Phil Jackson Quotes

A big part of my decision is not made about whether I'm able to coach in the NHL or if I'm ready to step up and take that challenge. Basically, it's about my family, it's about my children, and this is where my decision is going to have to be made.

When I retired, I really wanted to spend time with my family and kids. Coaching would have prevented that due to the commitment of the job and travel that goes with it, too.

I don't see myself racing at 50 years old. I enjoy racing, and that has been my whole life. But one day I will take time to look at other things. I know that everything has an end date, even life, and I also have a family and there are other things to enjoy than trying to be first into the corner and fastest out.

The further I get away from coaching, the more I know I made the right decision. You almost forget how wonderful family life is.

After retiring from competition in 1981, I did exhibitions and coached.

I am finding I have to watch what I am doing otherwise I may as well be in full-time football again and, while I'm available if something interesting comes up to take me to the end of the season, I don't want a long-term commitment at this stage in my life.

I try not to think about my public life. I focus on my private life, and that's just the best way to live.

I think it's selfish to go out partying all the time, especially if you have little ones in your family.

I think your significant other should be way more important than your work. Personally, I love working. I don't know that I'd say I'm a workaholic because I also love maxing and relaxing.

I know that I won't succeed at everything, every day. Some days have to be solely about my daughter. Some days I really try to be a good wife. Other days, I can take a few hours for myself and just do nothing but really focus on work.

I just want to live my life the best way I can and enjoy the moment that I have off the court because you need to find a good balance. I think this is very important.

I look at my kids and I feel I'm at the precipice of this job, like just kind of tipping over the other side. I'm very conscious of time I guess is what I want to say, and I want to be there as long as I can with my kids, and I also want to make sure I do all the things that are important to me.

I don't live my life on the road. I'm getting on a bit and there's a lot of other things in my life. Our lovely children and their lives. It's more of a part-time business these days.

Having personal things in balance is more important than the other.

I've never really been a workaholic. I work very hard, but I also enjoy playing. I think it's important to have a balanced and well-rounded life.

I'm not a career kind of person. When I saw new music, new trends coming in, I didn't see any place for me. And I didn't think about it as a career loss, because I was married - I have a great- grandchild now. The low points were when I lost people that I really cared about.

There's no such thing as mental illness. We're all mentally ill and we're all haunted by something, and some people manage to find a way to ride it out so that they don't wind up needing extra help. So I think that "mental illness," as a term, is garbage. Everybody is in various states of needing to transcend something.

My public life was so demanding that I wasn't doing the things that I deemed the most important.

You've got to remember, the older you get the slower you get. I've seen a lot of players get old ... if I can have a good season in 1972 and come back with another good one, well, that's different. I might not quit. But two bad ones back to back and staying home would be written on the wall.

The balance in your life is more important than the balance in your checking account.

I have played a lot games, worked with a lot of these players and learnt an awful lot. I've got the knowledge and leadership qualities. So, its normal that under these circumstances that I got into coaching. I'm learning an awful lot.

I finally discovered that my life is more important than show business.

I'm learning that you have to make time for what's important. You have to fight to carve little pieces of happiness out of your life, or the everyday emergencies will eat up everything.

I think I'll be working a lot less as I get older

I think it's really important to have a life and have interests outside of this [movie] business, and not rely on this business to validate you as a human being. If you do that, you're really in a dangerous spot.