When you're 0-2 in the Super Bowl, they say unkind things about you. They say, 'He can't win the big one.' And that's the worst thing that can be said about you.
Don ShulaRead
You set a goal to be the best and then you work hard every hour of every day, striving to reach that goal. If you allow yourself to settle for anything less than number one, you are cheating yourself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Pursuing excellence and setting high standards for oneself leads to personal fulfillment.
The quote emphasizes the importance of setting high goals and dedicating oneself to continuous effort in order to achieve greatness. It suggests that striving for the best and avoiding mediocrity is essential for true self-fulfillment, as settling for less can be seen as a form of self-deception and failure to realize one's potential.
Themes
GoalSuccessHard WorkExcellenceStriving
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could inspire a team to push for their best performance during a project presentation.
More from Don Shula
All quotes →The one thing that I know is that you win with good people.
Don ShulaRead
Strive for perfection, but settle for excellence.
Don ShulaRead
The problem with most leaders today is they don't stand for anything. Leadership implies movement toward something, and convictions provide that direction. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything
Don ShulaRead
Failure isn't fatal, and success isn't final.
Don ShulaRead
The thing we found out was, when you get to a Super Bowl, both teams are treated the same, talked about in glowing terms. But when the game is over, only the team that won matters.
Don ShulaRead
Similar quotes
I have found that great people do have in common. . .an immense belief in themselves and in their mission. They also have gerat determination as well as an ability to work hard. At the crucial moment of decision, they draw on their accumulated wisdom. Above all, they have integrity.
Yousuf KarshRead
A relentless focus on the outward markers of success can lead to complacency. It can make you lazy.
Barack ObamaRead
Look for companies with high profit margins.
Warren BuffettRead
When I was 20, the idea of having a play on anywhere was just beyond my dreams.
Tom StoppardRead
Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires.
D. Todd ChristoffersonRead
If you don't lose, you cannot enjoy the victories. So I have to accept both things.
Rafael NadalRead