Yearly Archive: 2021

COACHES HOT SEAT > 2021

Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, January 20, 2021 – Thomas Jefferson

January 20, 2021

“In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, July 4, 1776

And

“A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circlue of
our felicities.”

And

“Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper.”

And

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

And

“All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression.”

And

“Always take hold of things by the smooth handle.”

And

“As our enemies have found we can reason like men, so now let us show them we can fight like men also.”

And

“Be polite to all, but intimate with few.”

And

“Books constitute capital. A library book lasts as long as a house, for hundreds of years. It is not, then, an article of mere consumption but fairly of capital, and often in the case of professional men, setting out in life, it is their only capital.”

And

“Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.”

And

“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”

And

“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

And

“Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.”

And

“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.”

And

“Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”

And

“Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”

And

“For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security.”

And

“I am an Epicurean. I consider the genuine (not the imputed) doctrines of Epicurus as containing everything rational in moral philosophy which Greek and Roman leave to us.”

And

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”

And

“I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

And

“I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.”

And

“I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.”

And

“I own that I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive.”

And

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”

And

“I was bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding every authority which stood in their way.”

And

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

And

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”

And

“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”

And

It is our duty still to endeavor to avoid war; but if it shall actually take place, no matter by whom brought on, we must defend ourselves. If our house be on fire, “without inquiring whether it was fired from within or without, we must try to extinguish it.”

And

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.”

And

“Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.”

And

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.”

And

“Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.”

And

“Never spend your money before you have earned it.”

And

“Nothing is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man.”

And

“Our greatest happiness does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed us, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits.”

And

“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government.”

And

“The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them.”

And

“There is not a truth existing which I fear… or would wish unknown to the whole world.”

And

“We never repent of having eaten too little.”

And

“When a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself a public property.”

And

“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

And

“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.”

And

“Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.”

And

“Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”

And

“Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.”

And

“The most fortunate of us, in our journey through life, frequently meet with calamities and misfortunes which may greatly afflict us; and, to fortify our minds against the attacks of these calamities and misfortunes, should be one of the principal studies and endeavours of our lives. The only method of doing this is to assume a perfect resignation to the Divine will, to consider that whatever does happen, must happen; and that by our uneasiness, we cannot prevent the blow before it does fall, but we may add to its force after it has fallen. These considerations, and others such as these, may enable us in some measure to surmount the difficulties thrown in our way; to bear up with a tolerable degree of patience under this burthen of life; and to proceed with a pious and unshaken resignation, till we arrive at our journey’s end, when we may deliver up our trust into the hands of him who gave it, and receive such reward as to him shall seem proportioned to our merit. Such, dear Page, will be the language of the man who considers his situation in this life, and such should be the language of every man who would wish to render that situation as easy as the nature of it will admit. Few things will disturb him at all: nothing will disturb him much.” Letter to John Page (15 July 1763)

And

“All persons shall have full and free liberty of religious opinion; nor shall any be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious institution.”

And

“I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence.”

And

“I consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That “all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.” To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take
possession of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition.

The incorporation of a bank, and the powers assumed by this bill, have not, in my opinion, been delegated to the United States, by the Constitution… They are not among the powers specially enumerated…” Opinion against the constitutionality of a National Bank (1791)

And

“The system of banking we have both equally and ever reprobated. I contemplate it as a blot left in all our Constitutions, which, if not covered, will end in their destruction, which is already hit by the gamblers in corruption, and is sweeping away in its progress the fortunes and morals of our citizens. Funding I consider as
limited, rightfully, to a redemption of the debt within the lives of a majority of the generation contracting it; every generation coming equally, by the laws of the Creator of the world, to the free possession of the earth he made for their subsistence, unincumbered by their predecessors, who, like them, were but tenants for life.”
Letter to John Taylor (28 May 1816)

And

“A Decalogue of Canons for Observation in Practical Life”
1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day.
2. Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.
3. Never spend your money before you have it.
4. Never buy what you do not want, because it is cheap; it will be dear to you.
5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst and cold.
6. We never repent of having eaten too little.
7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly.
8. How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened.
9. Take things always by their smooth handle.
10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.”

