Michael Jordan isn't just a well-known basketball player. He's also a respected figure for motivational speaking, which might make sense when you remember that a large portion of sports is focused on providing motivation and amping up your teammates. Some great quotes about motivation and perseverance are attributed primarily to Jordan, making him a popular figure for young men and women to look up to alike. Here are some of the most poignant quotes from Michael Jordan that can help you with your Monday Motivation.
To populate this list, we looked up quotes that are attributed to Michael Jordan. Then, we researched each quote individually to ensure that the attribution was correct and that the words were, in fact, Jordan's and not a quote from someone else that Jordan was quoting or paraphrasing. Many of the quotes famously attributed to Jordan are merely conventional wisdom that has been reworded into Jordan's own words. So, you may see some quotes that don't have a strong attribution to any singular source but, have been repeated by famous motivational speakers and thinkers throughout the years.
"Heart is what separates the good from the great."
"If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I won't look back and say I was afraid to try."
"Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate."
"You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them."
"Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation."
"I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win."
"The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort."
"I'm not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat."
"Even when I'm old and gray, I won't be able to play it, but I'll still love the game."
"Live the moment for the moment."
"To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish."
"There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player and I don't believe there is only one greatest player either."
"Every time I feel tired while I am exercising and training, I close my eyes to see that picture, to see that list with my name. This usually motivates me to work again."
"My father used to say that it's never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said you never know what you can accomplish until you try."
"I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else's talent."
"I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life."
"The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace."
"I want to be the bridge to the next generation."
"Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work."
"If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you've lost your focus."
"Learning's a gift, even when pain is your teacher."
"Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That's truly about the game, and in some ways that's about life too."
"If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life."
"In reality, I never want to grow up."
"To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail."
"Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you're in a fight."
"If you quit once, it becomes a habit. Never quit!"
"My heroes are and were my parents. I can't see having anyone else as my heroes."
"Winning isn't always championships."
"When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it's time for me to move away from the game."
"If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome."
"Relax and never think about what's at stake. Just think about the basketball game."
"Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen."
"Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life."
"You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that."
"Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night."
"I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder the next time."
"I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot … When you think about the consequences you will always think of the negative result."
"It's heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can. People may not agree with that. I can't live with what everyone's impression of what I should or what I shouldn't do."
"I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it."
"I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era."
"The minute you get away from fundamentals—whether it's proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation—the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you're doing."
"Once you leave the ground, you fly. Some people fly longer than others."
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships."
"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six 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."
"I've never lost a game, I just ran out of time."
"If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it."
"My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength."
"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
"One day, you might look up and see me playing the game at 50. Don't laugh. Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion."
"I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come."
"If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome."
"To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don't isolate."
"You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that."
"It's a heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can and provide entertainment for everyone who wanted to watch basketball. Obviously, people may not agree with that; again, I can't live with what everyone's impression of what I should or what I shouldn't do."
"The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort."
"I hope the millions of people I've touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude."
