Sorry about the obvious bias, but, the SF Giants just pulled a big win and are headed to the World Series again, so I had to write something. Maybe this "something" is both useful for those of us who work regular jobs, plus is a proper tip-of-the-cap to great athletes.

If you don't find yourself lacking in at least a few of the mindsets these sports gods and goddesses espouse, well then, you've got an edge on the 99.9% rest of us.

And which quote below is your favorite? I've got to give Ronnie Lott the nod for poeticism, and perhaps Mark Spitz the gold for cleverness...

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"Sports do not build character. They reveal it."
- John Wooden

"Make sure your worst enemy doesn't live between your own two ears."
- Laird Hamilton

"Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement."
- Matt Biondi

"An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head."
- Emil Zatopek

"Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss."
- Doug WIlliams

"Age is no barrier. It's a limitation you put on your mind."
- Jackie Joyner-Kersee

"Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there."
- Bo Jackson

"It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters."
- Paul Bear Bryant

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination."
- Tommy Lasorda

"Champions keep playing until they get it right."
- Billy Jean King

"If you fail to prepare, you're prepared to fail."
- Mark Spitz

one man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team."
- Kareem Abdul Jabbar

"During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball."
- Mickey Mantle

"Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you."
- Eddie Robinson

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter”
- Satchel Paige

"You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation."
- Homer Rice

"Without self-discipline, success is impossible, period."
- Lou Holtz

"Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play."
- Mike Singletary

"Show me a guy who's afraid to look bad, and I'll show you a guy you can beat every time."
- Lou Brock

"If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough."
- Mario Andretti

"To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them."
- Picabo Street

"If you can believe it, the mind can achieve it."
- Ronnie Lott

"What do do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it."
- Dean Smith

"If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?"
- Joe Namath

"There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either IN or you're OUT. There is no such thing as life in-between."
- Pat Riley

"Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do."
- John Wooden

"A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t."
- Jack Dempsey

"You're never a loser until you quit trying."
- Mike Ditka

"You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take."
- Wayne Gretzky

"Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding."
- Jim Valvano

"The only way I'd worry about the weather is if it snows on our side of the field and not theirs."
- Tommy Lasorda

"Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching."
- Satchel Paige

The more I practice, the luckier I get.
- Gary Player

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