“leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance.”

A good leader has nothing to prove, but everything to prove.

If we could execute with a monumental effort just to reach an immediate goal that everyone could see, we could then continue to the next visually.

I can remember many times when my boat crew struggled. It was easy to make excuses for our team’s performance and why it wasn’t what it should have been. But I learned that good leaders don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done and win.

Repetitive exceptional performance became a habit.

All elements within the greater team are crucial and must work together to accomplish the mission, mutually supporting one another for that singular purpose.

But we can’t ever think we are too good to fail or that our enemies are not capable, deadly, and eager to exploit our weaknesses. We must never get complacent. This is where controlling the ego is most important.

Get after it.

Generally, when a leader struggles, the root cause behind the problem is that the leader has leaned too far in one direction and steered off course. Awareness.

So how can a leader become great if they lack the natural characteristics necessary to lead? The answer is simple: a good leader builds a great team that counterbalances their weaknesses.

There is no easy way.

Faster. Stronger. Smarter. More humble. Less ego.

Instead of letting the situation dictate our decisions, we must dictate the situation.

Motivation is fickle. It comes and goes.

Don’t ask your leader what you should do, tell them what you are going to do.

That’s it. When things are going bad: Don’t get all bummed out, don’t get startled, don’t get frustrated. No. Just look at the issue and say: Good.

Leaders must always operate with the understanding that they are part of something greater than themselves and their own personal interests.

Time management is an oxymoron. Time is beyond our control, and the clock keeps ticking regardless of how we lead our lives. Priority management is the answer to maximizing the time we have.

I just lead my life as naturally, as normally as I possibly can. But I can’t help it if controversy is hounding me day in and day out. I’m quite amazed sometimes by the way they go about it. I grow a beard and it lands up in the editorial in The Times of India.

I’ve always been privileged to play for Coach Belichick, who I’ve always said is the best coach in the history of the league.

As far as being a coach, it’s always fascinated me. It’s a greater responsibility than most people give it credit for because you’re dealing with people.

Every proprietor owes to the community a ground-rent for the land which he holds.

Leadership is not about titles, positions or flowcharts. It is about one life influencing another.

As a player, you have one responsibility, to focus yourself and be ready for the game. As a coach, your responsibility is to get 20 guys ready and have them all on the same page. If you can’t get every guy ready every night, you’re going to struggle.

Failure is in a sense the highway to success, as each discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true.