Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.

Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.

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.

One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.

You can’t put a limit anything.

If at first you don’t succeed, you’re obviously not me.

The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.

Age is no barrier. It’s a limitation you put on your mind.

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.

How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser.

You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.

It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.

The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.

Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.

The hardest skill to acquire in this sport is the one where you compete all out, give it all you have, and you are still getting beat no matter what you do. When you have the killer instinct to fight through that, it is very special.

If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.

You’re never a loser until you quit trying.

Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.

You can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.

During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at-bats a season. That means I played 7 years without ever hitting the ball.

There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do – and I believe that.

The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.

Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.

To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when no one else will.

What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle, and giving 110 percent all the time.

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’

Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.

A trophy carries dust. Memories last forever.

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 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.

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

I stare out the window and wait for spring.

I found out that if you are going to win games, you had better be ready to adapt.

Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do…but I think you have to.

You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation.

You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.

If you aren’t going all the way, why go at all?

You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.

If you train hard, you’ll not only be hard, you’ll be hard to beat.

The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.

Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back… play for her.

Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.

If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man’s determination.

You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.

I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.

It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won‘t be worth a dime.

Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success.

Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.

Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.

Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it.

Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your two ears.

What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.

Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.

Champions keep playing until they get it right.

Most people give up just when they’re about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown.

One man cannot make a team.

Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.