Quotes about win

A collection of quotes on the topic of win, doing, people, war.

Quotes about win

“I don't have a hero in particular that I want to be, but I like watching anime, and I quite like to win in a dramatic way.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Other quotes, 2017
Original: (ja) 自分の中で特にこれになりたいというのはないけど、アニメとかは好きだし、なんかとにかく劇的に勝ちたいという気持ちはすごくあります。
Source: Hanyu at the men's free press conference at the Rostelecom Cup 2017, as quoted in フィギュアスケートマガジン 2017-2018 シーズンスタート B.B.MOOK 1391 (Figure Skate Magazine, 2017-2018 season's start issue), released on 31 October 2017, ISBN 978-4583625294.

Way, Animals

“I'd like to overcome more barriers. I'd like to be in the position where, no matter what happens - even if they skate their free skate clean - if I skate clean, I will win.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Quote from the same article on the Olympic Channel linked above, published 3 April 2019.
Other quotes, 2019

“I managed to win twice, but the Olympics are something special. The Olympic Games are what every athlete and figure skater wants to win. Winning them makes you a true champion.”

Yuzuru Hanyu (1994) Japanese figure skater (1994-)

Quote from an article on the Olympic Channel https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/stories/news/detail/yuzuru-hanyu-coy-cryptic-beijing-olympic-2022-chen-ankle/, published 3 April 2019. (Retrieved 11 September 2020) Other quotes, 2019

Game

“Haters never win. I just think that's true about life, because negative energy always costs in the end.”

Tom Hiddleston (1981) English actor, producer and musical performer

Life, Thinking

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”

Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman

Source: Jordan, Michael. I Can't Accept Not Trying : Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence. San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994. p. 129
Context: I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying [no hard work].
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. (p. 20, 24)

Game, Intelligence, Motivational, Success

“I can’t win. Love is Russian roulette for me. No one loves the real me inside. they're all in love with my fame, my stardom.
I fall in love far too quickly and end up getting hurt all the time. I've got scars all over. But I can't help myself because basically I'm a softie I have this hard, macho shell — which I project on stage but there's a much softer side. too, which melts like butter.”

Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) British singer, songwriter and record producer

"Rock On Freddie" (1985).

Love, Time, Help, Hurt

“We do not surrender — we win or die.”

Omar Mukhtar (1858–1931) Libyan resistance leader

As quoted in "New media emerge in 'liberated' Libya" at BBC News (25 February 2011) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12579451.

“Sometimes you have to accept you can't win all the time.”

Lionel Messi (1987) Argentine association football player

Time

“Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning.”

Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) German field marshal of World War II

This is cited to to Rommel‎'s Infanterie Greift An [Infantry Attacks] (1937) in World War II : The Definitive Visual History (2009) by Richard Holmes, p. 128, and Timelines of History (2011) by DK Publishing, p. 392, but to George S. Patton, in Patton's Principles : A Handbook for Managers Who Mean It! (1982) by Porter B. Williamson as well as Leadership (1990) by William Safire and Leonard Safir, p. 47
Disputed
Source: Rommel: In His Own Words

Fight

“Winning the men's confidence requires much of a commander. He must exercise care and caution, look after his men, live under the same hardships, and—above all— apply self discipline. But once he has their confidence, his men will follow him through hell and high water.”

Erwin Rommel (1891–1944) German field marshal of World War II

Source: Attacks

Men, Exercises, Confidence, Hell

“If I win - I win for all our people, if I lose - I lose only myself.”

Vasil Levski (1837–1873) Bulgarian revolutionary

A letter to Panayot Hitov, written in March/April 1868.
Original: (bg) Ако спечеля, печеля за цял народ – ако загубя, губя само мене си.

People

“The determination to win is the better part of winning.”

Daisaku Ikeda (1928) Japanese writer

Parting

“I win because I learned years ago that scared money always loses. I never care, so I win.”

Hedy Lamarr (1914–2000) Austrian-American actress and co-inventor of an early technique for spread spectrum communications and freq…

Popcorn in Paradise (1980)

Money, Learning

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try, the world is beyond the winning.”

