Quotes from Michael Jordan

Failure I can accept, what I can not accept is not trying

I can accept failure but cannot accept trying

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.

Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, others make it happen.

Some people want it to happen. Some wish it would happen. Others make it happen!

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

I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

Winning has a price. And leadership has a price. So I pulled people along when they didn't want to be pulled. I challenged people when they didn't want to be challenged. And I earned that right because [other] teammates came after me. They didn't endure all the things that I endured.

Why would I think about missing a shot I haven't taken yet?

But how many people lighted the path for me? That's the evolution of basketball. There's no way I could have played the way I played if I didn't watch David Thompson and guys prior to me. There's no way Kobe could have played the way he's played without watching me play. So, you know, that's the evolution of basketball. You cannot change that.

I'm a firm believer in goal setting. Step by step. I can't think of any other way of accomplishing anything.

Whenever they speak Michael Jordan, they should speak Scottie Pippen.

Whoever is the team leader of the team, I'm going to be going after him. And I'm not going to do it with my voice.' Because I had no voice. I had no status. I had to do it with the way that I played.

I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.

Once you join the team, you live at a certain standard that I play the game and I wasn't going to take anything less. When people see this, they gonna say, He wasn't really a nice guy. He may have been a tyrant. Well, that's you, because you never won anything. I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win and be a part of it as well.

My mentality was to go out and win, at any cost. If you don't want to live that regimented mentality, then you don't need to be alongside of me. Coz I'm gonna ridicule you until you get on the same level with me, and if you don't get on the same level, then it's gonna be hell for you.

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.

When I was young, I had to learn the fundamentals of basketball. You can have all the physical ability in the world, but you still have to know the fundamentals.

In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

Authenticity is about being true to who you are, even when everyone around you wants you to be someone else

My challenge when I came back was to face the young talent, dissect their games, and show them maybe that they needed to learn more about the game than just the money aspect.

It's hard to say if the NBA is hurt by the influx of younger players, but it's definitely impacted the league.

The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.