meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Quote of the Day Show | Daily Motivational Talks

John Wooden: “Never Cease Trying to Be the Best You Could Be.”

The Quote of the Day Show | Daily Motivational Talks

Sean Croxton

Entrepreneurship, Mental Health, Self-improvement, Business, Health & Fitness, Education

4.83.2K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 9 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Legendary coach John Wooden shares his timeless definition of success — one that has nothing to do with winning trophies or titles. Instead, success is rooted in effort, character, and becoming the best version of yourself. In this thoughtful message, Wooden explains how focusing on what you can control leads to peace of mind and a truly meaningful life.


Want Ad-Free Episodes? Join QOD Club and hear zero ads inside our Circle community. Plus, book clubs, mentorship calls, weekly business trainings, and new likeminded friends. Get started for only $9.


Source: The difference between winning and succeeding | John Wooden | TED

Hosted by Sean Croxton

Follow me on Instagram

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify

0:05.0

is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes

0:10.8

that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping

0:15.5

solutions that actually save you time, from startups to scaleups, in-person, and on the go. Shopify is made for

0:22.8

entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.

0:30.0

No written word, no spoken plea can teach our youth what they should be, nor all the books

0:36.1

on all the shelves is what the teachers are

0:39.0

themselves. Welcome back to the quote of the day show.

0:56.8

I am your host Sean Croxton, as Sean Croxton.com.

1:00.4

We got John Wooden, one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time on the show today.

1:05.1

Today he's going to reveal his own personal definition of success, which I think is one of the best definitions I've ever heard before.

1:13.6

He's also going to share three rules that he learned from his father, that he stuck by for his whole entire life,

1:19.4

and he encourages you two as well.

1:22.2

John Woodens coming up.

1:26.3

I coined my own definition of success in 1934 when I was teaching at a high school in South Bend,

1:33.3

Indiana, being a little bit disappointed and delusioned perhaps by the way parents of the youngsters

1:41.3

in my English classes expected their youngsters to get an A or B.

1:46.8

They thought a C was alright for the neighbor's children because the neighbor's children are all average.

1:51.5

But they weren't satisfied with their own and would make the teacher feel that they had failed or the youngster had failed.

1:58.0

And that's not right.

1:59.0

The good Lord is infant wisdom didn't create us all equal as far as intelligence concern,

2:03.0

any more than we equal for size, appearance.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Sean Croxton, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Sean Croxton and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.