Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.
It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
We’ve all heard that we have to learn from our mistakes, but I think it’s more important to learn from successes. If you learn only from your mistakes, you are inclined to learn only errors.
Watch your manner of speech if you wish to develop a peaceful state of mind. Start each day by affirming peaceful, contented and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be pleasant and successful.
Four things for success: work and pray, think and believe.
Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.
Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.
Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear. Perhaps the action you take will be successful; perhaps different action or adjustments will have to follow. But any action is better than no action at all.
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“Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” (John Wooden)
- As quoted in How to Be Like Coach Wooden: Life Lessons from Basketball’s Greatest Leader (2006) pg. 5
As both a basketball player and a basketball coach, Wooden was frequently noted for his quotes on character, team-building, and success.