to throw a theoretically poorer pitch whole-heartedly, than to throw the so-called right pitch with feeling of doubt—doubt that’s it’s right, or doubt that you can make it behave well at that moment. You’ve got to feel sure you’re doing the right thing—sure that you want to throw the pitch you’re going to throw.” –Sandy Koufax
“Some pitchers want to be known as the fastest throwers that ever lived. Some want to win 30 games in one season. Some want to pitch a no-hitter. All I want to do is the best I can, day after day. In other words, I want to prove I am the best.” –Tom Seaver
“You could be the world’s best garbage man, the world’s best model; it don’t matter what you do if you’re the best.” –Muhammad Ali
“Aim at perfection in everything, even though in most things it is unattainable. However, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable.” –Lord Chesterfield
“For to keep at the top is harder almost than to get there” –Cardinal Gibbons
“To be a star and stay a star, I think you’ve got to have a certain air of arrogance about you, a cockiness, a swagger on the field that says, “I can do this and you can’t stop me.” I know that I play baseball with this air of arrogance, but I think it’s lacking in a lot of guys who could have the potential to be stars.” –Joe Morgan
“People don’t win because they’re physically stronger. It’s because they’re stronger between the ears.” –Alex Shaffer
“You’ve got to have the guts to not be afraid to screw up. The guys who win are the ones who are not afraid to mess up. And that comes right from the heart.” –Fuzzy Zoeller
“You don’t have to be better than everybody else, you just have to be better than you ever thought you could be.” –Ken Venturi
“Success is doing what it takes in spite of one’s fear.” –Johnny Rutherford
“Confidence is everything. If you start second guessing yourself, you’re bound to run into more bad outings” –Trevor Hoffman (Padres Relief Pitcher)
“Regardless of where you’re pitching, regardless of what goes on before or after your game, you still have to be ready.” –Greg Maddux
“The player is responsible for what SHE does, not what the opponent does.”
Always be prepared to win. That’s what I focus on. Keep working toward perfection.
Willie Davis, Pro Football Hall of Fame member
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
You have to dream big and go for it. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and ignore those who try to bring you down. Never give up, no matter what – overcoming obstacles makes you stronger!
Shannon MacMillan, US Olympic and women’s national soccer team star
You don’t win on emotion. You win on execution. Tony Dungy, Head coach of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts
A true champion knows how to overcome doubts and manage those doubts and turn them into motivation.
Misty Hyman, Olympic gold medallist in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2000 Sydney Games
You’ve got to believe you can win. But I believe respect for the fact that you can lose is what you always have to keep in your mind so that nothing surprises you. Andre Agassi, Winner of all four tennis Grand Slams
I never wanted to be one of those people who looks back and says, “I wonder if…” If I have a goal, I’ll go out and set forth to achieve it. When something is your passion, it becomes everything. You put everything into it without hesitation. No questions. No doubts. Nothing to stop you.
Kim Fitchen, Cross-country runner & member of 3 US World relay teams who never seriously ran or competed until she was 25 years old
My mind is my biggest asset. I expect to win every tournament I play. Tiger Woods, Number-one-ranked golfer in the world
Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do...but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does - that makes you a winner right there.
Venus Williams, Winner of the US Open and Wimbledon
Whatever you are, be a good one. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
I don’t want to give anyone an edge in my mind. Every time I walk out on the court, I have to feel I’m the best so I can compete well. A lot of times, my chief rival is just me.
Venus Williams, Winner of the US Open and Wimbledon
Confidence is only born out of one thing – demonstrated ability. It is not born of anything else. You cannot dream up confidence. You cannot fabricate it. You cannot wish it. You have to accomplish it.
Bill Parcells, NFL head coach
My mom would never let us quit. She always taught us the importance of sticking with it, even when times are tough. We didn’t just hear her, we watched her. I know what to do because she led the way. She showed us that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish the world. No matter where you’re from and what you’re up against.
Theo Ratliff, All-star center for the NBA Atlanta Hawks
Single-mindedness. I hate to say it because I don’t think it’s the best thing for developing a person, but the single-mindedness – just concentrating in the one area – that’s what it takes to be a champion.
