Below are some of the most memorable pieces of advice and one-liners he shared with the attendance of ASC leaders.
1. “The goals and objectives of people in business … are the same goals and objectives that our team had, and [our objective] was to be the best and to be successful.”
2. “Like any successful team or company or individual, it’s a process.”
3. “[The gold medal] wasn’t a fluke. It wasn’t a miracle. We weren’t lucky. It was an accomplishment by a group of athletes who believed. We believed in each other and we believed in ourselves, and that’s a great place to be. That’s a great mindset to have.”
4. “Change is good. Sometimes when things aren’t working out for you, don’t be afraid to do something different. As [Head Coach] Herb [Brooks] used to say, ‘We think outside the box.’ And he always said, ‘You can’t be common …You have to be uncommon.'”
5. “[Herb] said, ‘If you don’t want to be here then leave because there are thousands of people who would like to be in your shoes.’ And guess what? It’s the same in business. If you have people that you work with or you work for that never want to be there then leave because not only are you hurting yourself and your own opportunity to succeed, but the people that you work with and the people that you work for. So what Herb was telling us is, ‘Check your ego at the door.'”
6. “I use values a lot because those are things my dad taught me. Dad said when I was really young, ‘If you understand the value of work, at some point in your life you’ll be successful.’ And it might not be today or tomorrow or next month or next year, but when you’re the best at what you do, I guarantee it’s time, effort and work that you put in … People are successful because they believe in those old-fashioned values. They believe in hard work. They believe in respect. They believe in commitment — qualities that our team had.”
7. “Little things separate good teams from great teams. Little things separate good business from great business. We obviously had some talent on the hockey team, but we had incredible values.”
8. “The most important value in life is respect. And what Herb was telling us is this: ‘If you don’t respect yourself, you will not be successful. If you don’t respect your competition, you will not be successful. If you don’t respect your teammates, people that you work with, people that you associate with, you will not be successful.'”
9. “A lot of times things don’t go well. Don’t dwell on the negative. Find something positive and build off of that because guess what? If you think about negative things, nothing but negative thoughts will stay in your head.”
10. “I can measure how fast you can run, how high you can jump. I can measure how much weight you can lift. But I can’t measure heart … I can’t measure commitment, and those… are intangibles.”
11. “You’ve got to have fun with what you’re doing.”
12. “Think about the sacrifices you make … for you to achieve your goals. Maybe you’re on the road … Maybe you’re missing a son’s game or a daughter’s game or an anniversary. People who are successful make sacrifices.”
13. “Don’t ever lose your perspective, and don’t ever think you’re any better than anybody else. Understand how you’re able to achieve your goals. It’s about old-fashioned values. It’s about time. It’s about effort. It’s about work. It’s about commitment. Values that are so important.”
14. “Each and every one of us in our lives gets an opportunity. It’s what you do with that opportunity that counts.”
15. “When you want to be the best at what you do, you want to be successful at what you do, it takes heart, it takes time, it takes commitment, it takes respect, it takes a work ethic and if you have that, to me, nothing but great things can happen. And when you surround yourself with people who have that, it’s even greater.”
