by Alan Stein 11-25-2009 01:02 AM
I have been a self-diagnosed “quote nerd” for as long as I can remember. Back in high school in the early 90’s, I started with a spiral notebook and a pen and wrote down every quote that I found inspiring. Quotes from movies, coaches, books, signs… you name it… if I saw it or heard it, I wrote it down. Years later, I converted the growing collection into a computer database and added to it as often as I could.
As a professional basketball strength & conditioning coach, a big part of my job is to motivate my players to work hard consistently; to get them to do the things they don’t want to do because I know it will help them get to where they want to go. So there have been countless occasions where the inspiration from a specific quote has come in handy. I use quotes as tools to motivate my players, as well as to motivate myself. While I am a strength & conditioning coach by trade, my overall goal in life is simple—to inspire, to motivate, to influence and to help anyone who is passionate about basketball and training. I have found that quotes are a valuable tool in doing just that. I am extremely thankful to have platforms like Twitter, Facebook and my blog to impact players and coaches of all ages and levels… all over the world!
If you have followed me on any of those social media platforms, you know I have been posting 5-6 quotes a day for the past year. I have received a ton of positive feedback in response to the quotes I have shared and have had dozens of folks ask me to compile them in a book. So that’s what I’ve done! I just recently compiled my favorite inspirational quotes in a new e-book:
534 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Success On and Off the Court
It is important to understand this e-book is merely a collection of my favorite quotes. I am not the original author of any of the quotes. I intentionally chose not to list the original author for any of the quotes for the simple fact that I only know around 20% of them (and didn’t want to put “unknown” or “anonymous” for the remaining 80%)!
I am sure you have heard (or read) many of quotes I compiled, but I am confident there are several that you haven’t. I tried to pick quotes that transcend sports and are applicable to life as well. After all, life is the game we are all playing.
You can purchase a downloadable copy of 534 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Success On and Off the Court at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com. In addition to the 534 motivational quotes, I added a bonus section: 27 Books Every Coach and Player Should Read. This e-book is an invaluable resource for coaches and players at every level.
Here are 5 of my favorite quotes from the e-book that are too long to post on Twitter:
1. Persistence and patience is exemplified by the stonecutter who hammers away at a piece of rock. He may hit the rock 100 times without so much as a crack showing. Then, on the 101st hit, the rock will split in two. It was not that hit that did it, but an accumulation of all that came before it.
2. Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Moral? It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up, you better start running!
3. If you can’t risk, you can’t grow. If you can’t grow, you can’t become your best. If you can’t become your best, you can’t be happy. If you can’t be happy, what else matters?
4. Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
5. Champions do not become champions on the court. They become recognized on the court. They become champions because of their daily routine and commitment to excellence. Players do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future!
I hope you enjoy these quotes as much as I do and use them to motivate yourself and those around you. I wish each of you the absolute best this season. Please keep me posted to how you are doing and drop me an email if I can be of service in any way (Alan@StrongerTeam.com).
Play hard. Have fun.
Alan Stein
Published 11-24-2009 © 2026 Access Athletes, LLC
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