Laozi book Tao Te Ching

Source: Tao Te Ching, Ch. 48, as translated by Raymond B. Blakney (1955)

World

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Variant: Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter IV · Disposition of the Army

War, Victory

“If you lose today, win tomorrow. In this never-ending spirit of challenge is the heart of a victor.”

Daisaku Ikeda (1928) Japanese writer

Heart

“Born to lose. Live to win.”

Lemmy Kilmister (1945–2015) British singer-songwriter

Source: Motorhead: In the Studio

“I'm afraid that sometimes you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you.”

Dr. Seuss (1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books

Game

“Strength does not come from winning.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947) actor, businessman and politician of Austrian-American heritage

From a 1982 interview with Boston Globe journalist Marian Christy. Christy, Marian. "Winning according to Schwarzenegger." https://secure.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294151457.html Boston Globe: Boston, MA. 9 May 1982: p 51. Accessed 25 Jun 2016. 1980s Context: Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength. When you make an impasse passable, that is strength. But you must have ego, the kind of ego which makes you think of yourself in terms of superlatives. You must want to be the greatest. We are all starved for compliments. So we do things that get positive feedback.

Motivational, Deep, Success, Inspirational

“Dieting is the only game where you win when you lose!”

Karl Lagerfeld (1933–2019) German fashion designer

Game, Wise

“It's so overwhelming. It's almost better than winning the lottery, because you worked for it. It's like something you want all your life, but you never thought it would happen, and all of a sudden it did.”

Ronnie Coleman (1964) American bodybuilder

On his reaction being named the top professional bodybuilder in the world — reported in Nancy Kruh (October 3, 1999) "Ronnie Coleman- Nobody messes with this Arlington cop, a.k.a. Mr. Olympia", The Dallas Morning News, p. 1E.

Life

“The law of honor: Go along only on the paths of honor. Fight, and never be a coward. Leave the path of infamy to others. Better to fall in an honorable fight than win by infamy.”

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899–1938) Romanian politician

For My Legionaries: The Iron Guard (1936), Politics

Law, Fight

“Neither side is sacred; no one wants to win
Feeling so sedated; think I'll just give in.”

Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist

Verse Chorus Verse.
Song lyrics, Posthumously released (post-1994)

Feeling, Thinking

“It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Variant translations
If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know not thy enemy nor yourself, wallow in defeat every time.
Literal translation: Know [the] other, know [the] self, hundred battles without danger; not knowing [the] other but know [the] self, one win one loss; not knowing [the] other, not knowing [the] self, every battle must [be] lost.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“I don't go to battle prepared, I know I will win it.”

Will Smith (1968) American actor, film producer and rapper

“I found that things became a lot easier when I no longer expected to win. You abandon your masterpiece and sink into the real masterpiece.”

Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter

“It is not enough to win a war; it is more important to organize the peace.”

Aristotle (-384–-321 BC) Classical Greek philosopher, student of Plato and founder of Western philosophy

War, Peace, Peaceful

“It's easy to believe in something when you win all the time… The losses are what define a man's faith.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: The Well of Ascension

Faith, Loss, Time

“Well fine, then. I could send you out to win my favor. Possibly on a quest involving bringing a large mug of coffee and a doughnut. Or the wholesale slaughter of all my enemies. I haven't decided which.”

Holly Black book The Darkest Part of the Forest

Source: The Darkest Part of the Forest

Coffee

“We all play chess with Fate as partner. He makes a move, we make a move. He tries to checkmate us in three moves, we try to prevent it. We know we can't win, but we're driven to give him a good fight.”

Isaac Bashevis Singer (1902–1991) Polish-born Jewish-American author

Source: The Collected Stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer

Fate, Fight

“Very often in everyday life one sees that by losing one's temper with someone who has already lost his, one does not gain anything but only sets out upon the path of stupidity. He who has enough self-control to stand firm at the moment when the other person is in a temper, wins in the end. It is not he who has spoken a hundred words aloud who has won; it is he who has perhaps spoken only one word.”

Hazrat Inayat Khan (1882–1927) Indian Sufi

Source: Mastery through Accomplishment

Life, Stupidity, Personality

“Evil will win if good people do nothing.”

