Jimmy Johnson quotes: the pigskin pro on success, being in control, maxin’ and relaxin’ and more.
“When you have success, there is glory for all. With success and glory come great feelings for one another and recognition of one another’s contributions.”
“Do you want to be safe and good, or do you want to take a chance and be great?”
“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”
“The number one motivator is fear. Fear of maybe letting down your teammates or being chastised or fear of losing your job.”
“Positive attitude plus effort equals performance. Everyone has gifts and talents born into them. We have no control of that. What we control is our attitude and our effort. What I know is that if your attitude remains positive and your effort remains strong, your performance will improve. Every time.”
“It’s a good gut check. If your attitude is slipping, you know it. You know if you’re slipping into negativity. You know it if you feel lethargic. You can shift it by considering your circumstances. You can remember your blessings. You can express gratitude. You can get your mind right. That doesn’t happen from the outside. It’s an inside job.”
“Your effort is also under your control. You can give just enough to get by. You can fool colleagues and bosses. You can take a day off. Most of the time, when your effort lacks, you’re the only one who knows it.”
“The difference between stumbling blocks and stepping stones is how you use them.”
“Screwing up twice doesn’t make it right.”
“Like I always say, it’s not how many great plays you make; it’s how few bad ones you make.”
“You can only win if you are in great shape, and if you’re not sucking for wind at end of the game. And when you look across the way and that guy is hanging down, he is a coward.”
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all. Don’t be tired.”
“We were very successful in high school. In college we were undefeated national champions, so I was around success all the time, and the more you’re around it and you see all the good things that happen, you want more of it. I think the more success you have, the more competitive you get. It’s almost like a drug. I was driven to win it all because that’s what I was accustomed to.”
“You’ll find out, life’s a game of inches – so is football. Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step too late or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One half-step too slow or too fast, and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break in the game, every minute, every second.”
“If I get a 2×4 and put it right up here on this stage and I said, ‘I want you to walk across this 2×4,’ – the thought in your mind is you’re going to walk from one end to the other. No big deal. If I take that 2×4 and put it up 10 feet and say, ‘Walk one end to the other,’ what are you going to do? You’re going to tell yourself, ‘Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall.’ If you had the thought in your mind that you’re going to fall, you’re going to fall! That’s how you’re going to win that game – walk that 2×4. It’s on the ground; it’s not 10 feet up.”
“An objective truth and individual reason are feared above all.”
“Give people enough guidance to make the decisions you want them to make. Don’t tell them what to do, but encourage them to do what is best.”
“Treat a person as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat him as he could be, and he will become what he should be.”
“The only thing worse than a coach or CEO who doesn’t care about his people is one who pretends to care. People can spot a phony every time.”
“Give your people the feeling that if they don’t do the job, it won’t get done. Also let them know that when they accomplish something, they will share in the accolades.”
“Rather than pouring over Xs and Os, the head coach’s time should be spent ensuring every single person in the organization – from the starting quarterback to the water boy – is motivated to do their very best, and that such motivation is achieved by the coach personally and continually acknowledging every individual for their contribution to the overall cause. Only if each person in the organization is functioning at maximum capacity can success be achieved.”
“I think it comes down to responsibility. I was responsible for the success of our football team, and in some ways I was responsible to millions of people who were watching us. That’s why I was so demanding.”
“You’ve got to be the hammer when you’ve had success.”
“Military leaders aren’t made. They are born. To be a good leader, you have to have something in your character to cause people to follow you.”
“But I was always a bit of a gypsy, anyway. I spent five years at Oklahoma State, five years at Miami and moved on after winning the national championship, and five years with the Cowboys. So, I was ready to move on. We won back-to-back Super Bowls, and I felt that I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish.”
“[On his home being the Florida Keys] The biggest thing is I wouldn’t move away from here. I had my run. I had my day in the sunshine. I enjoyed it. I’m proud of what I was able to do every place I ever coached. I travel so much with Fox NFL Sunday that I’m happiest at home. It’s the lifestyle. There’s no stress. Jimmy Buffett sang about it: Margaritaville. The good life, with no stress. It’s where I’ll die.”
“I didn’t retire too early. I was ready to leave. The Keys had a lot to do with my leaving football because this is where I wanted to be.”
“I like to be out there relaxin’, get about five or six lines out, open up a Heineken Light and just relax. That’s my priority.”
“Most people think they know me. I like it to be that way. Let them think. But I can’t let people really know me. I don’t want people to ever know me well enough to predict what I will do. That way, I always remain in control.”
“Just understand one thing. The only way I could have gotten to this point in my life is to have lived it the way I did. And that, like everything, comes with a price.”
“I can’t confirm any rumors. I’m happy doing what I’m doing.”
