In Memoriam: The 25 Best Quotes from Lou Holtz

Lou Holtz was one of the greatest college football coaches in history. He won a national championship at Notre Dame, was the only college football coach to lead six different programs to bowl games, and of course, he’s in the College Football Hall of Fame. He was also a devoted Christian who was married for 59 years and an outstanding motivational speaker who had a gift for churning out fantastic quotes.

Lou Holtz passed away yesterday at the ripe old age of 89, and it felt like a man as accomplished and well spoken as he was deserved a tribute. So, with that in mind, here are the 25 best quotes from Lou Holtz.

25) “You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be.”

24) “How do you know what it’s like to be stupid if you’ve never been smart?”

23) “There’s only one way you get respect, and that’s by looking somebody in the eye for 60 minutes, get out there, hitch up your trousers, and say, ‘Hey, baby, here I am now. Let me see you run through me now. Let me see you show some disrespect for me when I’m nose on your nose. Let me see what you think of me now that my face is to you.’ You talk about respect.”

22) “People eyeing you as a potential leader tend to ask three questions: Are you committed? Do you care about me? Can I trust you?”

21) “Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it.”

20) “I think that everybody needs four things in life. Everybody needs something to do, regardless of age. Everybody needs someone to love. Everybody needs something to hope for, and, of course, everybody needs someone to believe in.”

19) “I do know this: God does answer your prayers, but it’s not always in the way you expect. God knows what’s best for us, though, so there’s no need to worry when things don’t go how we originally wanted them to go.”

18) “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.”

17) “Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

16) “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.”

15) “No one has ever drowned in sweat.”

14) “Successful people will always tell you you can do something. It’s the people who have never accomplished anything who will always discourage you from trying to achieve excellent things.”

13) “If you burn your neighbor’s house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”

12) “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.”

11) “When people need love and understanding and support the most is when they deserve it the least.”

10) “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.”

9) “Everybody wants to talk about their rights and privileges. Twenty-five years ago, people talked about their obligations and responsibilities.”

8) “The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.”

7) “I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.”

6) “It’s not complicated. It’s a few simple rules: just do what’s right, do the best you can, and show people you care.”

5) “Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver but always deliver more than you promise.”

4) “Life is 10 percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”

3) “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.”

2) “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

1) “Never tell your problems to anyone... 20% don’t care, and the other 80% are glad you have them.”

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