P. C. Cast book Hunted

Source: Hunted

People, Evil

“You were born to win, but to be a winner you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”

Zig Ziglar (1926–2012) American motivational speaker

Motivational, Deep, Success, Inspirational

“I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career.
I've lost almost 300 games.
26 times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.
I've failed over and over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan (1963) American retired professional basketball player and businessman

As quoted in Nike Culture : The Sign of the Swoosh (1998), by Robert Goldman and Stephen Papson, p. 49

Life, Game, Time

“In my own country I am in a far off land.
I am strong but have no power.
I win all yet remain a loser.
At break of day I say goodnight.
When I lie down I have great fear of falling.”

Francois Villon (1431–1463) Mediæval French poet

Lie, Fear, Strong, Country

“I started with an impulse of my heart, with that instinct of defense which even the least of the worms has, not with the instinct of personal self-preservation, but of defense of the race to which I belong. This is why I have always had the feeling that the whole race rests on our shoulders, the living, and those who died for the Fatherland, and our entire future, and that the race struggles and speaks through us, that the hostile flock, however huge, in relation to this historical entity, is only a handful of human detritus which we will disperse and defeat… The individual in the framework and in the service of his race, the race in the framework and in the service of God and of the laws of the divinity: those who will understand these things will win even though they are alone. Those who will not understand will be defeated.”

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899–1938) Romanian politician

For My Legionaries: The Iron Guard (1936), Nation and Culture

God, Hostility, Law, Feeling

“(letter adressed to Mihai Antonescu, 6 september 1941) „We must all understand that this is not a fight against Slavs, but against the Jews. It's a battle for life and death. Either we win and the world will purify, or they'll win and we'll become their slaves. Both the war in general and the battles at Odessa, especially, have made the proof that the Jew is Satan.”

Ion Antonescu (1882–1946) prime minister and conducător of Romania during World War II

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJodTuDeoYg

Life, Death, War, World

“Essentially, we distinguish ourselves from the rest. If you want to win something, run the 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.”

Emil Zátopek (1922–2000) Czech Olympic long-distance runner

Attributed in "Making a run at the Olympic dream", an unsigned article from The StarPhoenix, 9 May 2007, at canada.com (CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.) http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/sports/story.html?id=b111ee9e-182a-4cff-831a-f784cc7bb37e

“What men and women need is encouragement. Their natural resisting powers should be strengthened, not weakened…. Instead of always harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his REAL self that can dare and do and win out!… The influence of a beautiful, helpful, hopeful character is contagious, and may revolutionize a whole town…. People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts. If a man feels kindly and obliging, his neighbors will feel that way, too, before long. But if he scolds and scowls and criticizes — his neighbors will return scowl for scowl, and add interest!… When you look for the bad, expecting it, you will get it. When you know you will find the good — you will get that…. Tell your son Tom you KNOW he'll be glad to fill that woodbox — then watch him start, alert and interested!”

Eleanor H. Porter (1868–1920) American novelist

Works, Pollyanna (1913)

Women, Men, People, Beauty

“Yeah. The guy's up against massive challenges, dealing with consequences, and figuring how to get what he wants and what he believes is right. He's living his worst nightmare, and he's doing everything he can. He's a damn good lawyer and he knows the system, but he's having to pull jokers out of his sleeve and win certain things on sheer willpower and gamble and meddle, you know? So that's what dramas allow, more so than a comedy. It's real-life consequences. The blows, the punches really hurt. The bullets really land. The people really bleed. People really cry. People really enjoy victory. People really feel pain and defeat. You can love harder. You can cry harder. You can be more angry, harder. That's what dramas allow.”

Matthew McConaughey (1969) American actor

" Exclusive interview with Matthew Mcconaughey http://www.hollywood.com/news/movies/7774937/exclusive-interview-with-matthew-mcconaughey?page=all" on hollywood.com, March 18, 2011: On playing Mick Haller in the The Lincoln Lawyer

Love, Life, Pain, People

“My opponent asks her supporters to recite a three word loyalty pledge. It reads, "I'm with her." I choose to recite a different pledge. My pledge reads, "I’m with you – the American people." I am your voice. So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for a better future, I say these words to you tonight: I’m with you, and I will fight for you, and I will win for you. To all Americans tonight, in all of our cities and towns, I make this promise: We will make America proud again, we will make America strong again, we will make America safe again, and we will Make America Great Again! God bless you and good night! I love you!”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

2010s, 2016, July, 2016 Republican National Convention (21 July 2016)

Love, God, People, Dreams

“Of course, we all know that our own reality depends on the structure of our consciousness; we can objectify no more than a small part of our world. But even when we try to probe into the subjective realm, we cannot ignore the central order…In the final analysis, the central order, or 'the one' as it used to be called and with which we commune in the language of religion, must win out.”

