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50+ Life-Changing Quotes By Michael Jordan

2022 NBA All-Star Game

50+ Life-Changing Quotes By Michael Jordan

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 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.

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”

Mike Powell / Getty Images

“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.”

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

“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.”

lev radin/Shutterstock

“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.”

Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

“I’m not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.”

Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

“Even when I’m old and gray, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.”

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

“Live the moment for the moment.”

Michael Jordan in Space Jam
Courtesy of Warner Bros.

“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.”

Jordan and Sosa
Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either.”

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

“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.”

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

“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.”

Jordan Hornets
Streeter Lecka / Getty Images

“I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else’s talent.”

Michael Jordan
Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500
2024 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.”

NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400
2024 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“I want to be the bridge to the next generation.”

NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500
2024 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.”

F1 Grand Prix of Miami
2022 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus.”

2022 NBA All-Star Game
2022 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Learning’s a gift, even when pain is your teacher.”

2022 NBA All-Star Game
2022 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

2022 NBA All-Star Game
2022 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.”

New York Knicks v Charlotte Hornets
2021 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“In reality, I never want to grow up.”

2021 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony
2021 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.”

2021 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony
2021 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you’re in a fight.”

2019 NBA All-Star Game
2019 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“If you quit once, it becomes a habit. Never quit!”

Celebrities Attend The 68th NBA All-Star Game - Inside
2019 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“My heroes are and were my parents. I can’t see having anyone else as my heroes.”

Utah Jazz v Charlotte Hornets
2018 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Winning isn’t always championships.”

NBA All-Star Game 2018
2018 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Dallas Mavericks v Charlotte Hornets
2017 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”

Hawaii v Michigan
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game.”

Miami Heat v Charlotte Hornets - Game Three
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

NBA All-Star Game 2016
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life.”

NBA All-Star Game 2016
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Detroit Pistons v Charlotte Hornets
2015 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.”

Los Angeles Clippers v Charlotte Hornets
2015 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Michael Jordan #23
1990 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

BASKETBALL: NBA 97/98 CHICAGO BULLS, 07.11.97
Bongarts / Bongarts via Getty Images

“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.”

Michael Jordan #23
1990 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500
2024 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era.”

2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony
2024 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

2022 NBA All-Star Game
2022 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Once you leave the ground, you fly. Some people fly longer than others.”

2022 NBA All-Star Game
2022 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“Heart is what separates the good from the great.”

The Celebration of Life for Kobe & Gianna Bryant
2020 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Obama Honors 21 Americans With Presidential Medal Of Freedom
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

2016 Ryder Cup - Afternoon Fourball Matches
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Miami Heat v Charlotte Hornets - Game Four
2016 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“I’ve never lost a game, I just ran out of time.”

Chicago Bulls v Charlotte Hornets
2015 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Atlanta Hawks v Charlotte Hornets
2015 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

Charlotte Hornets v Los Angeles Clippers
2015 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

Milwaukee Bucks v Charlotte Hornets
2014 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

”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.

Utah Jazz v Chicago Bulls
2011 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

”I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.”

Michael Jordan #23
1990 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

”If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”

ARIA Resort & Casino's 13th Annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational At Shadow Creek - Day 2
2014 Getty Images / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

”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.”

Michael Jordan #23
1990 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

”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.”

Miami Heat v Charlotte Bobcats - Game Four
2014 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

”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.”

Michael Jordan #23
1990 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

“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.”

13th Annual Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational Gala At ARIA Resort & Casino
2014 Getty Images / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

“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.”

Michael Jordan #23
1990 Getty Images / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
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