Chris Evert, Hall of Fame tennis player
The key is that I control my life; my life doesn’t control me. Gabrielle Reece, Pro beach volleyball player
I am a winner. I just didn’t win today. Greg Norman, Two-time British Open champion
If my dreams can happen to me, your dreams can happen to you. Champions are not made on the track or field; champions are made by the things you accomplish and the way you use your abilities in everyday life situations.
Bob Beamon, Former world-record long jumper & track coach at Florida Atlantic University
I’d rather have more heart than talent any day. Allen Iverson, NBA
It’s important to know that at the end of the day it’s not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process – what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands – those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you’re an Olympic champion.
Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian who overcame injury to win a bronzes & a silver medal in single sculls rowing in 1992 & 1996
I don’t think you ever will yourself to win. I think you prepare yourself the best you can, get yourself in the best mindset you can get in, and go after it. Jack Nicklaus, Six-time winner of the Masters
My mom gave me unconditional support and unfailing love. You can’t get any better than that. That’s why I’ve never been afraid to lose.
Mike Krzyzewski, Basketball coach of Duke University
A winner will find a way to win. Winners take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves to be that much better. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as a reason to give up. It’s all a matter of pride.
Nancy Lopez, LPGA Hall of Fame member
I keep telling my kids whether you achieve the goal or not is not the most important thing. Putting yourself in position to achieve those goals is what’s important.
Steve Scott, American mile record-holder & track coach at Cal State University – San Marcos
Every single day I wake up and commit myself to becoming a better player. Some days it happens, and some days it doesn’t. Sure, there are games I’m going to dominate and there are going to be games when I struggle. But it doesn’t mean I give up.
Mia Hamm, One of the all-time greatest women soccer players
To a winner, complacency and overconfidence can be destructive. To losers, desperation and despondency are just as harmful.
Bill Walsh, Former NFL and college head football coach
You have to be extreme to be exceptional. I couldn’t revel in being number one. I had to get to zero. When my fitness was at its peak, I was intimidating. I made guys cave in. They’d be dejected in the locker room after matches, and I’d go out for a run, as if it wasn’t enough. I’d rub it in their faces. I meant to do that.
Jim Courier, Winner of four Grand Slam tennis titles
Set goals for things you can control. In my case, I can’t control the marks from the judges, but I can control how I train every day, and I can control my performance.
Claire Carver-Dias, Olympian on Canada’s synchronized swimming team
I think competing is more important than winning. There have been a lot of times when I’ve teed it up and I didn’t win but I felt like I competed. I felt like this was not my day, but I never gave up, and I tried on every shot, and then next week I’d go get them.
Juli Inkster, LPGA Hall of Fame member
Success shouldn’t be measured by how much you have but by how much you give back.
Danny Villanueva, Chairman of Bastion Capital Corporation & former NFL placekicker
When I’m in a bout and I stop fighting to win and start fighting not to lose, I’m almost guaranteed to lose because I quit taking chances.
Kelly Williams, US Fencing Association’s 1998 Female Athlete of the Year
It’s not so much what you accomplish in life that really matters, but what you overcome that proves who you are, what you are, and whether you are a champion.
Johnny Miller, TV golf analyst and former US Open winner
Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve ever done before.
Bonnie Blair, Olympic gold medallist in speed skating
A lot of times the expectations of you are so high that no matter what you do you are never going to be able to live up to those expectations. So you better go out and do the best you can and enjoy it.
John Elway, Former quarterback of the Denver Broncos and Super Bowl MVP
Competition in its best form is a test of self. It has nothing to do with medals. The winner is the person who gets the most out of themselves.
Al Oerter, Winner of four Olympic gold medals in the discus
I missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Believe In Yourself
To be really good at anything, you’ve got to go over the top. Success seldom comes from moderation.
Practice Makes Permanent
"Understanding the cause of failure is important. Understanding the cause of success is far more powerful."
One Pitch At A Time
I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.Thomas Jefferson
Winners thrive on pressure, losers fear it.
We all get 24 hours a day. It’s the only thing that’s equal. It’s up to us as to what we do with those 24 hours.
Practice without improvement is meaningless.
The dictionary is the only place success comes before work
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun and when you have fun, you can do amazing things.