Werner Heisenberg (1901–1976) German theoretical physicist

Werner Heisenberg as quoted in Quirks of the Quantum Mind, p. 175, ICRL Press, ISBN 1936033062

World, Religion, Communication, Reality

“You can win the rat race but you're still a rat.”

Banksy pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, and painter

Wall and Piece (2005)

“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Variant translations
Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.
Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

Victory, Fight

“Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Lionel Giles translation
Source: The Art of War, Chapter VI · Weaknesses and Strengths

Nature, Water, Victory

“What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Source: The Art of War, Chapter III · Strategic Attack

“The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.”

Sun Tzu (-543–-495 BC) ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher from the Zhou Dynasty

Source: The Art of War, Chapter I · Detail Assessment and Planning

“The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”

Pelé (1940–2022) Brazilian association football player

Happiness, Victory, Motivational

“Whether it's a friendly match, or for points, or a final, or any game - I play the same. I'm always trying to be my best, first for my team, for myself, for the fans, and to try and win.”

Lionel Messi (1987) Argentine association football player

Game

“While there is no definitive formula for success and winning, there exists a deliberative mindset, confidence and emotional strength. For one must believe they are a champion before they can become one.”

Gandolfo – (RJ Intindola)

2015

Confidence, Success, Self-confidence

“Basically, my whole life is a competition with my dad to see who's cooler. He's still winning, but I'm almost there.”

Post Malone (1995) American rapper

Life

“Your strength doesn't come from
winning and luxury.
It comes from
struggles and hardship. Everything that
you go through prepares you for the
next level.
You will be stronger than before!
Don't wish for it.
Work for it.”

Stephie Pahlavi Zan

“Voodoo girl

But she knows she has a curse on her,
a curse she cannot win.
For if someone gets too close to her,
the pins stick farther in.”

Tim Burton (1958) American filmmaker

Variant: But she knows she has a curse on her,
a curse she cannot win.
For if someone gets too close to her,

the pins stick further in.
Source: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories

Girl

“Real heroes are men who fall and fail and are flawed, but win out in the end because they've stayed true to their ideals and beliefs and commitments.”

Kevin Costner (1955) American actor, singer, musician, producer, director, and businessman

Men

“Sometimes you have to lose a piece to win a game.”

Rick Riordan book The Throne of Fire

Source: The Throne of Fire

Game

“I ask not for any crown
But that which all may win;
Nor try to conquer any world
Except the one within.”

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) American novelist

World

“We can't win against obsession. They care, we don't. They win.”

Douglas Adams Life, the Universe and Everything

Source: Life, the Universe and Everything

“This was my first lesson about gambling: if you see somebody winning all the time, he isn't gambling, he's cheating. Later on in life, if I were continuously losing in any gambling situation, I would watch very closely.”

Malcolm X book The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Source: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Life, Time, Cheating

“Everyone struggles against despair, but it always wins in the end. It has to. It's the thing that lets us say goodbye.”

Jeffrey Eugenides book Middlesex

Source: Middlesex

Despair

“Don’t just accept whatever comes your way in life. You were born to win; you were born for greatness; you were created to be a champion in life.”

Joel Osteen (1963) American televangelist and author

Source: Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential

Life, Way

“It's always better to attack than to defend," Coram had told her when they talked about fencing late at night. "Always. Ye don't win with defense--ye only hold the other feller off, or wear him down. Attack and have done with it!”

Tamora Pierce book Alanna: The First Adventure

Source: Alanna: The First Adventure

Night

“I do not fight fascists because I will win. I fight fascists because they are fascists.”

Chris Hedges (1956) American journalist

Source: Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt

Fight

“The day you stop racing, is the day you win the race.”

Bob Marley (1945–1981) Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician

Wise, Life

“Into the sky to win or die.”

