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Louis Leo Holtz born on January 6, 1937, in Follansbee, West Virginia, United States. He is a retired American football player, analyst, and coach. Though Holtz’s playing career was quite brief, lasting barely a year(1956-57), he earned several laurels by serving as a football coach.
From the year 1960, Lou commenced his coaching journey, initially as a graduate assistant and later as the head coach. He was quite an inspirational figure and thus Lou Holtz quotes are quite famous.
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Best Lou Holtz Quotes
1. “Virtually nothing is impossible in this world if you just put your mind to it and maintain a positive attitude.”
2. “You might not be able to out think, out market or outspend your competition, but you can outwork them.”
3. “See, winners embrace hard work.”
4. “Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”
5. “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.”
6. “Don’t tell your problems to people. 80% don’t care, and the other twenty percent are glad you have them.”
7. “There are certain things in this world we all have in common such as time. Everybody has 60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours to a day. The difference is what we do with that time and how we use it.”
8. “Do right. Do your best. Treat others as you want to be treated.”
9. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
10. “Successful people will always tell you that you can do something. It’s the people who have never accomplished anything who will always discourage you from trying to achieve excellent things.”
11. “If you burn your neighbors’ house down, it doesn’t make your house look any better.”
12. “Don’t be a spectator, don’t let life pass you by.”
13. “You were not born a winner, you were not born a loser. You are what you make yourself to be.”
14. “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.”
15. “Everyone goes through adversity in life, but what matters is how you learn from it.”
16. “We aren’t where we want to be. We aren’t where we ought to be. But thank goodness we aren’t where we used to be.”
17. “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”
18. “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”
19. “No one has ever drowned in sweat.”
20. “Everyone wants to win on Saturday afternoon when the game is played. It’s what you do the other six days that decides the outcome.”
21. “God answers prayers, but he doesn’t always answer it your way.”
22. “It’s always better to face the truth, no matter how uncomfortable, than to continue coddling a lie.”
23. “The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it.”
24. “Only the unprepared are overcome by pressure.”
25. “It is a fine thing to have an ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test.”
26. “Making a big life change is pretty scary. But you know what’s even scarier? Regret.”
27. “If you’re bored with life, you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things, you don’t have enough goals.”
28. “The standards you establish for others must reflect the standards you set for yourself. No one will follow a hypocrite.”
29. “I think that we have opportunities all around us. Sometimes we just don’t recognize them.”
30. “I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.”
31. “The greatest power God gave us is the power to choose. We have the opportunity to choose whether we’re going to act or procrastinate, believe or doubt, pray or curse, help or heal. We also choose whether we’re going to be happy or whether we’re going to be sad.”
32. “Never settle for second when first is available.”
33. “I think that everybody needs four things in life. Everybody needs something to do regardless of age. Everybody needs someone to love. Everybody needs something to hope for, and of course, everybody needs someone to believe in.”
34. “Without self-discipline, success is impossible. Period.”
35. “If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven’t done anything today.”
36. “Everybody is looking for instant success, but it doesn’t work that way. You build a successful life one day at a time.”
37. “Remember. Every day, some ordinary person does something extraordinary. Today, it’s your turn.”
38. “You’ll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him.”
39. “I think life is a matter of choices and that wherever we are, good or bad, is because of choices we make.”
40. “You’re never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say when you lose.”
41. “Never promise more than you can deliver, but deliver more than you can promise.”
42. “I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions.”
43. “Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that’s the difference.”
Early Life And Coaching Career
Holtz was brought up as a Roman Catholic. After graduating from East Liverpool High School, Holtz went to Kent State University and became a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. In the year 1959, he was awarded a degree in the field of history. During his time at university, he also drilled Kent State’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
At Iowa, he not only served as a graduate assistant but also received his post-graduation degree. For eight long years, Holtz worked at the same designation at different colleges such as William & Mary, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Ohio State.
Lou tutored the William & Mary Indians as head coach in 1969 and helped them make it to the Southern Conference title in 1970. He also landed them into Tangerine Bowl.
Before rejoining South Carolina in 1999, Holtz worked as a commentator for CBS Sports. He made South Carolina win the Outback Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes with an 8-4 record. This incredible victory helped Lou to earn the honorable award of – National Coach of the Year. The accomplishments didn’t stop there as in the third season, he brought home another Outback Bowl victory, now with a 9-3 record.
In 2005, the improper conduct of Holtz’s team was extremely discouraged by the NCAA who later imposed a 3-year probation period and several reductions in the two scholarships. However, none of the tournaments were renounced.
In 2008, he was registered at the College Football Hall of Fame. Leo has also been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2020.