Harness your inner champion with these inspiring Muhammad Ali quotes that will challenge you to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. Entrepreneurs can learn from Muhammad Ali.
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Muhammad Ali was more than a professional boxer. He was an influential figure to a range of generations, not just with his historic matches but also with his inspiring words. His flexibility both in the ring and the public sphere can be an instance to us all.
Muhammed Ali is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. He was the heavyweight champion of the world 3 times and has defeated some of the best boxers in the history of the sport. He is known for his incredible speed, strength, and controversial words. Muhammad Ali quotes and poems are famous around the world. Muhammad Ali was a passionate and intelligent person that always spoke his mind and was full of wisdom.
Unlike most boxers who used their managers to talk for them, Muhammad Ali wanted to be known in the media. Muhammad Ali used the media to grow his audience and his message. Muhammad Ali loved to throw his opponents before even stepping into the ring. Muhammed Ali first took up boxing at age 12, after another kid stole his bike. His amateur career went extremely well and he controlled any fights he entered. Many of his fights, such as the fights with George Foreman and Joe Frazier, are the most famous in boxing history. Muhammad Ali became the heavyweight champion of the world at the young age of 21.
Though he later exceeded sport, it was first and foremost as a boxer that Muhammad Ali captivated the planet. Muhammad Ali who floored Sonny Liston seemed, as all sporting legends do, to master the techniques of his profession while inventing skills others hadn’t yet dreamed of. In method and philosophy, Muhammad Ali the boxer was that special thing: an original. He had the fastest feet and sharpest jab of any person to enter the ring, as well as a better understanding of the space around and available to him than any who came before or after.
By the time he defeated George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle – perhaps the most hyped match in the history of the sport, and one that lived up to that hype – he had given memorable linguistic shape to his approach: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." This exquisite formulation carried all the hallmarks of powerful English: a readily accessible metaphor; monosyllabic words; and moral force. It was the power of Muhammad Ali’s language that allowed him to capture as many hearts as he did.
When he launched himself upon British cameras ahead of his bout with Foreman and declared his opponent "ugly", it was as much how he spoke as what he said that injected new drama into the occasion. Yet it was the point at which Muhammad Ali went from heavyweight fighter to, first, religious and black icon, and then the conscience of a nation, that secured his impact on his history.
As a champion of black liberation – he revolted against "Cassius Clay" because, he said, that was his “slave name” – Muhammad Ali ranks with Martin Luther King Jr and Bob Marley as one of those who, in the 20th century, did more than almost any others to force an end to shameful oppression. As a devotee of the Nation of Islam, he was less effective in redressing historic wrongs or curing modern ills than when he demanded equal rights for black people.
When he said he would not fight in Vietnam, he became a conquering hero to all those who felt, rightly, that America's misadventure in Asia was being driven by morally bankrupt foreign policy. His conversion to Islam, and objection to military action, which came just as America’s culture wars were boiling over, ensured that even those who cared not a jot for boxing would have reason to look to him as an instance.
About Muhammad Ali, there is little that can be said that he didn't say himself. He was right about the power of sport, he was right about racial equality, he was right about Vietnam and he was right about himself. He was, as he so often told us, the greatest. Muhammed Ali will always be known for his rebellious nature, witty mind, and incredible boxing ability.
Has somebody in our time inspired so many people to fulfill their potential? Several generations of people have tried to think like him, move like him, talk like him and look like him. His confidence and sheer charisma had a singular quality, but so powerful was its effect that countless would-be heroes have tried to destroy his progress. Nobody did and nobody will.
He created a legacy that will live on forever. Everyone can learn something from Muhammad Ali's quotes. Below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and funny Muhammad Ali quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.
1. Be the first, to trust in yourself.
"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it—then I can achieve it."
Muhammad Ali’s belief in himself, in his own abilities and in his own personality, was unmatched. He was focused. He knew what he wanted to do and what he didn’t. Muhammad Ali was known for being “the greatest” in the ring. He's called himself the greatest even before he became one because he believed in himself. The time you leave your doubts behind and stop fearing the consequences is when you open the doors to new paths in life.
Being an entrepreneur requires an enormous amount of self-belief. Because if you don’t believe in your own self or in your own dream, then how can you convince others? How can you turn them into believers? It’s a really powerful ability. You are an entrepreneur. You have an idea. Maybe you don’t have the necessary skills. Maybe you don’t have the time or resources. Maybe you can’t do it. All these thoughts are clouding your way! The truth is, you can never be successful if you keep blocking yourself with these thoughts.
Self-doubt is something we have all experienced in our lives. But an entrepreneur faces new challenges every day and tries to solve the riddles one by one. Muhammad Ali believed he could become the greatest heavyweight boxer and he achieved that in 1964 when he became the World Champion. What’s stopping you from becoming the greatest in what you do? I know of all such brave hearts who have set their life on a mission to achieve that unachievable. Dreamers can never be losers until they doubt their own abilities.