Christopher Paolini book Eragon

Source: Eragon

“Our doubts are traitors,
and make us lose the good we oft might win,
by fearing to attempt.”

William Shakespeare Measure for Measure

Source: Measure for Measure

Fear

“Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves.”

D.H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter

Poem, "Liberty's old story" in Pansies (Third typing, ribbon copy - 231 poems, c. 11-28 February 1929)

Men, Children, Fools, Fight

“Haven’t you ever noticed that people who win say it’s because the gods know they are in the right, but if they lose, it wasn’t the gods who declared them wrong? Their opponent cheated, or their equipment was bad.”

Tamora Pierce Squire

Source: Squire

God, People, Cheating

“Even if things don't unfold the way you expected, don't be disheartened or give up. One who continues to advance will win in the end.”

Daisaku Ikeda (1928) Japanese writer

Way

“Go capture the fort which you could not win by war, but now we've left it at our own will.”

Balbhadra Kunwar (1789–1823) National hero of Nepal

To the British forces in the context of water blockade during Anglo-Nepalese War as quoted in http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/news/2012-01-31/bulbudder-and-the-british.html http://www.insightverse.com/2015/08/10-famous-nepalese-personalities-with.html?m=1

War

“Be resolute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

Chapter 19 https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch19.htm; originally published in The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains (June 11, 1945), Selected Works, Vol. III, p. 321. Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong (The Little Red Book)

Fear, Victory

“Racial discrimination in the United States is a product of the colonialist and imperialist system. The contradiction between the Black masses in the United States and the U. S. ruling circles is a class contradiction. Only by overthrowing the reactionary rule of the U. S. monopoly capitalist class and destroying the colonialist and imperialist system can the Black people in the United States win complete emancipation. The Black masses and the masses of white working people in the United States have common interests and common objectives to struggle for. Therefore, the Afro-American struggle is winning sympathy and support from increasing numbers of white working people and progressives in the United States. The struggle of the Black people in the United States is bound to merge with the American workers’ movement, and this will eventually end the criminal rule of the U. S. monopoly capitalist class.”

Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China

“ A New Storm Against Imperialism https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_80.htm” (1968)

People, Support

“If there is a hell, then I'll be in good company with a lot of fighter pilots who also had to bomb innocents to win the war.”

Timothy McVeigh (1968–2001) American army soldier, security guard, terrorist

Dead Man Talking http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/apr/22/mcveigh.usa, The Observer (April 22, 2001) 2000s

War, Hell

“… the best way to win was to not need to win. The best performances are accomplished when you are relaxed and free of doubt.”

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam book Wings of Fire

Source: Wings of Fire, p. 31.

Way

“Though a man loves a girl ever so much, he never succeeds in winning her without a great deal of talking.”

Vātsyāyana book Kama Sutra

Source: Kama Sutra, p. 69

Love, Girl

“Those in authority should take appropriate precautions to protect our citizens. But we will not allow this enemy to win the war by changing our way of life or restricting our freedoms.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

Remarks by the President In Photo Opportunity with the National Security Team http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010912-4.html, September 12, 2001 2000s, 2001

Life, War, Way, Freedom

“I had an incident with a really dumb magazine called Voici where they printed a photograph of Lily-Rose, a long-lens shot from very far away, and I just went ballistic. You can sue them — I've sued a couple of times, Vanessa's sued and we win every time — but this time I was beyond suing. I just wanted to beat whoever was responsible into the earth — I just wanted to rip him apart.So I tracked him down and gave him a few suggestions about how to live life and stay healthy and he took my advice. Because that's just unacceptable. They can do anything they want to me — and most tabloids have — but not my kid, not my pure, innocent little baby. She didn't ask to be in this circus.”

Johnny Depp (1963) American actor, film producer, and musician

Quoted in Jessamy Calkin, "Johnny Depp Esq.," http://www.johnnydeppfan.com/interviews/ukesquire.htm Esquire [U.K. edition] (February 2000)

Life, Time, Baby

“Gambling is a kind of tax: a tax on stupidity. A tax on greed. Some money changes hands at random, but the net cash flow always goes one way - to the Government, to the casino operators, to the bookies, to the crime syndicates. If you ever do win, you won't have won against them. They'll still be getting their share. You'll have won against all the penniless losers, that's all.”

