Does anyone believe for one moment that the progress we have made would have been possible under bureaucratic control of any government. This country was founded upon the principle of the regulation of private effort, of making rules for the game, and under that system alone can we look for the same success in the future which has been ours in the past. Our position today is the direct result of the free play among our people of private competitive effort.
—Roger Babson (1875–1967) American Economist
Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one.
—Bob Knight (b.1940) American Basketball Coach
In this game, by trying to win; you automatically lose.
—Ruth Ross
So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on; and if that system is to last for ever, then art is doomed, and will surely die; that is to say, civilization will die.
—William Morris (1834–96) British Designer, Craftsman, Poet, Writer
Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place.
—Vince Lombardi, Jr. (1913–70) American Football Player, Coach
Our business in life is not to get ahead of others but to get ahead of ourselves – to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterdays by our today, to do our work with more force than ever before.
—Stewart B. Johnson
My hat’s in the ring. The fight is on and I’m stripped to the buff.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
Every man in the world is better than someone else and not as good someone else.
—William Saroyan (1908–81) American Playwright, Novelist
Man is a gaming animal. He must always be trying to get the better in something or other.
—Charles Lamb (1775–1834) British Essayist, Poet
After the game the King and pawn go into the same box.
—Italian Proverb
You must play boldly to win.
—Arnold Palmer (b.1929) American Sportsperson
One cannot play chess if one becomes aware of the pieces as living souls and of the fact that the Whites and the Blacks have more in common with each other than with the players. Suddenly one loses all interest in who will be champion.
—Anatol Rapoport (1911–2007) Russian-born American Mathematical Psychologist
Most games are lost, not won.
—Casey Stengel (1890–1975) American Sportsperson
Win or lose, do it fairly.
—Knute Rockne (1888–1931) American College Football Coach
A horse never runs so fast as when he has other horses to catch up and outpace.
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso) (c.43 BCE–c.18 CE) Roman Poet
When you fear a foe, fear crushes your strength; and this weakness gives strength to your opponents.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
There is a tendency among some businesses to criticize and belittle their competitors. This is a bad procedure. Praise them. Learn from them. There are times when you can co-operate with them to their advantage and to yours! Speak well of them and they will speak well of you. You can’t destroy good ideas. Take advantage of them.
—George Matthew Adams (1878–1962) American Columnist, Journalist
The game isn’t over until it’s over.
—Yogi Berra (1925–2015) American Sportsperson
When you want to win a game, you have to teach. When you lose a game, you have to learn.
—Tom Landry (1924–2000) American Sportsperson
The weakness of an enemy forms part of our own strength.
—Common Proverb
Surely the best way to meet the enemy is head on in the field and not wait till they plunder our very homes.
—Oliver Goldsmith (1730–74) Irish Novelist, Playwright, Poet
When you step onto that field, you cannot concede a thing.
—Gale Sayers (1943–2020) American Football Player
No wise combatant underestimates their antagonist.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
So you wish to conquer in the Olympic Games, my friend? And I, too… But first mark the conditions and the consequences. You will have to put yourself under discipline; to eat by rule, to avoid cakes and sweetmeats; to take exercise at the appointed hour whether you like it or not, in cold and heat; to abstain from cold drinks and wine at your will. Then, in the conflict itself you are likely enough to dislocate your wrist or twist your ankle, to swallow a great deal of dust, to be severely thrashed, and after all of these things, to be defeated.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Without the spur of competition we’d loaf out our life.
—Arnold Glasow (1905–98) American Businessman
We want to be first; not first if, not first but; but first!
—John F. Kennedy (1917–63) American Head of State, Journalist
Don’t look back. Something may be gaining on you.
—Satchel Paige (1906–82) American Baseball Player
You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.
—Arthur Ashe (1943–93) American Tennis Player
Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.
—Arthur Ashe (1943–93) American Tennis Player
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