Quote of the Day: Lenny Wilkens on

Notice he says “chance” rather than “permission.” Permission can sound like an excuse slip; chance sounds like an opening in the defense, brief, real, and earned. A chance implies agency: you still have to take it, still have to do the work. That’s the hinge in Lenny Wilkens’s line: “If you fail the first time that's just a chance to start over again.”

The first failure, in Wilkens’ framing, isn’t a verdict handed down by the universe. It’s information. In sports, that’s obvious: a shot that rims out tells you something about balance, timing, and selection; a turnover is a receipt for a rushed decision. But in life we often treat missteps as identity, proof we’re “not that person,” “not good at that,” “not built for it.” Wilkens strips away the drama and returns failure to its proper size: a moment, not a destiny.

“Start over” doesn’t mean erase the past; it means repurpose it. A restart is not a reboot into innocence but a recalibration into clarity, film study, hard conversations, tiny tactical tweaks, then back into motion. That’s why this quote is quietly demanding. It asks for humility without self-punishment, and for courage without bravado. The second attempt is stronger because it’s less imaginary, more grounded in what actually happened.

Lenny Wilkens earned the right to talk about restarts: a Hall of Famer as both player and coach, an Olympic leader, and a steady influence who turned setbacks into systems. His career, marked by honors, longevity, and philanthropy, reads like a case study in adjusting, not posturing.

On a gray November Monday, when the year feels like it’s narrowing into deadlines, this is a useful correction. Treat the stumble as a reset button: name what failed, choose one adjustment, and run the next rep with resilience, not because failure is beautiful, but because it’s usable.