Greg Egan book Eugene

Eugene
Fiction, Axiomatic (1995)

Money, Stupidity, Way, Change

“It's impossible to explain what I felt in that moment, just very, very happy to win this title. For me, it is a dream to play in this tournament. But to win, I never imagined something like this.”

Rafael Nadal (1986) Spanish tennis player

After beating five time champion Roger Federer in the 2008 Men's Wimbledon Final

Happiness, Dreams, Imagination

“My boys may charge me with all they want. The main thing is, it helps them. They are not evil and no criminals. They are the products of total war, grown up on the streets of scattered towns without any education! The only thing [they] knew was to handle weapons for the Dream of [the] Reich. They were young people with a hot heart and the desire to win or to die, according to the word: right or wrong—my country!”

Joachim Peiper (1915–1976) SS officer

Letter to Willis Everett, July 4, 1946. Parker, Hitler's Warrior, chapter 14, citing Everett Papers in note 5.

War, People, Education, Dreams

“There is plenty of time to win this game, and to thrash the Spaniards too.”

Francis Drake (1540–1596) English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era

Reputedly while playing Bowls at Plymouth Hoe, upon being informed that the Spanish Armada had been sighted approaching England. ([29 July, 1588, 19 July]); This attribution is not known to have appeared in writing until 1736, so its authenticity remains uncertain.
Disputed
Variant: There's time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards too.

Game, Time

“Right now, I have the feeling that I am 2-0 up in the first half of a match that has not finished yet. But I am sure that I will end up winning.”

Johan Cruyff (1947–2016) Dutch association football player

Eurosport.com, 13 February 2016 http://www.eurosport.com/football/liga/2015-2016/johan-cruyff-i-m-2-0-up-at-half-time-in-battle-against-lung-cancer_sto5174173/story.shtml.

Feeling

“Americans love a winner. Americans will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise cowards. Americans play to win all of the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost nor will ever lose a war; for the very idea of losing is hateful to an American.”

George S. Patton (1885–1945) United States Army general

Speech to the Third Army (1944)

Love, Hate, War, Idea

“The division of labor among nations is that some specialize in winning and others in losing.”

Eduardo Galeano (1940–2015) Uruguayan writer

Eduardo Galeano (1973), as cited in: Riley E. Dunlap (2002), Sociological Theory and the Environment, 183

“I think both sides [China and United States] should work hard to build a new type of relationship between big powers. The two sides should cooperate with each other for a win-win result in order to benefit people from the two countries and the world.”

Xi Jinping (1953) General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and paramount leader of China

As quoted in "Xi, Obama vow to step up cooperation" http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsupdate/20130608/104235.shtml in cctv.com English (8 June 2013). 2010s

People, World, Thinking, Country

“Our cabaret 'Cabaret Voltaire' is a gesture... Every word that is spoken and sung here says at least this one thing: that this humiliating age has not succeeded in winning our respect.”

Hugo Ball (1886–1927) German author, poet and one of the leading Dada artists

Ball's diary entry, 1916; as quoted in Looking at Dada, eds. Sarah Ganz Blythe & Edward D. Powers - The Museum of Modern Art New York, ISBN: 087070-705-1; p. 3
1916

Age

“Knowledge is a collection of facts. Wisdom is the use of knowledge. Without facts there is no knowledge. Without knowledge there is no wisdom. Facts prevent what nothing can cure. Facts are Man's best defense mechanism. Without them men fumble, falter and fail. Without them nations decline and fall. Wisdom wins wars before they start. Knowledge aborts national hostilities. Wisdom obviates racial antipathies. Knowledge effaces religious animosities. Emancipation from bigotry prefaces peace. Intolerance takes all and gives nothing. Peace rewards reciprocal respect and regard. To all Men of Good Will, "Pax Vobiscum!"”

