John Wooden often quoted Abraham Lincoln when he spoke to groups and his ``Pyramid of Success'' were words that affected many non-basketball careers. Here are some of Wooden's most famous sayings, compiled by CoachWooden.com:
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``Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.''
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``You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.''
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``What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.''
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``If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.''
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``Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.''
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``It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.''
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``It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.''
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``Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.''
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``Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.''
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``Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts.''
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``Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.''
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``Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.''
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``A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.''
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``Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.''
