- “Adam gave his life for his teammates during a mission which can only be defined as classic SEAL Team SIX work in Afghanistan,” the letter begins. It ends with, “Adam was a friend, teammate, and brother in arms. Adam was a husband and a son and a father. Adam will always be a hero. His actions on his final mission were indicative of the way he lived his life. Fearless.” Fearless: The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown (Blehm, Eric) page 250
- “Sports is one of the few real models for how whites, blacks, Latinos, and Asians can interact peacefully. They shower together, bleed together, watch each other’s back, and work for a common goal with few difficulties.” The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game (Steinberg, Leigh; Arkush, Michael) – page 284
- “What moves me is watching young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when they focus—with their whole heart and soul—on something greater than themselves. Once you’ve experienced that, it’s something you never forget.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 78-79
- “It takes a number of critical factors to win an NBA championship, including the right mix of talent, creativity, intelligence, toughness, and, of course, luck. But if a team doesn’t have the most essential ingredient—love—none of those other factors matter.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 108-10
- “I learned to dial back my ego and distribute power as widely as possible without surrendering final authority. Paradoxically, this approach strengthened my effectiveness because it freed me to focus on my job as keeper of the team’s vision.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc.. 210-12
- “But I’ve found that a few kinds, thoughtful words can have a strong transformative effect on relationships, even with the toughest men on the team.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc.298-99
- “Management guru Stephen Covey tells this old Japanese tale about a samurai warrior and his three sons: The samurai wanted to teach his sons about the power of teamwork. So he gave each of them an arrow and asked them to break it. No problem. Each son did it easily. Then the samurai gave them a bundle of three arrows bound together and asked them to repeat the process. But none of them could. “That’s your lesson,” the samurai said. “If you three stick together, you will never be defeated.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc.309-13
- “What’s more, obsessing about winning is a loser’s game: The most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome. The ride is a lot more fun that way.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc.358-60
- “In The Tao of Leadership, John Heider stresses the importance of interfering as little as possible. “Rules reduce freedom and responsibility,” he writes. “Enforcement of rules is coercive and manipulative, which diminishes spontaneity and absorbs group energy. The more coercive you are, the more resistant the group will become.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 121
- “This was a team—despite all the turmoil—that knew it was destined for greatness, if only it could get out of its own way.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 244