I never took a position we were going to be a good ball club. I took the position we were going to be a winning ball club.
Interpretation
The focus should be on achieving victories rather than merely having potential.
Red Auerbach's quote emphasizes the importance of a winning mindset. Simply being classified as a good team is not enough; true success lies in the ability to achieve victories on the field, which requires dedication, strategy, and a commitment to excellence.
In practice
Use this quote in a motivational speech for a sports team to encourage them to focus on winning.
To be a successful coach you should be and look prepared. You must be a man of integrity. Never break your word. Don't have two sets of standards. Remember you don't handle players-you handle pets. You deal with players. Stand up for your players. Show them you care-on and off the court. Very important-it's not 'how' or 'what' you say but what they absorb.
If you want to be a Champion, you've got to feel like one, you've got to act like one, you've got to look like one.
I don't believe in statistics. There are too many factors that can't be measured. You can't measure a ballplayer's heart.
They said you have to use your five best players but I found you win with the five who fit together the best.
It's not what you tell your players that counts. It's what they hear.
To a father, when a child dies, the future dies; to a child when a parent dies, the past dies.
A big market is something that doesn't really concern me too much. It's cool to think about, it's good for off-the-court deals. But I'm more of a basketball player. That's what I want to be known as. And this is the best place for me to play basketball. I'm glad I'm here.
Successful people ask for the criticism of others and consider its merit.
When I first discovered in the early 1980s the Italian espresso bars in my trip to Italy, the vision was to re-create that for America - a third place that had not existed before. Starbucks re-created that in America in our own image; a place to go other than home or work. We also created an industry that did not exist: specialty coffee.
I'm just a skinny kid from Glennville, Georgia. I'm going to the Hall of Fame. Not to the Hall of Very Good. The Hall of Fame.
It's only lonely at the top if you forget all the people you met along the way and fail to acknowledge their contributions to your success.
I'd rather invest in an entrepreneur who has failed before than one who assumes success from day one.
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