Lebron James’ commitment to basketball is unlike just about any other athlete that I’ve come to see. As a remarkable player within the Cleveland Cavaliers, he has won numerous NBA championships and has become an immensely valuable player.
Now, that’s not the most remarkable. I’ve found him incredibly motivating to see the intense commitment towards mastery. Through focus and dedication, he has pushed himself towards greatness with many lessons for the next generation. I hope these quotes can inspire you as much as they have me:
1. Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.
2. Ever since I was a kid, I was always the winner.
3. Nothing is given. Everything is earned.
4. Success isn’t owned, it’s leased. And the rent is due every day.
5. Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.
6. My mom and I have always been there for each other. We had some tough times, but she was always there for me.
7. Warren Buffett told me once and he said always follow your gut. When you have that gut feeling, you have to go with don’t go back on it.
8. I don’t need too much. Glamour and all that stuff don’t excite me. I’m just glad I have the game of basketball in my life.
9. All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you’re not good enough or strong enough or talented enough. They will say you’re the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. They will tell you no. A thousand times no. until all the no’s become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no. Quite firmly and very quickly. And you will tell them yes.
10. Ask me to play, I’ll play, ask me to shoot, I’ll shoot. Ask me to pass, I’ll pass, Ask me to steal, block out, sacrifice, lead, dominate, anything. But it’s not just what you ask of me. It’s what I ask of myself.
11. I’m going to use all my tools, my God-given ability, and make the best life I can with it.
12. I don’t know how tall I am or how much I weigh. Because I don’t want anybody to know my identity. I’m like a superhero. Call me Basketball Man.
13. When you have that respect from your teammates, it makes it a lot more comfortable.
14. Once you get on the playing field it’s not about whether you’re liked or not liked. All that matters is to play at a high level and do whatever it takes to help your team win. That’s what it’s about.
15. My game is really played above time. I don’t say that like I’m saying I’m ahead of my time. I’m saying, like, if I’m on the court and I throw a pass, the ball that I’ve thrown will lead my teammate right where he needs to go, before he even knows that that’s the right place to go to.
16. I do have motivation. A lot of motivation.
17. I laugh and joke, but I don’t get distracted very easily.
18. I hear my friends and my mom tell me I’m special, but honestly, I still don’t get it.
19. I think the reason why I am who I am today is because I went through those tough times when I was younger.
20. Once you become a professional athlete or once you do anything well, then you’re automatically a role model… I have no problem being a role model, I love it. I have kids looking up to me and hopefully I inspire these kids to do good things.
21. I never get too high on my stardom or what I can do.
22. I need music. It’s like my heartbeat, so to speak. It keeps me going no matter what’s going on – bad games, press, whatever!
23. Sometimes in the past when I played something might make me lose focus, or I would go home after a game where I thought I could have played better and I would let it hang over my head for a long time when it shouldn’t.
24. Winning is a huge thing for me.
25. When you work out or you’re doing anything active, it’s more fun as a group. You may lose track of the time, and the next thing you know, you’re working out for two hours because you’re having fun.
26. To all the positions, I just bring the determination to win.
27. I hear that word pressure all the time. There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.
28. I think team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed.
29. I love showcasing my talents – not only to my hometown fans and my own team but to the world.
30. I treated it like every day was my last day with a basketball.
31. Sports was my way out.
32. Greatness is defined by how much you want to put into what you do.
33. Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.
34. I always say, decisions I make, I live with them. There’s always ways you can correct them or ways you can do them better. At the end of the day, I live with them.
35. People will hate you, rate you, shake you, and break you. But how strong you stand is what makes you.
36. Being the only man in the household with my mom definitely helped me grow up fast.
37. Your hate makes me stronger.
38. If I’m not giving 100 percent, I criticize myself.
39. As a professional athlete a lot is going to be said about you – but I just try to move forward and try to achieve my goals.
40. I’m a guy who believes in unfinished business.
41. If you put everything together as far as my mind, my body, my game. If you put everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I’ve been.
42. Maybe my pain was my motivation.
43. I’m confident with my ability.
44. I do have motivation. A lot of motivation.
45. You have to be able to accept failure to get better.
46. I have short goals – to get better every day, to help my teammates every day – but my only ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. It’s all that matters. I dream about it. I dream about it all the time, how it would look, how it would feel. It would be so amazing.
47. I gave everything that I had, I was playing as hard as I could.
48. My dream has become a reality now, and it’s the best feeling I’ve ever had.
49. I know I’m not going to make every shot. Sometimes I try to make the right play, and if it results in a loss, I feel awful. I don’t feel awful because I have to answer questions about it. I feel awful in that locker room because I could have done something more to help my teammates win.
50. Ask me to steal, block out, sacrifice, lead, dominate, anything. But it’s not what you ask of me it’s what I ask of myself.
51. I hate letting my teammates down.
52. To being trustworthy? To being successful? How committed are you to being a good father, a good teammate, a good role model? There’s that moment every morning when you look in the mirror: Are you committed, or are you not?
53. I like criticism. It makes you strong.
54. You know, when I have a bad game, it continues to humble me and know that, you know, you still have work to do and you still have a lot of people to impress.
55. No matter how good one individual is, it takes a whole team to win a championship.
56. I make impact plays. I make game-changing plays.
57. You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed. You’re not gonna succeed all the time and I know that.