Do you want to excel & distinguish yourself as a Champion, or do you want to live among the average?
It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.
–W. Edwards Denning
Winners are simply willing to do what losers aren’t.
The Player's Role: Demonstrate a desire to play, a commitment for accomplishing your goals, and a “can do” attitude.
“Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” -- Lou Holtz
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God."--Unknown
If you have the ability to play or coach softball ~ don't waste it! Play or coach to the absolute best of your ability. There are others who would like to be in your shoes, but just don't have the ability or opportunity. Make the most of yours.
"In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."
--Theodore Roosevelt
Believe in yourself and at least give your best effort. If you take no action because you fear failure, you're doomed anyway.
"The best way to predict your future is to create it."--Unknown
Don't wait for a lucky break or hope for something good to happen ~ make your own "luck."
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." --Eleanor Roosevelt
Make something happen ~ it doesn't take much to get a "big hit" or make a "big play."
"Tough Times Never Last ~ but Tough People Do" ~ Robert H. Schuller
Don’t practice? Don’t dream.
If you don't know where you are going, you will end up somewhere else."
Yogi Berra
"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
If you practice “smart,” fewer pitch repetitions re required than if you merely set a fixed number of pitches and go through the motions with no specific goals in mind.
One of the major objectives of using good pitching mechanics is to maximize the efficiency of energy transferred to the ball.
A successful pitcher keeps the leadoff hitter from reaching first base and puts the first pitch over for a strike – the two most important rules of pitching. Nolan Ryan
Only three or four outs directly affect the outcome of any given game…One of the greatest challenges of pitching is to recognize these critical situations and rise to the occasion with consistency and a competitive spirit. Tom Seaver
The artful pitcher must take the inevitable peaks and valleys of pitching in stride and never give in to the batters or lose sight of his/her own strengths. Tom Seaver
Maintaining concentration depends on what I call tunnel vision; nothing else in the world exists but the catcher’s target, the hitter and my perfect delivery. Nolan Ryan
It’s not where you start but where you finish.
April Heinrichs, Coach of the US women’s national soccer team
To be successful in anything, a person must always want to be better, not only than your opponent but better than your last performance. Done correctly, being competitive is a wonderful way to always try to be a better person by learning from your mistakes and capitalizing on your successes.
Hale Irwin, All-time victory leader on the Senior PGA tour
"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you land among the stars"
I believe I’m one of the best pitchers in the world – I know I am as far as results go. But you can’t live on your legacy. Every time I step on the mound I have to prove it.
Michele Smith, US Olympic softball team pitcher in 1996 and 2000
The team with the best athletes doesn’t usually win. It’s the team with the athletes who play best together.
Lisa Fernandez, Star softball pitcher & 3-time USA Olympic gold medalist
One of the most awesome things about sports, particularly team sports, is that everything you need to do to be successful on the playing field carries over directly into life. In a team sport you have to learn how to work together, to set goals, and then work toward those goals in a productive way. You learn to be responsible and you learn how to not only depend on others, but also be independent so you can support others.
Sheila Cornell Douty, US Olympic first baseman on 1996 & 2000 gold-medal-winning softball teams
I’m not exceptionally fast or overly powerful. But I have a good work ethic, and I make up for it by using technique and trying to be smarter.
Dot Richardson, US Olympic softball player on the 1996 and 2000 gold-medal-winning team
If you believe you can, you’re right. If you believe you can’t, you’re right!
