81 Inspirational Michael Jordan Quotes

Here are 81 of Michael Jordan’s most inspirational quotes:

1. “I’ve missed more than 9000 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

2. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan

3. “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan

4. “My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” – Michael Jordan

5. “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan

6. “To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.” – Michael Jordan

7. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan

8. “If you quit once it becomes a habit. Never quit!” – Michael Jordan

9. “Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.” – Michael Jordan

10. “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” – Michael Jordan

11. “I never thought a role model should be negative” – Michael Jordan

12. “To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.” – Michael Jordan

13. “Just play, have fun, and with the game” – Michael Jordan

14. “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan

15. “Don’t let them drag you down by rumors just go with what you believe in.” – Michael Jordan

16. “Make it happen” – Michael Jordan

17. “If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.” – Michael Jordan

18. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

19. “Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again.” – Michael Jordan

20. “The minute you get away from fundamentals – whether it’s proper technique, work ethic or mental preparation – the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing.” – Michael Jordan

21. “Success isn’t something you chase. It is something you have to put forth the effort for constantly; then maybe it’ll come when you least expect it.” – Michael Jordan

22. “The key to success is failure.” – Michael Jordan

23. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan

24. “Learning’s a gift, even when pain is your teacher.” – Michael Jordan

25. “Failure is acceptable. but not trying is a whole different ball park.” – Michael Jordan

26. “There is no “I” in team but there is in win.” – Michael Jordan

27. “I play to win, whether during practice or a real game.” – Michael Jordan

28. “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”- Michael Jordan

29. “Every time I feel tired while I am exercising and training, I close my eyes to see that picture, to see that list with my name. This usually motivates me to work again.” – Michael Jordan

30. “The best come from the worst.” – Michael Jordan

31. “I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… When you think about the consequences you will always think of the negative result.” – Michael Jordan

32. “I’ve never lost a game I just ran out of time.” – Michael Jordan

33. “I’m not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.” – Michael Jordan

34. “My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn’t stand the sideline.” – Michael Jordan

35. “I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” – Michael Jordan

36. “The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.” – Michael Jordan

37. “I know fear is an obstacle for some people, but it is an illusion to me. Failure always made me try harder the next time.” – Michael Jordan

38. “It’s heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody. My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can. People may not agree with that. I can’t live with what everyone’s impression of what I should or what I shouldn’t do.” – Michael Jordan

39. “If it turns out that my best wasn’t good enough, at least I won’t look back and say I was afraid to try.” – Michael Jordan

40. “I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.” – Michael Jordan

41. “I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it.” – Michael Jordan

42. “Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.” – Michael Jordan

43.“Heart is what separates the good from the great.” – Michael Jordan

44. “I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus.” – Michael Jordan

45. “You can practice shooting 8 hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” – Michael Jordan

46. “I own the guy guarding me.” – Michael Jordan

47. “The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can’t let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.” – Michael Jordan

48. “There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, & I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either.” – Michael Jordan

49. “If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.” – Michael Jordan

50. “You have competition every day because you set such high standards for yourself that you have to go out every day and live up to that.” – Michael Jordan

51. “I accept failure, everyone fails at something.  But I can’t accept not trying” – Michael Jordan

52. “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan

53. “I mean we all fly. Once you leave the ground, you fly. Some people fly longer than others.” – Michael Jordan

54. “Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” – Michael Jordan

55. “Best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.” – Michael Jordan

56. “Winning isn’t always championships.” – Michael Jordan

57. “Sometimes you need to get hit in the head to realize that you’re in a fight.” – Michael Jordan

58. “I want to wake up every day and do whatever comes in my mind, and not feel pressure or obligations to do anything else in my life.” – Michael Jordan

59. “Enjoy every minute of life. Never second-guess life.” – Michael Jordan

60. “I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era.”  – Michael Jordan

61. “If I had been playing for money I would have complained a long time ago that I was underpaid.” – Michael Jordan

62. “Being Michael Jordan means acting the same as I always have.” – Michael Jordan

63. “My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said you never know what you can accomplish until you try.” – Michael Jordan
64. “I want to be the bridge to the next generation.” – Michael Jordan

65. “When I will lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game.” – Michael Jordan

66. “I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and perseverance with a positive attitude.” – Michael Jordan

67. “Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” – Michael Jordan

68. “In reality, I never want to grow up.” – Michael Jordan

69. “How many times have your parents told you not to do things, and the next thing you know, you go do it? And you realized you shouldn’t have done it.”  – Michael Jordan

70. “My heroes are and were my parents. I can’t see having anyone else as my heroes.” – Michael Jordan

71. “In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I’ve been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.” – Michael Jordan

72. “In any investment, you expect to have fun and make money.”  – Michael Jordan

73. “For a competitive junkie like me, golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you’ve accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball.” – Michael Jordan

74. “My challenge when I came back was to face the young talent, to dissect their games, and show them maybe that they needed to learn more about the game than just the money aspect.” – Michael Jordan

75. “Do I need my number retired throughout the course of the league to acknowledge what I’ve done? No.”  – Michael Jordan

76. “I want to be perceived as a guy who played his best in all facets, not just scoring. A guy who love challenges.” – Michael Jordan

77. “I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else’s talent.” – Michael Jordan

78. “Even when I’m old and gray, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game.” – Michael Jordan

79. “I know the signs of scaredness.” – Michael Jordan

80. “It’s absolutely wrong that I don’t want guys to challenge me. And the people who say that aren’t in the room.” – Michael Jordan

81. “Live the moment for the moment.” – Michael Jordan

Which motivational quote of Michael Jordan’s resonated with you the most?  Comment below!

Related Article: 63 Powerful Tony Robbins Quotes That Have Changed My Life