30 Vince Lombardi Quotes On Leadership and Perfection To Remember

Vince Lombardi was a well-known football coach who led the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and two Super Bowl championships over nine years. Before Lombardi took over the position of being a coach, the Packers were a losing team, so he gained fame as a talented motivator and winner.

Born in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, he was the eldest of all the children. Though he grew up in an ethnically diverse community, Lombardi still experienced discrimination because of his Italian heritage outside his neighbourhood in Brooklyn. Vince Lombardi excelled as a motivator rather than as an innovator. That’s why Vince Lombardi quotes are very important for achieving perfection in life.

During his most successful years in Green Bay and even after his death, Lombardi was widely respected for his views on the virtues of hard work and winning. In 1971 the Super Bowl trophy was named in his memory and he was introduced into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lombardi is considered to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized as one of the greatest coaches and leaders in the history of all American sports.

His courageous words and his commitment is what makes him different from others. He has been a phenomenal coach during his period and still renowned as one of the most brilliant coaches in the history of football. Let us recall his words of wisdom.

So here we present our 30 Vince Lombardi quotes that will surely develop the spirit of leadership and hard work in you.

1. Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any worthwhile goal.

Leaders aren't born yesterday and they have become leaders. Their persistence and hard work are what has made them leaders and this is the price to be paid to achieve any life goal.

2. Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.

We all have heard about this quote that practice makes a man perfect but it will only make a man perfect when implemented in the right direction.

3. The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert.

That's great advice for the coaches as well as captains, who are largely responsible for the success of the team and the game.

4. Some people try to find things in this game that don’t exist but football is only two things – blocking and tackling.

Some people will try to find unnecessary things that aren't worth it but in reality, it is only about two things.

5. Coaches who can outline plays on a blackboard are dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate.

Vince Lombardi quotes tell us how difficult it is to actually train a player for winning. You might go on teaching but if the other person is not ready to learn, it goes in waste.

6. Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

This is a very important life lesson which teaches us that not everything is about winning. Sometimes it is better to lose. Don't be disappointed after losing because it isn't your everything, it's just a mere thing.

7. Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.

It is a fact that perfection is unattainable. The word perfection is itself is an abstract term. But if we hustle for perfection, we can reach excellence. It will make us better and better every time.

8. Winning is a habit, Unfortunately, so is losing.

As much as everyone is concerned about winning and are addicted to it, we should also keep in mind about losing as well because no one can win every time. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

9. Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.

Any sport you play or anything you do in your life, it is not complete without your determination and hard work.

10. Once a man has committed to a way of life, he puts the greatest strength in the world behind him. It’s something we call heart power. Once a man has made this commitment, nothing will stop him short of success.

If a man has committed, nothing can stop him from reaching out to his goal. It is all about your will power and devotion.

11. The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.

The real treasure for a player is to go through all the struggles and then come back with the same enthusiasm, that's the real glory of it.

12. I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the great fulfilment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle, victorious.

The nicest hour for a man is when he has worked to his full potential and has achieved all of those things which are special to him and lie successfully on the field.

13. If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you’ll be fired with enthusiasm.

If you aren't boosted with enthusiasm, you will be
expelled with enthusiasm.

14. Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the man who thinks he can.

Challenges come in everyone's life, but the person who believes in himself comes out stronger from it.

15. Confidence is contagious; so is lack of confidence.

Confidence can be contagious if it is excessive and it can also be fatal if it is lacking.

16. The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur.

Winning spirits should always be there no matter if one wins or loses but these are the qualities of sportsmanship.

17. It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner when you’re number one. What you’ve got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not yet a winner.

This quote talks about the mindset that players should have irrespective of being a winner or not. They should be same when they are training and preparing as when they are while playing and winning.

18. Unless a man believes in himself and makes a total commitment to his career and puts everything he has into it – his mind, his body, his heart – what's a life worth to him?

Unless the person hasn't committed to his career and doesn't believe in himself, then what is the worth of life for him?.

19. I would say that the quality of each man’s life is the full measure of that man’s commitment of excellence and victory – whether it be football, whether it be business, whether it be politics or government or what you have.

Your life quality depends on your commitments. Whatever you choose, your life is just a replica of it.

20. Morally, the life of the organization must be exemplary. This is one phase where the organization must not have criticism.

The existence of a team depends a lot on the communication between the players and with the coach. It should be lively and cheerful, not distressing and discouraging.

21. To succeed, this group will need a singleness of purpose, they will need dedication, and they will have to convince all of their prospects of the willingness to sacrifice.

To be successful, the group has to establish a sense of unity and dedication and the zeal to sacrifice.

22. Faithfulness and truth are the most sacred excellences and endowments of the human mind.

These two qualities are the most divine attainment of the human mind.

23. Teams do not go physically flat, they go mentally stale.

Whenever a team's performance is not up to the mark they not only go just physically flat but they also go mentally stagnant. It is also a psychological process as well.

24. You defeat defeatism with confidence.

If you believe in yourself and if you have self-confidence once, you can defeat anything.

25. 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.

You never fully win the game unless you defeat the opponent in front of you, forget about the scoreboard you have to defeat the target right in front of you.

26. Having the capacity to lead is not enough. The leader must be willing to use it.

All the qualities and capabilities are not worth it if it is not implemented properly, so a leader has to be inclined to use it.

27. Leadership rests not only upon ability, not only upon capacity – His leadership is then based on truth and character.

There must be truth in the purpose and will power in the character.

28. A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing superiors. He must believe that the group wants a sense of approval from him. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline, morale will be high, and in return, you can demand cooperation to promote the goals of the community.

A leader should identify himself with his group even in dissatisfying situations and this will help increase the production discipline, motivation and team will be more cooperative.

29. Leadership is not just one quality, but rather a blend of many qualities; and while no one individual possesses all of the needed talents that go into leadership, each man can develop a combination to make him a leader.

Not everyone has all the qualities. Some lack some abilities so everyone can develop an assortment of qualities to make them a leader.

30. No leader, however great, can long continue unless he wins battles. The battle decides all.

No leader irrespective of the fact that how considerable he is, can't continue unless he wins some of the battles because battle decides everything.

Here comes the end of our list of Vince Lombardi quotes. By now, you must be encouraged by his words of insight into knowledge. He was not just only a coach, he was also a great leader who could lead the team efficiently.

In 1968, Lombardi starred in a half-hour motivational film titled Second Effort, that has been called "The best-selling training film of all time. Several books were written on him like Coach: A Season With Lombardi by Tom Dowling and When Pride Still Mattered: A Life Of Vince Lombardi by David Maraniss.

Vince Lombardi has been regarded as the greatest motivational coach of all times. The Vince Lombardi quotes are based on teamwork, tone and tenacity. He also had to fight with different odds and make a place for himself.

Lombardi also faced challenges in life and despite all that he still manages to be known as the best motivational leaders of all time. His gritty determination to pursue excellence in achieving goals on and off the field is something that everyone should learn from him.

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