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."Aristotle
Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. John Wooden
Be quick but don’t hurry. John Wooden
What you do when no one else is looking wil determine how good you’ll be. Anson Dorrance, UNC soccer
“I don’t ever doubt myself. I don’t feel any pressure..I just try to stay calm, follow my game plan and not overthrow.” –Dwight Gooden
“It’s the old story. You might be able to fool your coaches, or your teammates, or your opponents. But, you can never fool yourself in anything. I believe that the more critical you are of your own performance—the higher standards you have—the better you become at what you do.” – Don Maynard
“The player who can understand the difference between where he is reasonably trying to go, as opposed to where others want him to end up, approaches his game from the right direction.” The Mental Game of Baseball
“Your concern must be on what you can do to enable yourself to perform to your capabilities.” The Mental Game of Baseball
The word “don’t” will not get through to the body. The word carries no functional image. The body tends to do what it hears most clearly; the mind tells the body what it sees most clearly. So thinking about what you don’t want to happen greatly increases the chance that it will happen.” –The Mental Game of Baseball
“The player predicting failure fails” –The Mental Game of Baseball
“It’s better to throw a theoretically poorer pitch whole-heartedly, than to throw the so-called right pitch with feeling of doubt—doubt that’s it’s right, or doubt that you can make it behave well at that moment. You’ve got to feel sure you’re doing the right thing—sure that you want to throw the pitch you’re going to throw.” –Sandy Koufax
“Some pitchers want to be known as the fastest throwers that ever lived. Some want to win 30 games in one season. Some want to pitch a no-hitter. All I want to do is the best I can, day after day. In other words, I want to prove I am the best.” –Tom Seaver
“You could be the world’s best garbage man, the world’s best model; it don’t matter what you do if you’re the best.” –Muhammad Ali
“Aim at perfection in everything, even though in most things it is unattainable. However, they who aim at it, and persevere, will come much nearer to it than those whose laziness and despondency make them give it up as unattainable.” –Lord Chesterfield
“For to keep at the top is harder almost than to get there” –Cardinal Gibbons
“To be a star and stay a star, I think you’ve got to have a certain air of arrogance about you, a cockiness, a swagger on the field that says, “I can do this and you can’t stop me.” I know that I play baseball with this air of arrogance, but I think it’s lacking in a lot of guys who could have the potential to be stars.” –Joe Morgan
“People don’t win because they’re physically stronger. It’s because they’re stronger between the ears.” –Alex Shaffer
“You’ve got to have the guts to not be afraid to screw up. The guys who win are the ones who are not afraid to mess up. And that comes right from the heart.” –Fuzzy Zoeller
“You don’t have to be better than everybody else, you just have to be better than you ever thought you could be.” –Ken Venturi
“Success is doing what it takes in spite of one’s fear.” –Johnny Rutherford
“Confidence is everything. If you start second guessing yourself, you’re bound to run into more bad outings” –Trevor Hoffman (Padres Relief Pitcher)
“Regardless of where you’re pitching, regardless of what goes on before or after your game, you still have to be ready.” –Greg Maddux
“The player is responsible for what SHE does, not what the opponent does.”
Always be prepared to win. That’s what I focus on. Keep working toward perfection.
Willie Davis, Pro Football Hall of Fame member
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
You have to dream big and go for it. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and ignore those who try to bring you down. Never give up, no matter what – overcoming obstacles makes you stronger!
Shannon MacMillan, US Olympic and women’s national soccer team star
You don’t win on emotion. You win on execution. Tony Dungy, Head coach of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts
A true champion knows how to overcome doubts and manage those doubts and turn them into motivation.
Misty Hyman, Olympic gold medallist in the 200-meter butterfly at the 2000 Sydney Games
You’ve got to believe you can win. But I believe respect for the fact that you can lose is what you always have to keep in your mind so that nothing surprises you. Andre Agassi, Winner of all four tennis Grand Slams
I never wanted to be one of those people who looks back and says, “I wonder if…” If I have a goal, I’ll go out and set forth to achieve it. When something is your passion, it becomes everything. You put everything into it without hesitation. No questions. No doubts. Nothing to stop you.
Kim Fitchen, Cross-country runner & member of 3 US World relay teams who never seriously ran or competed until she was 25 years old
My mind is my biggest asset. I expect to win every tournament I play. Tiger Woods, Number-one-ranked golfer in the world
Some people say I have attitude - maybe I do...but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does - that makes you a winner right there.
Venus Williams, Winner of the US Open and Wimbledon
Whatever you are, be a good one. Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
I don’t want to give anyone an edge in my mind. Every time I walk out on the court, I have to feel I’m the best so I can compete well. A lot of times, my chief rival is just me.
Venus Williams, Winner of the US Open and Wimbledon
Confidence is only born out of one thing – demonstrated ability. It is not born of anything else. You cannot dream up confidence. You cannot fabricate it. You cannot wish it. You have to accomplish it.
