“Mama wanted me to be a preacher. I told her coachin’ and preachin’ were a lot alike.”

There’s no use fussing on a boy who doesn’t have any ability.

The fun never goes out, but it changes with the years, with winning and losing.

I told them my system was based on the “ant plan,” that I’d gotten the idea watching a colony of ants in Africa during the war. A whole bunch of ants working toward a common goal.

You’re still going to win with preparation and dedication and plain old desire. If you don’t have genuine desire, you won’t be dedicated enough to prepare properly.

In my lifetime, I may have put too much emphasis on winning, because here I am an old man and the only fun I’ve had is winning, and that’s ridiculous.

I’m no miracle man. I guarantee nothing but hard work.

I tell young players who want to be coaches, who think they can put up with all the headaches and heartaches, can you live without it? If you can live without it, don’t get in it.

Never be too proud to get down on your knees and pray.

I’ve made so many mistakes that if I don’t make the same mistakes over, we’re going to come pretty close to winning.

There’s a lot of blood, sweat, and guts between dreams and success.

A few minutes ago, I had a hard time getting through the lobby because of all the people. After today, that won’t be happening.

Recognize winners. They come in all forms.

A champion pays an extra price to be better than anyone else.

I’ll put you through hell, but at the end of it all we’ll be champions.

It’s kind of hard to rally around a math class.

I’d like for people to remember me as a winner, because I ain’t never been nothin but a winner.

You gotta be hungry for it. You’ve got to put everything you got on it. EVERYTHING! Every second. You have to be the first one in line. That’s how leaders are born.

Those who cannot think or take responsibility for themselves need, and clamor for, a leader.

Before something can become a habit it must first be practiced as a discipline.

Most leaders would agree that they’d be better off having an average strategy with superb execution than a superb strategy with poor execution. Those who execute always have the upper hand.

He who attends to his greater self becomes a great man, and he who attends to his smaller self becomes a small man.

To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one’s life without knowing where it really leads; such is the behavior of the multitude.

Leadership is a choice, not a position.

People wish to learn to swim and at the same time to keep one foot on the ground.