Motivational Stories, Quotes, and Statements

desktop quotes

* "To the person who does not know where he wants to go, there is no favorable wind."...Seneca

* "When you do more than you're paid to do, you will eventually be paid more for what you do."....Zig Ziglar

* "The more they trusted me, the less I could afford to make a mistake."... Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director (b. 1950)

"You can't stop at every dog that barks or you'll never get the mail delivered."....Phog Allen

"When you get to where you are going, the first thing you do is take care of the horse that got you there."....unknown

"One old friend is better than two new ones."...unknown

TEN CANNOTS

1) You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

2) You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

3) You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

4) You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

5) You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

6) You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

7) You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

8) You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

9) You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence.

10) You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.

"There are two very difficult things in the world. One is to make a name for oneself and the other s to keep it."....unknown

"The two ingredients in success in basketball are playing hard and playing intelligently"...
Pete Carril

"If you want to discover a man's weak points, let him do all the talking while you do all the listening."...Mel Gibson

"The most destitute man in the world is the one without a smile."...unknown

"People who are very good at making excuses are rarely good at anything else."...Ben Franklin

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now, more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him.

Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others. Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole. "

*****

People forget how fast you did a job--but they remember how well you did it.

Some people understand life better.

And they call some of these people "retarded"...

At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or
mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash.

At the gun, they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a relish
to run the race to the finish and win.

All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled
over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry.

They slowed down and looked back. Then they all turned around and went
back every one of them. One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed
him and said,"This will make it better."

Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.

Everyone in the stadium stood, the cheering went on for several minutes.

People who were there are still telling the story... Why? Because deep
down we know this one thing: What matters in this life is more than winning
for ourselves.

What matters in this life is helping others win, even if it means
slowing down and changing our course.

* "The biggest mistake an athlete can make is to be afraid to make one."....anonymous

* "Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice."...Jackson Brown, Jr. (Ed.Note: Coaches, don't pass over this lightly....call into your office and check how your coaches, secretaries, and other helpers answer the phone...then coach them to improve)

*"Many athletes have tremendous God-given gifts, but they don't focus on the development of those gifts. Who are these individuals? You've never heard of them-- and you never will. It's true in sports and it's true everywhere in life. Hard work is the difference. Very hard work."....John Wooden

*"When you do more than you're paid to do, you will eventually be paid more for what you do."....Zig Ziglar (Ed.Note: How many times have you heard someone say, "I'm not paid to do that"? Quit worrying what you are paid to do and begin paying attention to what needs to be done on a job)

1. Get better shots than your opponent and get more of those better shots.
2. Look to run every possession.
3. Handle the ball with sureness.
4. Be hard to guard. Help each other get open.
5. Get fouled. Make more than your opponent attempts.
6. Offensive board coverage.
7. Transition and talk; defensive fast break.
8. Know who you are guarding, his number, & his game.
9. Ball Pressure; early help and quick recovery. Ubiquitous.
10. Shut down a scorer in the post; "No Threes to a Three".
11. Shot pressure; change or alter.
12. Smart fouls only.
13. B.O.P.C.R.O. - Block out, Pursue, Chin, Rebound, Outlet

When you think it doesn’t matter
if you fail or pass the test.
Keep in mind the reason why
you should always be your best.

While the whole world may not notice
if you tried to give your all,
there is a person in you
to whom it matters if you fall.

That little voice inside you -
which directs your thoughts each day -
will make the final judgement
if you won or lost each day.

Never can you fail yourself
if you give it all you’ve got.
The world extends a hand to you
when you give life your best shot.

For all that really matters
when you're finished with your test,
is not the final score at all -
but did you do your best?

- Tom Krause
Copyright 2004
www.coachkrause.com
TOUCHING HEARTS-TEACHING GREATNESS
International Motivational Speaker

* "The more they trusted me, the less I could afford to make a mistake."... Zhang Yimou, Chinese film director (b. 1950)

* "I have no individual goals. We play for one reason and that's to win the title. Practice is more important than the games, and I will practice when I'm hurt, when 95 percent of the players in this league would sit out. I expect all of you to do the same thing. You will follow my lead."....Michael Jordan to the Chicago Bulls. And follow they did. (ED. What a great quote to be on locker room bulletin boards!)

