We must reach out our hand in friendship both to those who would befriend us and those who would be our enemy.
—Arthur Ashe
I have tried to keep on with my striving because this is the only hope I have of ever achieving anything worthwhile and lasting.
—Arthur Ashe
True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Heroes/Heroism, Heroes, Heroism, Vision
A wise person decides slowly but abides by these decisions.
—Arthur Ashe
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
—Arthur Ashe
My potential is more than can be expressed within the bounds of my race or ethnic identity.
—Arthur Ashe
I accepted the face that as much as I want to lead others, and love to be around other people, in some essential way, I am something of a loner.
—Arthur Ashe
My only true regret, however, is that now that I see the world more clearly than ever, as I believe I do, I don’t seem to have the time left to translate my visions into action as I would like.
—Arthur Ashe
Every time you win, it diminishes the fear a little bit. You never really cancel the fear of losing; you keep challenging it.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Fear
If I were to say, “God, why me?” about the bad things, then I should have said, “God, why me?” about the good things that happened in my life.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Grace
Trust has to be earned, and should come only after the passage of time.
—Arthur Ashe
Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Success, Success & Failure, Competition, Journeys, Strength
There is a syndrome in sports called “paralysis by analysis.”
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Risk, Sports
I know I could never forgive myself if I elected to live without humane purpose, without trying to help the poor and unfortunate, without recognizing that perhaps the purest joy in life comes with trying to help others.
—Arthur Ashe
I strongly believe the black culture spends too much time, energy and effort raising, praising, and teasing our black children about the dubious glories of professional sports.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Sports
I wanted to indulge and explore my love of humanity and especially my concern for persons less fortunate than myself.
—Arthur Ashe
You are never really playing against an opponent. You are playing against yourself, your own highest standards. And when you reach your limits, that is real joy.
—Arthur Ashe
A couple of times a day I sit quietly and visualize my body fighting the AIDS virus. It’s the same as me sitting and seeing myself hit the perfect serve. I did that often when I was an athlete.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Vision, Forethought, Foresight
You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Winning, Living Well, Winners, Wisdom
I have always drawn strength from being close to home.
—Arthur Ashe
I wish more of us could understand that our increasing isolation, no matter how much it seems to express pride and self-affirmation, is not the answer to our problems.
—Arthur Ashe
From what we get, we can make a living. What we give, however, makes a life.
—Arthur Ashe
One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Strength, Self Confidence, Confidence, Preparation
You learn about equality in history and civics, but you find out life is not really like that.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Equality
The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.
—Arthur Ashe
I have always tried to be true to myself, to pick those battles I felt were important. My ultimate responsibility is to myself. I could never be anything else.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Integrity
We blacks look for leadership in men and women of such youth and inexperience, as well as poverty of education and character, that it is no wonder that we sometimes seem rudderless… . We see basketball players and pop singers as possible role models.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Role models
Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory.
—Arthur Ashe
Topics: Winning, Winners, Competition, Appearance
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
- Jimmy Connors American Tennis Player
- Martina Navratilova Czech-born American Sportsperson
- Billie Jean King American Tennis Player
- Charles Barkley American Sportsperson
- Yogi Berra American Sportsperson
- Andre Agassi American Tennis Player
- Stan Smith American Sportsperson
- Muhammad Ali American Sportsperson
- Jack Nicklaus American Sportsperson
- John Wooden American Sportsperson
Leave a Reply