Wikipedia Page:  Thomas Jefferson

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Coaches Hot Seat NFL Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, January 19, 2021 – General Robert Neyland

January 19, 2021

“General Neyland’s 7 Maxims

1. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.

2. Play for and make the breaks and when one comes your way – SCORE.

3. If at first the game – or the breaks – go against you, don’t let up… put on more steam.

4. Protect our kickers, our QB, our lead and our ball game.

5. Ball, oskie, cover, block, cut and slice, pursue and gang tackle… for this is the WINNING EDGE.

6. Press the kicking game. Here is where the breaks are made.

7. Carry the fight to our opponent and keep it there for 60 minutes.”

And

“You never know what a football player is made of until he plays Alabama”

And

“The team that makes the fewest mistakes wins”

And

“To defeat a weak opponent is not the problem: The problem is to win when he is as good or better than you”

And

“Gentlemen, touchdowns follow blocking as sure night follows day”

And

“If my teams win, my press will be good. If we lose, the press can’t help me anyhow.”

And

“People think I’m the greatest damn coach in the world,” said the great Bear Bryant, “but Neyland taught me everything I know.”

Wikipedia Page: General Robert Neyland

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Monday, January 18, 2021 – Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 18, 2021

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”

And

“A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.”

And

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

And

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

And

“There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.”

And

“Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.”

And

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

And

“Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.”

And

“We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

And

“On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “Is it popular?” But Conscience asks the question “Is it right?” And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.”

And

“I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom.”

And

“Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality.”

And

“The tough mind is sharp and penetrating, breaking through the crust of legends and myths and sifting the true from the false. The tough-minded individual is astute and discerning. He has a strong austere quality that makes for firmness of purpose and solidness of commitment. Who doubts that this toughness is one of man’s greatest needs? Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”

And

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

And

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

And

“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”

And

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

And

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”

And

“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.”

And

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But… the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?'”

And

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.”

“I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

“This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

“When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

And

“The time is always right to do what’s right.”

And

“Each of us lives in two realms, the “within” and the “without.” The within of our lives is somehow found in the realm of ends, the without in the realm of means. The within of our [lives], the bottom — that realm of spiritual ends expressed in art, literature, morals, and religion for which at best we live. The without of our lives is that realm of instrumentalities, techniques, mechanisms by which we live. Now the great temptation of life and the great tragedy of life is that so often we allow the without of our lives to absorb the within of our lives. The great tragedy of life is that too often we allow the means by which we live to outdistance the ends for which we live.”

And

“Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that’s all I want to say.”

“We all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade. … And the great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct. It is a good instinct if you don’t distort it and pervert it. Don’t give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be the first in love. I want you to be the first in moral excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity.”

And

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like any man, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

Wikipedia: Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Sunday, January 17, 2021 – Willie Mays

January 17, 2021

“Baseball is a game, yes. It is also a business. But what is most truly is is disguised combat. For all its gentility, its almost leisurely pace, baseball is violence under wraps.”

And

“If you can do that – if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game – then you’re a good ballplayer.”

And

“In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won’t be able to do this.”

And

“They throw the ball, I hit it. They hit the ball, I catch it.”

And

“Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson.”

And

“If you can do that – if you run, hit, run the bases, hit with power, field, throw and do all other things that are part of the game – then you’re a good ballplayer.”

And

“It’s not hard. When I’m not hitting, I don’t hit nobody. But when I’m hitting, I hit anybody.”

And

“At ten I was playing against 18-year-old guys. At 15 I was playing professional ball with the Birmingham Black Barons, so I really came very quickly in all sports.”

And

“In 1950, when the Giants signed me, they gave me $15,000. I bought a 1950 Mercury. I couldn’t drive, but I had it in the parking lot there, and everybody that could drive would drive the car. So it was like a community thing.”

