Coach Pat Summitt's 10 Most Inspirational Quotes The legendary University of Tennessee women's basketball coach motivated her players with wise words.
By Grace Reader •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Pat Summitt is perhaps best known for winning more games than any other NCAA Division 1 basketball coach, male or female.
She spent 38 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team, the Lady Volunteers, winning eight national titles and 1,098 games. Tennessee also made 31 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances under Coach Summitt.
Summitt passed away Tuesday, at the age of 64, after a five-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. She will be remembered for her competitive spirit. Here are 10 Summitt quotes that inspire us:
On competition
"There is always someone better than you. Whatever it is that you do for a living, chances are, you will run into a situation in which you are not as talented as the person next to you. That's when being a competitor can make a difference in your fortunes."
On work ethic
"Here's how I'm going to beat you. I'm going to outwork you. That's it. That's all there is to it."
On life
"It is what it is. But, it will be what you make it."
Related: Muhammad Ali's Greatest Quotes of All Time
On responsibility
"If you don't want responsibility, don't sit in the big chair. To be successful, you must accept full responsibility."
On goal setting
"It's harder to stay on top than it is to make the climb. Continue to seek new goals."
On potential
"I'm someone who will push you beyond all reasonable limits. Someone who will ask you not to just fulfill your potential but to exceed it. Someone who will expect more from you than you may believe you are capable of."
On loyalty
"The absolute heart of loyalty is to value those people who tell you the truth, not just those people who tell you what you want to hear. In fact, you should value them most. Because they have paid you the compliment of leveling with you and assuming you can handle it."
On making a mistake
When a player makes a mistake, you always want to put them back in quickly -- you don't just berate them and sit them down with no chance of redemption."
Related: LeBron James' Greatest Quotes
On attitude
"Attitude is a choice. What you think you can do, whether positive or negative, confidence or scared, will most likely happen."
On quitting
"Quit? Quit? We keep score in life because it matters. It counts. Too many people opt out and never discover their own abilities, because they fear failure. They don't understand commitment. When you learn to keep fighting in the face of potential failure, it gives you a larger skill set to do what you want to do."
