If you've followed this blog, or readLocked On, you know that I'm a huge sucker for motivational quotes. Words carefully put together by great men and women get me really psyched up. From pushing me into my workouts to, as demonstrated in my book, becoming the focal points of entire chapters. They motivate me and I hope that at least one of the following has the same effect on you. Shared wisdom can bring out the best in us and the following list is a compilation of some of my favorite motivators. They are numbered, but not in any particular order of preference. Hope they resonate and inspire you to do something great! Note: the Bold font will indicate that I'm giving my two cents on that particular quote. Enjoy!
37. “Success is about having, excellence is about being. Success is about having money and fame, but excellence is being the best you can be.” -Mike Ditka
36. “The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” -Vince Lombardi
35. “Things that hurt, instruct.” -Benjamin Franklin
34. “During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.” -Mickey Mantle
33. “Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you.” -Eddie Robinson
32. “Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.” -Lou Holtz
31. “There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out. There’s no such thing as life in-between.” -Pat Riley
30. “The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.” -Author Unknown
Jordan: I'm not a huge fan of anonymous quotes, so I only really included the ones that I like the most. Don't worry there's only a few of them.
29. "Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind." -Jackie Joyner-Kersee
28. "It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters." -Paul "Bear" Bryant
27. "You find that you have peace of mind and can enjoy yourself, get more sleep, and rest when you know that it was a one hundred percent effort that you gave–win or lose." -Gordie Howe
26. "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 Jordan: I really did my best to resist the urge to make this entire list all Muhammad Ali quotes. He's an absolute idol to me, but I managed to stick to just the best ones. 25. "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." -Michael Jordan
24. "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." -Wayne Gretzky
Jordan: As you might notice, there are a few Gretzky and Jordan quotes. I grew up watching these two incredible champions in their prime and they inspired me from an early age. 23. "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." -Will Rogers
22. "It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness." -Seneca
21. "It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired you quit when the gorilla is tired." -Robert Strauss
20. "Mind is everything: muscle--pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind." -Paavo Nurmi
19. "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals." -Sydney Smith
18. "The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire." -Ferdinand Foch
17. "To succeed...You need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you." -Tony Dorsett
16. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle
Jordan: This might be the only quote that is both on this list and also in my book Locked On. It has become a mantra for me and can't be shared enough. 15. "An acre of performance is worth a whole world of promise." -Red Auerbach 14. "You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them." -Michael Jordan 13. "The principle is competing against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before." -Steve Young Jordan: Not only a great thought to consider, but also gives me an opportunity to mention that I'm a lifelong 49ers fan. 12. "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." -Plato Jordan: If you didn't know before, I was a philosophy major. This probably makes a lot of sense now. 11. "Make the present good and the past will take care of itself." -Knute Rockne 10. “In basketball—as in life—true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment.” -Phil Jackson 9. “Your opponent, in the end, is never really the player on the other side of the net, or the swimmer in the next lane, or the team on the other side of the field, or even the bar you must high-jump. Your opponent is yourself, your negative internal voices, and your level of determination.” -Grace Lichtenstein 8. “Your goal should be out of reach but not out of sight.” -Anita DeFrantz 7. “Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round— remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped.” -James Corbett (Gentleman Jim) 6. “Nothing is impossible. With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination.” –Michael Phelps 5. “You’ve got to look for tough competition. You’ve got to want to beat the best.” –Grete Waitz 4. “Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life.” –Kristi Yamaguchi, 3. "It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential." -Bruce Lee 2. “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” -Anatole France 1. "I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was." -Muhammad Ali
Well I hope that helped light a fire in you like it regularly does for me! As I said, when great people share their wisdom it really motivates me to do the best I can. If you enjoyed this post or the Scrap Blog in general, I encourage you to check out my recently released ebook Locked On. There's information about it on the link and you can download the first chapter for free to see if it's something you might like. The feedback I have been getting has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm very excited to have affected so many people already! On a personal note, I would also like to thank all students who train with me and everyone who reads the blog, watches the videos and visits the site. Because of all the support I've been receiving I get to be one of the fortunate people who get to do what they love for a living and it wouldn't be possible without everyone reading this. For that, I would like to say thank you. I will keep trying to up my game and put out the best work possible. Jordan Bill Fight or Die www.ScrapyardFighting.com
