If you’re a fan of American football or motivational speeches, chances are you’ve heard of Lou Holtz. He’s a famous coach and analyst known for inspiring wisdom in sportsmen and coaches. But did you know that Lou Holtz quotes can inspire everyone, regardless of their background or goals?
As someone who’s always looking for ways to stay motivated and focused on my goals, I’ve found Lou Holtz’s quotes to be incredibly inspiring. Whether you’re an athlete aiming for perfection or an ordinary person attempting to reach your goals, something in his quotes will resonate with you.
Read more: John Wooden Quotes on Success and Leadership
In this article, we’ll look at some of the most famous quotes by Lou Holtz and the lessons they carry for all of us. From the worth of self-discipline to the value of treating people well, these quotes demonstrate the impact of a positive mindset.
Who is Lou Holtz
Holtz was born on January 6, 1937, in Follansbee, West Virginia, and is a former American football player, coach, and analyst. He attended Kent State University as a linebacker and graduated in 1959 with a degree in history.
Here are a few interesting facts about Holtz:
- Holtz began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Iowa in 1960. He went on to coach at William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, and South Carolina, among others.
- Holtz is most recognized for his time at Notre Dame, where he guided the team to a national championship in 1988 and concluded with a 100-30-2 record.
- He is also well-known for his work as an analyst for ESPN, where he has been a regular pundit on college football since the late 1990s.
- During his career, Holtz has been noted for his motivational speeches and ability to encourage his players to achieve success on and off the field.
- Holtz is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and has received various honors, including the Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Holtz has written several books, including “Winning Every Day: The Game Plan for Success” and “A Teen’s Game Plan for Life.”
Best Lou Holtz Quotes (My Favorite)
1. Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
This quote from Lou Holtz highlights the importance of motivation and attitude when it comes to achieving success. He believes that ability alone is not enough and that your mindset and attitude play a crucial role in determining how well you perform.
2. Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.
Winners understand the importance of hard work and are willing to embrace it, even when it’s challenging. In contrast, losers view hard work as a punishment and may not be as committed to putting in the effort required to achieve their goals.
3. When all is said and done, more is said than done.
This quote from Lou Holtz highlights the importance of taking action and following through on your goals. He believes that it’s easy to talk about what you want to achieve, but the real test is whether or not you take action to make it happen.
4. Do what’s right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.
The importance of living with integrity and treating others with respect. He believes that doing what’s right, doing your best, and treating others well are essential principles to live by and can help you achieve success both on and off the field.
5. If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.
According to Lou Holtz, it’s important to keep pushing yourself to achieve more and not rest on your past successes. He believes that you should always be striving to improve and do better than you did the day before.
Inspirational Quotes by Lou Holtz
It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.
Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.
You aren’t going to find anybody that’s going to be successful without making a sacrifice and without perseverance.
Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
I can’t believe that God put us on this earth to be ordinary.
Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it.
Don’t tell your problems to people: eighty percent don’t care, and the other twenty percent are glad you have them.
Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period.
Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.
My philosophy in life is, to decide what you want to do. You have to have something to hope for.
When all is said and done, more is said than done.
You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.
It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.
If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.
Poise is just having confidence in yourself and what you’re doing.
I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.
Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.
Winners and losers aren’t born, they are the products of how they think.
If you’re bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things, you don’t have enough goals.
You’re not going to be a success if you don’t have passion for what you’re doing.
Do what is right, not what is easy.
If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not taking risks, and that means you’re not going anywhere.
I never learned anything about talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.
The way you motivate a football team is to eliminate the unmotivated ones.
The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it.
Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.
Winning isn’t getting ahead of others. It’s getting ahead of yourself.
If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.
When you stop growing, you start dying.
When you have a clear vision of where you want to go, and a relentless dedication to take action, nothing can stop you.
My first assistant-coaching job in football was at William & Mary in 1961. The pay wasn’t much, so to get $300 more per year, I agreed to coach the golf team.
If he’s got golf clubs in his truck or a camper in his driveway, I don’t hire him.
If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out.
Don’t ever let anyone talk you out of your dreams.
The greatest thrill in life is not to win, but to win together.
If you don’t set a baseline standard for what you’ll accept in your life, you’ll find it’s easy to slip into behaviors and attitudes or a quality of life that’s far below what you deserve.
Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated.
Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.
You’ll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him.
Successful people will always tell you you can do something. It’s the people who never accomplished anything who will always discourage you from trying to achieve excellent things.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
Famous Lou Holtz Quotes On Success, Leadership & Teamwork
You need four things in life: you need a purpose, you need a challenge, you need passion, and you need friends.
No matter what happens on the field, getting an education makes you a winner.
To win a national championship, you’ve got to be a little lucky.
God answers prayers, but he doesn’t always answer them your way.
I think life is a matter of choices and that wherever we are, good or bad, is because of the choices we make.
Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.
I think that we have opportunities all around us – sometimes we just don’t recognize them.
I believe that having a spiritual life is so important in everybody’s life.
Everybody is looking for instant success, but it doesn’t work that way. You build a successful life one day at a time.
My wife told me if there are any rumors about me, it better be about politics and not about my social life.
You might not be able to outthink, outmarket, or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them.
It is a fine thing to have the ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.
We aren’t where we want to be. We aren’t where we ought to be. But thank goodness we aren’t where we used to be.
You must have dreams and goals if you are ever going to achieve anything in this world.
It’s always better to face the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, than to continue coddling a lie.
The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren’t in a very good mood.
Remember. Every day, some ordinary person does something extraordinary. Today, it’s your turn.
Don’t be a spectator, don’t let life pass you by.
Nothing on this earth is standing still. It’s either growing or it’s dying. No matter if it’s a tree or a human being.
Everybody is looking for instant success, but it doesn’t work that way. You build a successful life one day at a time.
If you don’t make a total commitment to whatever you are doing, then you start looking to bail out the first time the boat starts leaking.
We can all be successful and make money, but when we die, that ends. But when you are significant is when you help other people be successful. That lasts many a lifetime.
The standards you establish for others must reflect the standards you set for yourself. No one will follow a hypocrite.
Everyone wants to win on Saturday afternoon when the game is played. It’s what you do the other six days that decides the outcome.
Making a big life change is pretty scary. But you know what’s even scarier? Regret.
Never settle for the second when the first is available.
You were not born a winner, you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself to be.
You’re never too old to become younger.
If you’re not invested in yourself, then you’re not going to achieve much.
The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.
Coaching is nothing more than eliminating mistakes before you get fired.
On this team, we’re all united in a common goal: to keep my job.
The man who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success.
I won’t accept anything less than the best a player’s capable of doing… and he has the right to expect the best that I can do for him and the team!
A lifetime contract for a coach means if you’re ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can’t fire you.
The true test of a leader is whether his followers will adhere to his cause of their own volition, enduring the most arduous hardships without being forced to do so, and remaining steadfast in the moments of greatest peril.
Wrapping up:
So here are the quotes I’ve collected from the legendary football coach, Lou Holtz. Through his inspiring words, Holtz reminds us that success is not just about talent, but also about motivation, attitude, hard work, integrity, and continuous improvement.
Whether you’re a football player, a coach, or anyone striving for success in life, these quotes offer valuable lessons and insights that can help you achieve your goals.
In a world that’s often filled with negativity and cynicism, Lou Holtz quotes are a refreshing reminder of the power of positivity, hard work, and perseverance.
So let us all take inspiration from Lou Holtz’s words of wisdom and apply them to our own lives. With the right mindset and attitude, we can achieve great things and make a positive impact on the world around us.
