The gladiatorial nature of sport can teach us a lot about the human condition – there really is nothing like the concept of winning and losing to focus the mind. Out of this arena has come some profound insight; insight that we can apply across the whole of our everyday lives, not just in sport.
See below for 30 of the most inspirational quotes to come out of the sporting arena:
30. “What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.”
(Dean Smith)
29.“Most talented players don’t always succeed. Some don’t even make the team. It’s more what’s inside.”
(Brett Favre)
28. “If you have everything under control, you’re not moving fast enough.”
(Mario Andretti)
27. “Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.”
(Ted Williams)
26. “Make each day your masterpiece.”
(John Wooden)
25.“Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.”
(Larry Bird)
24. “Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.”
(Eddie Robinson)
23. “The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.”
(Arnold Schwarzenegger)
22. “If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?”
(Joe Namath)
21. “Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.”
(John Wooden)
20. “It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.”
(Evander Holyfield)
19. “Win If You Can, Lose If You Must, But NEVER QUIT!”
(Cameron Trammell)
18. “If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.”
(Mark Spitz)
17. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
(Muhammad Ali)
16. “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.”
(Jack Dempsey)
15. “To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.”
(Picabo Street)
14. “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)
13. “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”
(Babe Ruth)
12. “Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.”
(Satchel Paige)
11. “Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.”
(Phil Jackson)
10. “Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.”
(Jim Valvano)
9. “You win some, you lose some, and some get rained out, but you gotta suit up for them all.”
(J. Askenberg)
8. “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”
(Joe Paterno)
7. “There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either IN or you’re OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between.”
(Pat Riley)
6. “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.”
(Lance Armstrong)
5. “The road to Easy Street goes through the sewer.”
(John Madden)
4. “Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”
(Dan Gable)
3. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”
(Vince Lombardi)
2. “If you fail to prepare, you’re prepared to fail.”
(Mark Spitz)
1. “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
(Wayne Gretzky)
