When I talk about a successful program, define that. It's not just winning the national championship every year because nobody can do that.
Interpretation
Success is not solely measured by winning, but by achieving set goals and values.
In this quote, Nick Saban emphasizes that success should not be simplistically defined as winning championships every year, as that is an unrealistic expectation. Instead, true success encompasses consistently working towards defined objectives, fostering growth, and measuring progress beyond just outcomes.
In practice
In a motivational speech for student-athletes discussing what it means to be successful beyond just winning.
I don't want people to think I'm not happy when we win - I am. But there's a difference between being happy for the feeling of accomplishing something and being overjoyed and feeling, 'This is it - we conquered the world.' We didn't. We just won a game.
I don't believe you name a starter until the starter wins the team.
People talk about you won four national championships. Well, I feel like we've had good enough teams to win eight. So I feel like we failed four times. I feel like I failed four times.
What happened yesterday is history. What happens tomorrow is a mystery. What we do today makes a difference - the precious present moment.
I think the worst thing a player can do is just not be yourself.
I think when you win the national championship, it works throughout your team. Where human nature is to say, I did well. I got my quota this month. Now do I get some time off? Do I get a bonus? Do I get to go on a cruise? But it's not to keep trying to be the best. That's not necessarily human nature.
The cherished dream of every chessplayer is to play a match with the World Champion. But here is the paradox: the closer you come to the realization of this goal, the less you think about it.
Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.
Having a great idea for a product is important, but having a great idea for product distribution is even more important.
When you make a lot of money, it just means you made a lot of money. It doesn't make you a better person.
There are no bad business and investment opportunities, but there are bad entrepreneurs and investors. To be a successful business owner and investor, you have to be emotionally neutral to winning and losing. Winning and losing are just part of the game. The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire, the size of your dream and how you handle disappointment along the way.
When I was 15, I left school to start a magazine, and it became a success because I wouldn't take no for an answer. I remember banging on James Baldwin's door to ask for an interview when he came to England. Then I got Jean-Paul Sartre's home phone number and asked him to contribute. If I'd been 30, he might have said no, but I was a 15-year-old with passion and he was charmed. Making money was always just a side product of having a good time and creating things nobody'd seen before.
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