Benjamin H. Freedman (1890–1984) American businessman

Facts are Facts (1954)

Wisdom, Men, Hostility, War

“The golden mean, the truth, is no longer recognized or valued. To win applause one must write stuff so simple that a coachman might sing it, or so incomprehensible that it pleases simply because no sensible man can comprehend it.”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Austrian Romantic composer

in a letter to his father, 1782

Truth, Singing

“The men can go away, the executives can go away, but what is really though in this society are the players who has been handed down the feel of winning, of being the absolute best, which isn't equal to any other team.”

Gianluigi Buffon (1978) Italian association football player

Gianluigi Buffon, as quoted after Cagliari Calcio 2-3 Juventus FC. Stadio Sant'Elia di Cagliari, September 2, 2007]

Men, Feeling

“I'm only one guy. I took Hedo [Türkoğlu] in the first game and Rashard [Lewis] hit the winning shot. I took Rashard in the second game and Hedo hit the shot. If I could clone myself, we'd be all right. But I can't.”

LeBron James (1984) American basketball player

Brown looking for alternatives to slow down Magic offense, Jodie Valade, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, May 25, 2009 http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2009/05/cavaliers_insider_brown_lookin.html, James before Game 3 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Orlando Magic.

Guy, Game

“Winning medals wasn’t the point of the Olympics. It’s the participating that counts.”

Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937) Founder of modern Olympic Games, pedagogue and historian

As quoted in "The Olympics — Where Are They Headed?", in 'Awake!' magazine (8 February 1977)

“Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing”

Vince Lombardi (1913–1970) American football player, coach, and executive

Actually spoken by 1950s UCLA football coach Henry Russell "Red" Sanders. Lombardi always denied he had said this although it is close to something he did say: "Winning isn't a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing."
Misattributed

“The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”

Pierre de Coubertin (1863–1937) Founder of modern Olympic Games, pedagogue and historian

As quoted in The Olympian (1984) by Peter L. Dixon, p. 210
Context: The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. To spread these principles is to build up a strong and more valiant and, above all, more scrupulous and more generous humanity.

Life, Game, Parting

“Third we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding. At times we are able to humiliate our worst enemy.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

1950s, Loving Your Enemies (Christmas 1957)
Context: Third we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding. At times we are able to humiliate our worst enemy. Inevitably, his weak moments come and we are able to thrust in his side the spear of defeat. But this we must not do. Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hate.

Friendship, Understanding, Time

“Above all avoid speaking of persons, either in the way of praise or blame, or comparison. If you can, win over the conversation of your company to what it should be by your own. But if you should find yourself cut off without escape among strangers and aliens, be silent.”

Epictetus (50–138) philosopher from Ancient Greece

Golden Sayings of Epictetus
Context: Let silence be your general rule; or say only what is necessary and in few words. We shall, however, when occasion demands, enter into discourse sparingly, avoiding such common topics as gladiators, horse-races, athletes; and the perpetual talk about food and drink. Above all avoid speaking of persons, either in the way of praise or blame, or comparison. If you can, win over the conversation of your company to what it should be by your own. But if you should find yourself cut off without escape among strangers and aliens, be silent. (164).

Way, Personality

“There's nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends.”

Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953) writer

"Dedicatory Ode", stanza 22
Verses (1910)
Context: From quiet homes and first beginning,
Out to the undiscovered ends,
There's nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends.

Love, Laughter

“Fight, and you shall win. For God grants victory to perseverance.”

Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) Venezuelan military and political leader, South American libertador

As quoted in Simón Bolívar (1969) by Gerhard Masur
Context: Do not compare your material forces with those of the enemy. Spirit cannot be compared with matter. You are human beings, they are beasts. You are free, they are slaves. Fight, and you shall win. For God grants victory to perseverance.

God, Victory, Fight, Perseverance

“You never win a game unless you beat the guy in front of you. The score on the board doesn’t mean a thing. That’s for the fans. You’ve got to win the war with the man in front of you. You’ve got to get your man. ”

Vince Lombardi (1913–1970) American football player, coach, and executive

War, Guy, Game

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defenses, or the problems of modern society.”

Vince Lombardi (1913–1970) American football player, coach, and executive

People, Problem, Football, For Team

“No individual can win a game by himself.”

Pelé (1940–2022) Brazilian association football player

Game, For Team

“Success isn’t determined by how many times you win, but by how you play the week after you lose.”

Pelé (1940–2022) Brazilian association football player

Time, Success