36 Jim Valvano Quotes on Life, Success and Cancer

Jim Valvano was not only a great basketball coach but turned his cancer diagnosis into an opportunity to help others, leaving behind words of wisdom in the process. Read 36 of his quotes below.

Jim Valvano was a college basketball player at Rutgers. When he graduated, he became a head coach at Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, for 19 seasons.

While there, in the early 1980s, he managed to help the Wolfpack win the 1983 NCAA title. Before passing away in 1993, not only did he leave behind a professional legacy but timeless words of wisdom, which you can read below in these 36 quotes.

Jim Valvano’s quote: "I just got one last thing; I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have." | Image: AmoDays

Quotes of Jim Valvano’s Outlooks on Life

"Know where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to be." — Jim Valvano

"The greatest gift you can give your children is to believe in them." — Jim Valvano

"Everybody has to have a personal philosophy of how you live your life." — Jim Valvano

"A person really doesn't become whole until he becomes a part of something that's bigger than himself." — Jim Valvano

"Time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left, and I have some things that I would like to say." — Jim Valvano

"I just got one last thing; I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "Spend each day with some laughter and some thought to get you're emotions going." | Image: AmoDays

"To me, there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh." ― Jim Valvano

"How enthusiastic are you every day, every day in your profession?" — Jim Valvano

"Life changes when you least expect it to. The future is uncertain. So, seize this day, seize this moment, and make the most of it." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "To me, there are three things everyone should do every day. Number one is laugh." | Image: AmoDays

"Spend each day with some laughter and some thought to get you're emotions going." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano's Quotes on Success and Dreams

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

"You plus motivation equals success." — Jim Valvano

"Nothing can happen if it's not first a dream. If you have someone with a dream, if you have a motivated person with a goal and a vision, if you have someone that never gives up, who has great hope, Anything can happen." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first steps to succeeding." | Image: AmoDays

"Conceive the inconceivable—then accomplish it." — Jim Valvano

"How do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it." — Jim Valvano

"Motivation to me vis three things. Three things I try to do each day." — Jim Valvano

"There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It's up to you to decide what to do with them." — Jim Valvano

"Don't give up. Don't ever give up." ― Jim Valvano

"In every single day, in every walk of life, ordinary people do extraordinary things. Ordinary People accomplish Extraordinary things." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It's up to you to decide what to do with them." | Image: AmoDays

"If you have someone with a dream, if you have a motivated person with a goal and a vision, if you have someone that never gives up, who has great hope, Anything can happen." — Jim Valvano

"Be a dreamer. If you don't know how to dream, you're dead." — Jim Valvano

"Nothing has ever been accomplished in any walk of life without enthusiasm, without motivation, and without perseverance." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano's Quotes on Cancer

"I'll also tell you that five hundred thousand people will die this year of cancer. And I'll also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease, and yet, somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background." — Jim Valvano

"And I'm going to work as hard as I can for cancer research, and hopefully, maybe, we'll have some cures and some breakthroughs." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "Don't give up. Don't ever give up." | Image: AmoDays

"Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul." — Jim Valvano

Self-Reflection and Personal JimValvano'ss Quotes

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person; he believed in me." ― Jim Valvano

"I'm 21 years old, and the kids I'm coaching are 19, and I'm going to be the greatest coach in the world." — Jim Valvano

'‘And if you see me, smile and maybe give me a hug. That important to me too.'’ — Jim Valvano

"That's me; I don't like when people ask me how many weeks off we get before we start to work, that's me. Maybe I am wrong, but that's just how I am.’"— Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person; he believed in me." | Image: AmoDays

"I am an ordinary guy, I want to do extraordinary things in my life, and I believe that." — Jim Valvano

"I made a ridiculous statement when I first went to North Carolina State. I said I know basketball down there was like life or death. It was very wrong. It's more important." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "I'm 21 years old, and the kids I'm coaching are 19, and I'm going to be the greatest coach in the world." | Image: AmoDays

"All really successful coaches have a system." — Jim Valvano

"Hopefully, at the end, I will have said something that will be important to other people too." — Jim Valvano

"Other people go to the office. I get to coach. I know I've been blessed.'" — Jim Valvano

"I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust 'em." — Jim Valvano

Jim Valvano’s quote: "All really successful coaches have a system." | Image: AmoDays

In 1993, Valvano died of bone cancer at 47 years old in Durham, N.C., at Duke University Medical Center. Before he passed away, Valvano founded the V Foundation, which focuses on cancer research.

Turning your pain into your purpose, as Valvano did, is just one way to deal with a tragic incident you may be experiencing. If you'd also like to learn how to turn lemons into lemonade, read these 34 lemon quotes to squeeze more zest into your life.