Here is a list of some powerful impact quotes emphasizing the importance of being committed as a leader. These quotes are not limited to elite sports, as we are always learning from successful leaders in any profession or endeavor. If you have some suggested quotes you would like to see added to this page, please post them using our comment boxes under the ‘BE COMMITTED’ theme in the category section on the home page. Also, we included the sources in which we derive many of the quotes to add to your possible reading list. Enjoy!

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QUOTES FROM “PERFECT PHRASES FOR COACHES”

“Leaders aren’t born, they’re made. They are made just like anything else, through hard work. That is the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal.”

- Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame football coach

“To me, the coaching profession is one of the most noblest and far-reaching in building manhood. No man is too good to be an athletic coach for youth.”

- Amos Alonzo Stagg, Hall of Fame football and basketball coach

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, it is a habit.”

- Aristotle, Philosopher

“He who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”

- Henry Ford, Business leader

“There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either in or out. There is no such thing as life in-between.”

- Pat Riley, Hall of Fame basketball coach

“Concentration is basketball in a nutshell. Concentration is anticipation, which leads to recognition, which leads to reaction, which leads to execution.

- Bobby Knight, Hall of Fame basketball coach

“The only thing that counts is your dedication to the game. You run on your own fuel; it comes from within you.”

- Paul Brown, Hall of Fame football coach

“I believe in discipline. You can forgive incompetence. You can forgive lack of ability. But one thing you cannot ever forgive is lack of discipline.”

- Forrest Gregg, Hall of Fame football player

“I have failed over and over in my life. And that is why I succeed. “

- Michael Jordan, Hall of Fame basketball player

“You must remain focused on your journey to greatness.”

- Les Brown, Entrepreneur and author

“Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good.”

- Joe Paterno, Hall of Fame football coach

“If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.”

- Vincent Van Gogh, Artist

“Our success in some areas could be from something else that we’ve seen other teams do and copied from them.”

- Brian Billick, NFL champion football coach

“Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principal of self-sacrifice.”

- President Woodrow Wilson

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

- President Thomas Jefferson

“Mental toughness is spartanism with qualities of sacrifice, self-denial, dedication. It is fearlessness, and it is love.”

- Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame football coach

“You learn nothing from your successes except to think too much of yourself, it is from failure that all growth comes, provided you can recognize it, admit it, learn from it, rise above it, and then try it again.”

- Dee Hock, Business leader

“Success is that place in the road where preparation meets opportunity.”

- Branch Rickey, Hall of Fame baseball executive

“Patience and perseverence have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.”

- President John Quincy Adams

“If everyone doesn’t pay the price to win, then everyone will pay the price of losing.”

- John C. Maxwell, Author

“In the realm of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm; in the real world, all rests on perseverence.”

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Author and theorist

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genious will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

- President Calvin Coolidge

“Winning is the science of being totally prepared.”

- George Allen, Hall of Fame football coach

“Punctuality at practice should not be compromised.”

- Bobby Knight, Hall of Fame basketball coach

“Procastination is the fear of success. Because success is heavy, it carries a responsibility with it. It is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.”

- Denis Waitley, Author

“Once you learned how to quit it becomes a habit.”

- Vince Lombardi, Hall of Fame football coach

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”

- David Brinkley, Television producer

“Discipline yourself and others won’t need to.”

- John Wooden, Hall of Fame basketball coach

“There’s no substitute for hard work. It is the price of success.”

- Earl “Red” Blaik, Hall of Fame football coach

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QUOTES FROM “HOW TO SUCCEED IN THE GAME OF LIFE”

“The best advice I was given if that if you want to succeed and you want to achieve, you have to learn how to handle failures.”

- Mike Scioscia, MLB champion manager

“Luck is what happens at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.”

- Jeff Fisher, Successful NFL head coach

“Commit yourself to something you have a passion for.”

- Bill Walsh, NFL champion coach

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QUOTES FROM “BOBBY KNIGHT: MY STORY”

“Disappointments and heartbreaks strengthen a man. Your day will come; this I know. Your determination, desire and devotion to the game will carry you to new heights. I hope I am around to cheer for you and your team when that day comes.”

- Bobby Knight, NCAA champion basketball coach

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QUOTES FROM “THINK LIKE A CHAMPION: BUILDING SUCCESS ONE VICTORY AT A TIME”

“It is easy to become a winner if you’re simply willing to learn from those who have been winners. Find out who has had the most success at what they do. Watch their technique, observe their methods, and study their behavior. Listen and learn from the people who have achieved what you desire.”

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that’s what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

- Mike Shanahan, NFL champion football coach

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QUOTES FROM “DO YOU REALLY LOVE FOOTBALL?: WINNING WITH HEART, PASSION, AND NOT MUCH SLEEP”

“You’ve got to get over games and have the resiliency to come back.”

- John Gruden, NFL champion football coach