I look at athletes in all sports and try to picture what kind of football player they'd be, what position they'd play and so on.
I think that we have opportunities all around us - sometimes we just don't recognize them.
It's good to be successful but it's great to be significant.
He called on me to save him as I had promised. And I did the same thing that you might have done if you were in my situation. I tried to pretend that I couldn't hear him calling to me.
So think before you complain, especially about things that require some sacrifice. Complaining is the sign of a loser.
I follow three rules: Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.
If you try to fight the course, it will beat you.
I do think coaches need to get away from the game more, though. It's good for them.
I'm so old, I don't buy green bananas any more.
I was raised in a religious environment, and my wife is one of the more religious people that I have ever known.
My philosophy in life is, Decide what you want to do. You have to have something to hope for.
I don't exercise.
Nothing on this earth is standing still. It's either growing or it's dying. No matter if it's a tree or a human being.
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
Nothing is as good as it seems, and nothing is as bad as it seems. Somewhere in between lies realty.
How do you know what it's like to be stupid if you've never been smart?
See, winners embrace hard work.
In this world you're either growing or you're dying so get in motion and grow.
I look like I have beriberi and scurvy.
You don't go to Notre Dame to learn something; you go to Notre Dame to be somebody.
If you made me the national commissioner of football, I'd tell you one thing that I would mandate. The second Saturday in September, we're going to have conference day. Everybody from the SEC plays a Big 12 team. Everybody from the Big Ten is going to play the ACC. Everybody from the Big East is going to play the Pac-10.
Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.
I believe - we all pay taxes. I'm happy to pay it, but I hate to have it abused, money wasted, no accountability. That's going to bother you.
I'm no genius.
My wife told me if there is any rumors about me, it better be about politics and not about my social life.
You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you're never as bad as they say when you lose.
If you burn your neighbors house down, it doesn't make your house look any better.
I truly believe the things Notre Dame stands for.
The Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Aloysius Grade School influenced my life tremendously. This was due to the fact that they encouraged you always to make sure that God is the focus of your life, and they didn't allow you to do anything except to the very best of your ability.
I'm an old man, and all my life I've said that Notre Dame should remain independent because it's a national school.
On this team, we're all united in a common goal: to keep my job.
A lifetime contract for a coach means if you're ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can't fire you.
In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention.
I give opinions, not advice.
You were not born a winner, and you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself be.
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.
I was born January 6, 1937, eight years after Wall Street crashed and two years before John Steinbeck published The Grapes of Wrath, his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about the plight of a family during the Great Depression.
Remember, if you have a problem, it's your problem. Solve it. Don't blame other people. Don't burden people with your complaints. Ninety percent of the people you meet don't care about your troubles. The other 10 percent are glad you have them.
Our cellar home had a kitchen and a combination bedroom and half bath, which meant we had a sink next to the bed. We had no refrigerator, no shower or tub, and no privacy. My parents shared the bedroom with my sister and me.
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.
I'm proud to be part of the Dr. Pepper Scholarship Giveaway. It's a great program that gives me the chance to brighten the day for some lucky college students with free tuition.
The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.
In the nineties, everybody wants to talk about their rights and privileges. Twenty-five years ago, people talked about their obligations and responsibilities.
To win a national championship, you've got to be a little lucky.
Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.
The University of Notre Dame does not redshirt, and I endorse that policy completely. I am very much in favor of redshirting, but not at Notre Dame. But there's no doubt about it. It puts us at a huge disadvantage.
I'll assure you this: I will have nothing to do with politics.
