Jack Nicklaus Quotes

To be a champion, I think you have to see the big picture. It's not about winning and losing; it's about every day hard work and about thriving on a challenge. It's about embracing the pain that you'll experience at the end of a race and not being afraid. I think people think too hard and get afraid of a certain challenge.

Win or lose you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition.

The important thing in life is not to triumph but to compete.

We worked so hard, spent so much time in weight room and in camps to be where we are today. We wanted to come out and be as good as any team in the state, to prove we could hang with any team at any time.

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

When you lose a couple of times, it makes you realize how difficult it is to win.

Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.

Champions are not the ones who always win races - champions are the ones who get out there and try. And try harder the next time. And even harder the next time. 'Champion' is a state of mind. They are devoted. They compete to best themselves as much if not more than they compete to best others. Champions are not just athletes.

The truth is that throughout my careers in both chess and the martial arts, I often knew that my rivals were more naturally gifted than me - either with their mental machines or their bodies. But I have believed in my training, my approach to learning, and my ability to rise to the challenge under pressure.

I know that I'm going to have to work hard, keep working hard, and not because of this victory think, 'I'm back.' I don't think like that. I'll definitely work hard. Things are not going to be easy. I might lose first round next week. You never know.

When people tell me I can't do something, that's what excites me. It makes me perform better.

Mental toughness is a lifestyle. It's something that you live every single day of your life. When I was growing up, I was a lazy kid. I was a lazy kid, and everybody goes, 'How did you get to where you're at today? How did you get to where you're running 200 miles at one time in 39 hours? Being so disciplined?'

I've carried my chip with me my entire career. I've had to fight and claw for every position I've had. I sat on the bench as a junior in high school, I had to compete my senior year in high school to get the job. I competed again at Vanderbilt before having success.

I feel like what's made me the player I am is always being willing to take the challenge.

The beauty of football is you have to perform through ups and downs in a public form with a team and the discipline and the pushing through it and the preparation that it takes to be great - all of those things have served me well.

You go into each game looking to win. We're not looking at wins or losses because it proves something as a team. We go into every game trying to get better. As long as you compete, we're gonna play our hearts out; we're improving every day.

I've dominated past competitions, but I've sweated blood and tears for every medal. I take nothing for granted, and I'm fully focused on doing my best.

It's funny that I love golf so much because I'm not usually drawn to things I'm not so good at. It's all about practice and working and not getting discouraged.

I wouldn't be the same Pia if I won Miss Philippines on my first try.

I think when I came into the league, I had to find something that would keep me around. I knew I wasn't going to get the ball a lot, being the younger guy on my team. I knew I wasn't going to play a lot unless I made some sort of impact on the floor. I wasn't the best shot blocker, so I said, 'Let's be the best rebounder the league has ever seen.'

I just want to keep working hard. I just want to keep improving myself. And I just want to prove people that I can play in the real game.

The longer I'm in this sport, the more I realize that it's not about the wins and losses that makes you a good fighter. It's about putting the time in and fighting the best guys possible and going after them. The outcome will take care of itself.

Nothing comes easy. I'm OK with that. If I think I'm the best guy, I should be able to beat anybody.

I believe ability can get you to the top,” says coach John Wooden, “but it takes character to keep you there.… It’s so easy to … begin thinking you can just ‘turn it on’ automatically, without proper preparation. It takes real character to keep working as hard or even harder once you’re there. When you read about an athlete or team that wins over and over and over, remind yourself, ‘More than ability, they have character.'

The pain of preparation is nothing like the pain of losing.