Wikipedia Page: Willie Mays

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Saturday, January 16, 2021 – Jesse Owens

January 16, 2021

“A lifetime of training for just ten seconds.”

And

“Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”

And

“I let my feet spend as little time on the ground as possible. From the air, fast down, and from the ground, fast up.”

And

“I always loved running – it was something you could do by yourself and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.”

And

“If you don’t try to win you might as well hold the Olympics in somebody’s back yard. The thrill of competing carries with it the thrill of a gold medal. One wants to win to prove himself the best.”

And

“One chance is all you need.”

And

“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.”

And

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”

And

“I wanted no part of politics. And I wasn’t in Berlin to compete against any one athlete. The purpose of the Olympics, anyway, was to do your best. As I’d learned long ago from Charles Riley, the only victory that counts is the one over yourself.”

And

“To a sprinter, the hundred-yard dash is over in three seconds, not nine or ten. The first ‘second’ is when you come out of the blocks. The next is when you look up and take your first few strides to attain gain position. By that time the race is actually about half over. The final ‘second’ – the longest slice of time in the world for an athlete – is that last half of the race, when you really bear down and see what you’re made of. It seems to take an eternity, yet is all over before you can think what’s happening.”

And

“I fought, I fought harder . . . but one cell at a time, panic crept into my body, taking me over.”  –on almost not qualifying for the Olympic finals in long jump

And

“I decided I wasn’t going to come down. I was going to fly. I was going to stay up in the air forever.”  –on his final leap in long-jump competition, a record-breaking 26 feet, 5 and 5/16 inches

And

“It dawned on me with blinding brightness. I realized: I had jumped into another rare kind of stratosphere – one that only a handful of people in every generation are lucky enough to know.”  
–on his Olympic achievements

Wikipedia:  Jesse Owens

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Friday, January 15, 2021 – Booker T. Washington

January 15, 2021

“Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”

And

“Character is power.”

And

“Character, not circumstances, makes the man.”

And

“Dignify and glorify common labor. It is at the bottom of life that we must begin, not at the top.”

And

“Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.”

And

“I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed.”

And

“If you can’t read, it’s going to be hard to realize dreams.”

And

“No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts.”

And

“No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.”

And

“Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work.”

And

“Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.”

And

“There is no power on earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, simple and useful life.”

And

“You can’t hold a man down without staying down with him.”

And

“The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts.”

Wikipedia: Booker T. Washington

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Thursday, January 14, 2021 – Henry David Thoreau

January 14, 2021

“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.”

And

“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.”

And

“Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life so. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.”

And

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”

And

“Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves.”

And

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for love of it.”

And

“Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

And

“Dreams are the touchstones of our character.”

And

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

And

“How does it become a man to behave towards the American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it.”

And

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

And

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”

And

“If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.”

And

“If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. Men will believe what they see.”

And

“In the long run, men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, they had better aim at something high.”

And

“It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?”

And

“Live your life, do your work, then take your hat.”

And

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

And

“Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.”

And

“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.”

And

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.”

And

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”

And

“The law will never make a man free; it is men who have got to make the law free.”

And

“The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.”

And

“There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.”

And

“What is once well done is done forever.”

And

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.”

And

“When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.”

And

“The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls — the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning.”

And

“I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe — “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.”

And

“If a man walk in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer; but if he spends his whole day as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making earth bald before her time, he is esteemed an industrious and enterprising citizen. As if a town had no interest in its forests but to cut them down!”

And

“I wish to suggest that a man may be very industrious, and yet not spend his time well. There is no more fatal blunderer than he who consumes the greater part of his life getting his living. All great enterprises are self-supporting. The poet, for instance, must sustain his body by his poetry, as a steam planing-mill feeds its boilers with the shavings it makes. You must get your living by loving.”

And

“Do we call this the land of the free? What is it to be free from King George and continue the slaves of King Prejudice? What is it to be born free and not to live free? What is the value of any political freedom, but as a means to moral freedom? Is it a freedom to be slaves, or a freedom to be free, of which we boast? We are a nation of politicians, concerned about the outmost defences only of freedom. It is our children’s children who may perchance be really free.”

