John Wall Quotes

People retire to do what I do every day.

Retiring was hard. I'd spent 15 years doing something I loved, but when you get older everything seems to go. When I started spending too long with the physio and the doctor, I knew it was time to call it a day. But I had no preparation for being retired and I didn't know what to do.

I read Leisel Jones' book. She said she retired at 27 and said, 'Now what?' because swimming was the biggest part of her life. So for me, that's why I'm keeping up my studies on the side even if it's going to take a bit longer than normal, but at least I'll have it.

He died right after he retired, and seeing that made me feel more conscious of a man needing a motive to live. If I ever got out of coaching, I would have to get a job somewhere, or I'm afraid I'd wilt on the vine, too.

I probably would have retired years ago if I hadn't found interesting things to do.

People think retiring is fun. Well, maybe, but if you have a certain kind of fire inside, there is no end in sight.

I love track and field, but I also know the day will come when I will have to do something else.

Retiring is one thing. Being retired is something else altogether.

I have interests outside of rugby and have been cultivating them for when I do decide to hang up the boots.

I never felt I would get to the stage where I would to have to actively think about retiring from international football as I always thought it would pass me by.

I've accomplished everything a person can accomplish on a basketball court, but I never thought about the future when I was younger. I never made plans for the next stage in my life.

I don't know how long my body will allow me to compete, but I can't imagine doing anything else. That day will come, and I just hope there'll be a light shining down a path telling me where to go.

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

A lot of guys I've seen in my career that played at a high level and were done, they moved on, never thought another day about it.

I think it's very important that you don't start thinking about your life after football when you are 33 or 34. There are many more amazing things in this world, and it's important to think about these things before you retire.

As a sports person, you are always aware that at some point your career is coming to an end and you have to do something else. I always knew it had to end one day, and I was very determined to make sure I wasn't going to be known as an ex-racing driver.

Life is so very short. Do now what you yearn to do in your life. You do not have to 'quit your day job' in order to do this. You may do so if you choose to, but you do not have to. Many people advance a vocation while holding down their 'regular job.' You can, too. Then ease into your vocation and turn it into your 'regular job.' But you must give energy to your vocation starting today. I mean, today.

A lot of people when they retire, they just expire. It happens to men more than women. Women usually have great interest in the family, because the family's always growing and they're always coming to the rescue.

When I announced my retirement, that was actually when I was trying to come back and I realized, it just wasn't viable. It passed me by. My shoulder is done. I brush my teeth with my left hand now. That's just the way it goes. I can't shoot a basketball, I can't throw any kind of ball. I was right handed.

I learned early in my career that I had to be prepared for life after football because you never knew when it would end.

I have met a lot of athletes who were on the top of their sport, and then sat around and did nothing. They just didn't know what to do.

I retired when I was 40. I started when I was 19. I never wanted to be a guy who was a shell of his former self and have people say, 'He's not as good as he used to be.'

When I'm retired someday, when I'm done playing football, that's when I'll be relaxing and look back at some things.

I am a very positive person, but you don't get taught how to deal with the end of your career. Never.

Towards the end of my career, I was thinking about going into the media world. It's crucial: with three to four years left in the game, you begin to plan for the end.