2. Take Risks.
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”
Being an entrepreneur is all about taking risks. To take a step in this field, you have to put everything else — your family, a steady income, your career and even your mental health — at risk. It’s not easy and it’s certainly not many people sign up for. But for most, the prospect of being your own boss and working for what they are really passionate about is worth it. So if you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to be prepared for taking risks and putting everything at stake.
3. Don’t be Afraid of Failure. Failure is part of the game.
“Only a person 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.”
Everyone fails. It’s a part of life. It’s a part of growing up. It’s what readies you for the next step of life. Muhammad Ali, termed as the greatest fighter of all time, failed too — five times in fact. His first ever defeat, also one of the most famous was at the hands of Joe Frazier. “Next time would be different,” Muhammad Ali said in his hotel room.
Sure enough, he came back, stronger, better. Muhammad Ali won his second fight with Joe Frazier by a unanimous decision Not only that, but he also beat Frazier one more time in 1975 in a fight ranked as one of the best in the sport’s history. The third fight (and also the final fight between the two) was the culmination of a three-bout rivalry between the two fighters as Muhammad Ali won 2–1.
Entrepreneurship is almost all about failing and trying, again and again, until you finally succeed. Some of the most popular entrepreneurs right now have had their own share of failures. Some have had big failures, some have had small ones. But almost every one of them has failed, only to pick themselves up again and use their experience to do it better the next time.
An entrepreneur should be willing to go to hell and back just to resurrect its wealth. You’d have to do everything possible for your startup to become successful. But the harsh reality is that most of the time startups fail! And when you know you’ve done everything in your power to make it work and it just doesn’t, you’d just have to leave the past and work on new ideas. The failures are part of the journey to reach success. But if you if your startup start work, then continue to work hard.
4. Will is Stronger than the Skill.
“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”
Having a strong skill-set is essential, but having an even stronger will is of even more importance. You can learn to swim, to run, to singing but you can’t instill the will to do so. Muhammad Ali had a will that could tumble mountains, break thunderstorms and shake the world. It was his sheer willpower that led him to fulfill his legacy as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
The will can force you to do the necessary things. To stop pushing the snooze button and start working on the dream. To do the things you have always wanted to, but are too afraid to do so. It’s what will compel you to make that jump from 9-to-5 to working in your home and wake up nights. Being an entrepreneur requires commitment and perseverance. The 9 to 5 work hours won’t be enough for your infant company. This means you’d have to put longer hours and more effort for your business to thrive. You’d have to improve your self-discipline, plan your every move in order to get ahead of others.
Making hard decisions is also part of the daily routine which makes you responsible for the future of the company and the employees. You’d have to start doing the stuff you’d never done before, step out of your comfort zone and feel the butterflies in your stomach if you want to become the champion of your field.
5. Have Confidence in your own Ability.
“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. ”
If you asked Muhammad Ali why he lost — not that he gave people many chances to ask that question — he would always have an answer ready. And that answer won’t be about a lack of ability or talent. The champ believed in his own ability too much to accept a flaw, and that’s what is unique about him. Muhammad Ali knew what he could do and he proved it, repeatedly, again and again.
Most entrepreneurs today have the ability and the skill to make things happen. They can make their dreams come true. But most of them don’t have enough confidence in their own ability. Self-doubt is a dangerous thing. Have confidence in yourself! Have faith! Take the next step and leave the rest to God. That’s what Muhammad Ali preached.
One of his most famous quotes depicts what made Muhammad Ali great; his hard work. Muhammad Ali was never one to shy from hard work. Once a small boy, he was brought fuming into the police station, he told the police officer that he would “whup” the guy who did this. Today, he is known as the “Greatest Of All Time”, has a place on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is respected all over the world. All of it is down to his hard work and the commitment to put in all his effort while he could, only to reap the benefits later on in his life.
Entrepreneurship isn’t really as requiring as boxing in terms of physical well-being. So while most entrepreneurs may have more time to commit to entrepreneurship than Ali had for boxing, the situation is still the same. The more hard work a person will put in, the more the chances of his success. You might fail, even more than once, but you only have to succeed once to live the rest of your life as a champion.
6. Stick to your conviction and goals.
“I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want.”
Muhammad Ali was a person who never let his surroundings define his purpose. During the counterculture of the 1960s and despite the controversies, Muhammad Ali converted to Islam just after he won the world heavyweight championship. He refused to get involved in the Vietnam war because of his beliefs and that made him an even bigger icon in the eyes of the public. To leave your mark on this world, you must take the path that most people don’t bother taking it.
Get creative with your work and break the boundaries every once in a while. Build the product and provide the services that people need, but haven’t realized it yet. There’s no framework to this, you’re the one who defines how you’re going to make a positive influence on your community. If you, as an entrepreneur, have an idea or a set of guidelines that you live your life by, you should stick to them. You should stand by your beliefs. You shouldn’t let yourself be strong-armed into doing anything other than what you want to.
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