Nick Saban Quotes

There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you'll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment.

Success doesn't come from pie-in-the-sky thinking. It's the result of consciously doing something each day that will add to your overall excellence.

It's not human nature to be great. It's human nature to survive, to be average and do what you have to do to get by. That is normal. When you have something good happen, it's the special people that can stay focused and keep paying attention to detail, working to get better and not being satisfied with what they have accomplished.

The process is really what you have to do day in and day out to be successful, we try to define the standard that we want everybody to sort of work toward, adhere to, and do it on a consistent basis. And the things that I talked about before, being responsible for your own self-determination, having a positive attitude, having great work ethic, having discipline to be able to execute on a consistent basis, whatever it is you're trying to do, those are the things that we try to focus on, and we don't try to focus as much on the outcomes as we do on being all that you can be.

What happened yesterday is history. What happens tomorrow is a mystery. What we do today makes a difference - the precious present moment.

Becoming a champion is not an easy process... It is done by focusing on what it takes to get there and not on getting there.

We create a standard for how we want to do things and everybody's got to buy into that standard or you really can't have any team chemistry. Mediocre people don't like high-achievers and high-achievers don't like mediocre people.

We're not going to talk about what we're going to accomplish, we're going to talk about how we're going to do it.

One thing about championship teams is that they're resilient. No matter what is thrown at them, no matter how deep the hole, they find a way to bounce back and overcome adversity.

Live by the creed that a strong work ethic, playing by the rules, and doing things the right way will bring about opportunities for success and, ultimately, happiness.

I think everybody should take the attitude that we're working to be a champion, that we want to be a champion in everything that we do. Every choice, every decision, everything that we do every day, we want to be a champion.

Focus on the process of what it takes to be successful.

We have three kinds of guys on our team. We have guys that get it; they play good; they understand how to play winning football. We have some guys that are trying to get it, and they are working hard every day? We are supporting them, and we want the guys that have it to support them. Then we have some guys that don't get it and don't know that they don't get it. We are trying to replace them. We only have a couple left.

Mediocre people hate high achievers, and high achievers hate mediocre people.

I don’t care what you did yesterday. If you’re happy with that, you have bigger problems.

Your character is your accumulation of your thoughts, habits and priorities on a day-to-day basis.

You can't win together if you don't work together.

We have got to use every opportunity to improve individually so we can improve collectively.

Eliminate the clutter and all the things that are going on outside and focus on the things that you can control with how you sort of go about and take care of your business. That's something that's ongoing, and it can never change.

A good process produces good results.

Discipline is not punishment. Discipline is changing someone’s behavior.

Be all you can be in whatever you choose to do. The sky is the limit, so go for it. And do not create any self-imposed limitations.

People who are role models for the principles and values of the organization, who buy in and understand the vision of what the organization is trying to accomplish, and have the personality to inspire other people to the vision. You know, that’s what team chemistry and leadership is all about.

The more one emphasizes winning, the less he or she is able to concentrate on what actually causes success.

Be on time because it shows you care.