Quotes

A fairly long selection of our favorite quotes we’ve amassed pertaining to athletes, mindset, and intent, listed in chronological order when possible. A great way to start team meetings at practice, or to manage mindfulness during time-outs.

From Notable Sources

• “We are forever elsewhere.” - Michel de Montaigne (16th century).

• “This too, shall pass.” - Edward Fitzgerald, Solomon’s Seal (1852).

• “Every time a door closes, another opens.” - Alexander Graham Bell (sometime before 1922).

• “It’s a challenge, not a threat.” - Richard Lazarus, Psychological Stress and the Coping Process (1966).

• “Look for the helpers.” - Fred Rogers, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968).

• “The team, the team, the team.” - Bo Schembechler, former Michigan football head coach (1970s).

• “If friends were money, would you rather have four quarters or 100 pennies?” - Jim Rohn, (1970s).

• “It pays to be a winner.” - Navy Seals training ethos (1990s). Although some say the Seals stole the term from the lotteries of the 1980s.

• “When you know better, you do better.” - Maya Angelou (1995). Although Maya made the phrase famous in various speeches and interviews, it can be traced back all the way to 1910.

• “Growth mindset.” - Carl Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (2006).

• “Your best is enough.” - Brené Brown, Daring Greatly (2012, paraphrased).

• “Failure doesn’t exist;” “It takes what it takes;” and “There is no opponent.” - Tim Grover, Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable (2013). Many incorrectly attribute these quotes to famous athletes and authors, especially Kobe Bryant and Bruce Lee. Tim had a lot of good ones.

• “Life is a constant balancing act.” - Walter C. Conner, Heirs of Wisdom (2015).

• “Honor code” - A simple phrase I’ve adapted from my time at Stanford. The full, adapted quote would read, “The Honor Code is a set of standards that establish the expectations for athletic integrity required of all athletes.” The original quote of course references academic integrity for students.

From Unknown Sources

• “No one is perfect.”

• “Enjoy the process.”

• “Pause and ask, ‘What if?’”

• “Everyone has their demons.”

• “We teach from experience.”

• “The grass is greener where you water it.”

• “Scared money never wins.” - A phrase commonly attributed to the poker world.

From Questionable Sources

Good quotes will get repeated no matter their original source. Rather than skirting around the issue, we prefer to be out in the open about acknowledging that good sayings or even actions can come from less than ideal sources. It’s ok to acknowledge the grey.

• “Situations are situational” - Patrick McAfee. His name seems like an outlier on this list, but I think Pat would be the first to agree that he’s a questionable source. And he’s not wrong on this.

• “If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.” - Joe Paterno. We see this quote in gyms and on fields in various forms all over the country, often with the original author removed. Joe’s career ended in a terrible scandal, but these words still ring true. It’s related to a concept in biology that states, “if you aren’t growing, you’re dying.”

• “We’re going to maximize your value, extend your career, and win.” - Urban Meyer. A once nationally celebrated college coach, now more recently mired in controversy, allegedly creating toxic team cultures and physical abusing of his players. Still, this is a quote we seem to reference every year, particularly during recruiting time, because we believe in it.

Woodenisms (1910 - 2010)

• “Nothing will work unless you do.”

• “People need models, not critics.”

• “The choice you make, makes you.”

• “Talent is God-given. Fame is man-given.”

• “Your character is what you are. Your reputation is what others think you are.”

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