You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you'll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.
Larry BirdRead
Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you're ready to play as tough as you're able to, you'd better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you're not giving it all you've got.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True leadership involves earning trust through action and commitment.
In this quote, Larry Bird emphasizes that effective leadership in sports, and perhaps in any field, hinges on the ability to inspire trust and confidence among teammates. He stresses that stating one's readiness to perform must be backed by genuine effort, as players are perceptive and can discern authenticity from insincerity. This reinforces the idea that actions speak louder than words in building a leader's credibility.
Themes
LeadershipAuthenticityTrustTeamworkMotivation
In practice
Example use cases
During a team meeting to inspire confidence before a game.
More from Larry Bird
All quotes →When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.
Larry BirdRead
You can make all the excuses you want, but if you're not mentally tough and you're not prepared to play every night, you're not going to win.
Larry BirdRead
Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn't play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You've got to have them down before you can even think about playing.
Larry BirdRead
It's been a journey, the NBA. It's taken me a lot farther than I ever expected.
Larry BirdRead
Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It's being able to take it as well as dish it out. That's the only way you're going to get respect from the players.
Larry BirdRead
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