Bill Parcells, NFL head coach
My mom would never let us quit. She always taught us the importance of sticking with it, even when times are tough. We didn’t just hear her, we watched her. I know what to do because she led the way. She showed us that if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish the world. No matter where you’re from and what you’re up against.
Theo Ratliff, All-star center for the NBA Atlanta Hawks
Single-mindedness. I hate to say it because I don’t think it’s the best thing for developing a person, but the single-mindedness – just concentrating in the one area – that’s what it takes to be a champion.
Chris Evert, Hall of Fame tennis player
The key is that I control my life; my life doesn’t control me. Gabrielle Reece, Pro beach volleyball player
I am a winner. I just didn’t win today. Greg Norman, Two-time British Open champion
If my dreams can happen to me, your dreams can happen to you. Champions are not made on the track or field; champions are made by the things you accomplish and the way you use your abilities in everyday life situations.
Bob Beamon, Former world-record long jumper & track coach at Florida Atlantic University
I’d rather have more heart than talent any day. Allen Iverson, NBA
It’s important to know that at the end of the day it’s not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process – what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands – those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you’re an Olympic champion.
Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian who overcame injury to win a bronzes & a silver medal in single sculls rowing in 1992 & 1996
I don’t think you ever will yourself to win. I think you prepare yourself the best you can, get yourself in the best mindset you can get in, and go after it. Jack Nicklaus, Six-time winner of the Masters
My mom gave me unconditional support and unfailing love. You can’t get any better than that. That’s why I’ve never been afraid to lose.
Mike Krzyzewski, Basketball coach of Duke University
A winner will find a way to win. Winners take bad breaks and use them to drive themselves to be that much better. Quitters take bad breaks and use them as a reason to give up. It’s all a matter of pride.
Nancy Lopez, LPGA Hall of Fame member
I keep telling my kids whether you achieve the goal or not is not the most important thing. Putting yourself in position to achieve those goals is what’s important.
Steve Scott, American mile record-holder & track coach at Cal State University – San Marcos
Every single day I wake up and commit myself to becoming a better player. Some days it happens, and some days it doesn’t. Sure, there are games I’m going to dominate and there are going to be games when I struggle. But it doesn’t mean I give up.
Mia Hamm, One of the all-time greatest women soccer players
To a winner, complacency and overconfidence can be destructive. To losers, desperation and despondency are just as harmful.
Bill Walsh, Former NFL and college head football coach
You have to be extreme to be exceptional. I couldn’t revel in being number one. I had to get to zero. When my fitness was at its peak, I was intimidating. I made guys cave in. They’d be dejected in the locker room after matches, and I’d go out for a run, as if it wasn’t enough. I’d rub it in their faces. I meant to do that.
Jim Courier, Winner of four Grand Slam tennis titles
Set goals for things you can control. In my case, I can’t control the marks from the judges, but I can control how I train every day, and I can control my performance.
Claire Carver-Dias, Olympian on Canada’s synchronized swimming team
I think competing is more important than winning. There have been a lot of times when I’ve teed it up and I didn’t win but I felt like I competed. I felt like this was not my day, but I never gave up, and I tried on every shot, and then next week I’d go get them.
Juli Inkster, LPGA Hall of Fame member
Success shouldn’t be measured by how much you have but by how much you give back.
Danny Villanueva, Chairman of Bastion Capital Corporation & former NFL placekicker
When I’m in a bout and I stop fighting to win and start fighting not to lose, I’m almost guaranteed to lose because I quit taking chances.
Kelly Williams, US Fencing Association’s 1998 Female Athlete of the Year
It’s not so much what you accomplish in life that really matters, but what you overcome that proves who you are, what you are, and whether you are a champion.
Johnny Miller, TV golf analyst and former US Open winner
Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve ever done before.
Bonnie Blair, Olympic gold medallist in speed skating
A lot of times the expectations of you are so high that no matter what you do you are never going to be able to live up to those expectations. So you better go out and do the best you can and enjoy it.
John Elway, Former quarterback of the Denver Broncos and Super Bowl MVP
Competition in its best form is a test of self. It has nothing to do with medals. The winner is the person who gets the most out of themselves.
Al Oerter, Winner of four Olympic gold medals in the discus
I missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.