* "The biggest failure of all is the person that never tries"...Dr. Larry Kimsey

* Speaking about star guard Jameer Nelson, Coach Phil Martelli said, "He has tremendous respect for his teammates, and because he gives respect, he gets respect."

* "I always talked to my players about today. It's the only day that matters."...John Wooden.

Many years ago, a large American shoe manufacturer sent two sales reps out to different parts of the Australian outback to see if they could drum up some business among the aborigines. Some time later, the company received telegrams from both agents. The first one said, "No business here...natives don't wear shoes." The second one said, "Great opportunity here...natives don't wear shoes!"

If you're in charge and you stop rowing, don't be surprised if the rest of your crew stops too.

JUST ME
From the time I was little I knew I was great
`cause the people would tell me -"you`ll make it - just wait."
But they never did tell me how great I would be
if I ever played someone who was greater than me.

When I`m in my backyard -I`m king with the ball.
To swish all those baskets is no sweat at all.
But all of a sudden there`s a man in my face
who doesn`t seem to realize - I`m king of this place.

So the pressure gets to me - I rush with the ball.
My passes to teammates could fly through the wall.
My jumpers not falling - my dibbles not sure.
My hand is not steady - my eye is not pure.

The fault is my teammates - they don`t understand.
The fault is my coach`s - what a terrible plan.
The fault is the call by that blind referee
but the fault is not mine - I`m the greatest you see.

Then finally it hits me when I started to see
that the face in the mirror looks exactly like me.
It wasn`t my teammates who were dropping the ball
and it wasn`t my coach shooting bricks at the wall.

That face in the mirror that was always so great
had some room for improvement - instead of just hate.
So I stopped blaming others and I started to grow.
My play got much better and it started to show.

And all of my teammates didn`t seem quite so bad.
I learned to depend on the good friends I had.
Now I like myself better since I started to see -
I was lousy being great - I`m much better being me.

Tom Krause - Copyright 2000
From, TOUCHING HEARTS-TEACHING GREATNESS, Stories From A Coach That
Touch
Your Heart & Inspire Your Soul
Andrews McMeel Publishing

REPUTATION IS ABOUT WHO YOU ARE WHEN PEOPLE ARE WATCHING. CHARACTER IS ABOUT WHO YOU ARE WHEN THERE'S NOBODY IN THE ROOM BUT YOU. THE FORMER CAN INDUCE OTHERS TO THINK WELL OF YOU. BUT ONLY THE LATTER ALLOWS YOU TO THINK WELL OF YOURSELF.

"I CAN ACCEPT FAILURE, BUT I CAN'T ACCEPT NOT TRYING."....
.......Michael Jordan

"WHEN NOTHING SEEMS TO HELP, I GO AND LOOK AT A STONECUTTER HAMMERING AWAY AT HIS ROCK PERHAPS A HUNDRED TIMES WITHOUT AS MUCH AS A CRACK SHOWING IN IT.
YET, AT THE HUNDRED AND FIRST BLOW IT WILL SPLIT IN TWO, AND I KNOW IT WAS NOT THAT BLOW THAT DID IT--BUT ALL THAT HAD GONE BEFORE."
Jacob Riis
Keep shooting the basketball! It will require many more practice shots than a hundred, but sooner or later, you may
have your "hundred and first" shot, and it may be the shot that wins the game!

THE MAN WHO WINS MAY HAVE BEEN COUNTED OUT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT HE DIDN'T HEAR THE REFEREE.

Dick Barnett was a player who emphatically demonstrated the virtues of discipline. He played basketball every day of his last three years of high school: 1,095 straight days. Sometimes he played from nine in the morning until midnight. He played basketball while his friends went to the senior prom. BUT HE GOT TO DANCE IN THE NBA! (Excerpted from VALUES OF THE GAME by Bill Bradley.

YOU CAN HAVE EVERYTHING IN LIFE YOU WANT, IF YOU WILL JUST HELP ENOUGH OTHER PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY WANT.