These incredibly powerful Muhammad Ali quotes will inspire you and encourage you as you go through life and work your way to your dreams.
I had a general idea about Muhammad Ali when I was a kid because my father was a huge fan but I didn’t know much about him.
Sometime in 1999, I was upset about something going on in my life and spoke to my martial arts teacher about it.
He wasn’t much for giving advice but he gave me a book entitled Muhammad Ali: His Life & Times by Thomas Hauser and urged me to read it.
I remember being annoyed and wondered what a boxer could possibly teach a young lady about her life turning upside down. This was my introduction to the greatest boxer that ever lived.
I stared at the book for a few days but eventually, the reader in me got the better of me.
Subsequently, I finished it in 3 days and came away absolutely riveted by his determination through all his trials.
His unparalleled ability to get all the way inside his opponents heads, his unrelenting belief in himself, his audacity to stand up for what he believed him and his willingness to bear the consequences for it.
Suddenly, what I thought was the absolute end of the world looked like nothing to me.
He was pinned on my mental hall of fame from that day onwards as “impossible is nothing” became one of my favorite phrases.
This great man died on Friday from Parkinson’s disease-related complications at the age of 74.
When I heard, it was very upsetting for me and I started digging through my stuff for the things I’d saved about him so I could celebrate his life.
Among my things were these 10 quotes that have shaped so much of my philosophies over the years:-
10 Incredibly Powerful & Inspirational Muhammad Ali Quotes
1. It’s lack of faith that makes people afriad of meeting challenged, and I believed in myself.
2. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
3. Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them; a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina. They have to be a little faster. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
4. It’s not bragging if you can back it up.
5. Live every day like it’s your last becamse someday you’re going to be right.
6. Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
7. Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.
8. Don’t count the days; make the days count.
9. If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it.
10. A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted thirty years of his life.
Best Book About the Legend
There have been many other books written about his life over the years and while I haven’t read any of them, I don’t think they could have been any more awesome than the 1991 version from Thomas Hauser.
This book taught me so much about courage in the midst of turmoil, resilience in the midst of tribulation, standing up for what you believe in and never ever giving up no matter what.
Muhammad Ali: His Life & Times by Thomas Hauser
If you’re going through something or just want a great pick me up, I strongly recommend reading this book.
I hope it helps you as much as it helped me back then. You can find out more about Muhammad Ali books HERE.
RIP to the Greatest of All Time! You will be missed. I never met you but you mattered greatly to me…
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