“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”
“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”
“You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.”
“From what we get, we can make a living; what we give, however, makes a life.”
“The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.”
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.”
“Start where you are. Do what you can with what you have.”
“Clothes and manners do not make the man; but, when he is made, they greatly improve his appearance.”
“Fear isn’t an excuse to come to a standstill. It’s the impetus to step up and strike.”
“Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.”
“The best way to judge a life is to ask yourself, ‘Did I make the best use of my time here on Earth?'”
“We must reach out our hand in friendship and dignity both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.”
“A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.”
“If I were to say, ‘God, why me?’ about the bad things, then I should have said, ‘God, why me?’ about the good things that happened in my life.”
“You learn about equality in history and civics, but you find out life is not really like that.”
“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.”
“I’ve always tried to be fair, even-handed, not an advocate for any group.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you are white or black, rich or poor; the will to succeed is universal.”
“When bright young minds can’t afford college, America pays the price.”
“Don’t feel entitled to anything you didn’t sweat and struggle for.”
“Be aware that as you are feeling good, there are others out there who are feeling just the opposite.”
“Life is not a spectator sport.”
“I accepted the offer to write a book because I am a writer by temperament and because writing, like tennis, is something I can do by myself, on my own terms, with no money required.”
“I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.”
“When we were together, I loved you deeply and you gave me so much happiness I can never repay.”
“I have a true affinity for the underdog.”
“The most important word in the English language is ‘why.'”
“Living is like tennis: you have to hit every ball that comes to you.”
“The power of human imagination makes us infinite.”
“I keep the telephone of my mind open to peace, harmony, health, love, and abundance.”
“We’re all children at heart, under some guise of being adults.”
“Tennis was never work for me, tennis was fun.”
“I don’t think I was a great tennis player, I think I was a pretty good one.”
“What can we do for people who are underserved or who are not privileged?”
“Success is never guaranteed. Success is not even always desirable.”
“There’s nothing more rewarding than showing up and putting in the effort, even if it doesn’t yield the intended outcome.”
“Kindness is not something you find; it is something you create.”
“Grace is the ability to rise above one’s circumstances.”
“If we try to give back as much as we receive, the world would be in balance.”
“The most important gift you can give yourself is self-respect.”
“A true champion learns to embrace adversity.”
“It’s never about winning or losing; it’s about showing up and being present.”
“You should have faith in your ability to overcome obstacles.”
“Everyday effort leads to extraordinary results.”
“Keep your focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t.”
“Tennis has given me so much, but the lessons I’ve learned off the court have been just as valuable.”
“Hope is not passive; it is active engagement in creating a better world.”
“Dignity is not about position; it’s about self-awareness.”
“Sometimes the greatest triumph is just having the courage to show up.”