Wikipedia:  Henry David Thoreau

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Wednesday, January 13, 2021 – Bum Phillips

January 13, 2021

“How do you win? By getting average players to play good and good players to play great. That’s how you win.”

And

“The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.”

And

“Two kinds of ballplayers aren’t worth a darn: One that never does what he’s told, and one who does nothin’ except what he’s told.”

And

“Winning is only half of it. Having fun is the other half.”

And

“You don’t know a ladder has splinters until you slide down it.”

And

“You don’t win by making sensational plays; you win by not making mistakes.”

And

“He can take his’n and beat your’n and take your’n and beat his’n.” About Paul “Bear” Bryant

And

“When it’s first and a mile, I won’t give it to him.” On Earl Campbell’s inability to finish a 1 mile run in training camp

And

“There’s two kinds of coaches, them that’s fired and them that’s gonna be fired.”

Wikipedia:  Bum Phillips

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Tuesday, January 12, 2021 – Jack London

January 12, 2021

“I do not live for what the world thinks of me, but for what I think of myself.”

And

“There is an ecstasy that marks the summit of life, and beyond which life cannot rise. And such is the paradox of living, this ecstasy comes when one is most alive, and it comes as a complete forgetfulness that one is alive.”

And

“The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances.”

And

“I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.”

And

“Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.”

And

“There are things greater than our wisdom, beyond our justice. The right and wrong of this we cannot say, and it is not for us to judge.”

And

“He lacked the wisdom, and the only way for him to get it was to buy it with his youth; and when wisdom was his, youth would have been spent buying it”

And

“San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories.”

And

“If cash comes with fame, come fame; if cash comes without fame, come cash.”

And

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

And

“Fiction pays best of all and when it is of fair quality is more easily sold. A good joke will sell quicker than a good poem, and, measured in sweat and blood, will bring better remuneration. Avoid the unhappy ending, the harsh, the brutal, the tragic, the horrible – if you care to see in print things you write. (In this connection don’t do as I do, but do as I say.) Humour is the hardest to write, easiest to sell, and best rewarded… Don’t write too much. Concentrate your sweat on one story, rather than dissipate it over a dozen. Don’t loaf and invite inspiration; light out after it with a club, and if you don’t get it you will nonetheless get something that looks remarkably like it.”

And

“A bone to the dog is not charity. Charity is the bone shared with the dog, when you are just as hungry as the dog.”

And

“Affluence means influence.”

And

“Darn the wheel of the world! Why must it continually turn over? Where is the reverse gear?”

Wikipedia: Jack London

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Coaches Hot Seat Quotes of the Day – Monday, January 11, 2021 – Knute Rockne

January 11, 2021

“A coach’s greatest asset is his sense of responsibility – the reliance placed on him by his players.”

And

“Build up your weaknesses until they become your strong points.”

And

“Drink the first. Sip the second slowly. Skip the third.”

And

“Four years of football are calculated to breed in the average man more of the ingredients of success in life than almost any academic course he takes.”

And

“It isn’t necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it.”

And

“The essence of football is blocking, tackling, and execution based on timing, rhythm and deception.”

And

“The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven.”

And

“We count on winning. And if we lose, don’t beef. And the best way to prevent beefing is – don’t lose.”

And

“Show me a good and gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.”

And

“One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than fifty preaching it.”

And

“The best thing I ever learned in life was that things have to be worked for. A lot of people seem to think there is some sort of magic in making a winning football team. There isn’t, but there’s plenty of work.”

And

“I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.”

And

“Win or lose, do it fairly.”

And

“Football is a game played with arms, legs and shoulders but mostly from the neck up”

And

“No star playing, just football.”

And

“Tell the public about the boys. They’re the ones that do the work and they should get the credit. The people are interested in them, not me.”

And

“Most men, when they think they are thinking, are merely rearranging their prejudices.”

And

“Let’s win one for the Gipper.”

Wikipedia:  Knute Rockne

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