Muhammad Ali is probably known for being the greatest heavyweight boxer that ever lived. However, Ali, was not just known for his great boxing skills, but also for his articulation in self-praise. He used to profess mantras like, ‘I am the king of the world’ and ‘I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.’ Muhammad Ali undoubtedly transformed the image of black sports men with his overwhelming strong sense of self belief. He controlled his own narrative and never allowed anyone to speak negatively in his life, he spoke very positively about his life, and made affirmations which I believe secured his place, as the greatest sporting legend ever known, BBC, even crowned Ali as sports personality of the century.
I believe that Muhammad was a very strong and courageous person especially to have emerged from white America, as a black man, with such self-belief. When my mother was a young woman, she had an encounter with the Sporting legend in the 1960’s, when he came to Ghana. My mother told me that the boxer was very bold, even then, and used to declare out loud that he was the king of the world. I personally feel that Muhammad Ali was ahead of his time, his positive self-outlook and positive talk to and about himself was a phenomenon which seems to have caught on now.
I believe that there is a lot that we can learn from the legend that was Muhammad Ali. The boxer is evidence that speaking positively into our lives has positive results. We need to speak like we are already the champion we desire to be. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us of this very fact.
Find below just some of the awesome quotes from the greatest champion to ever live.
- It is the lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, I believed in myself.
- What keeps me going are my goals.
- If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.
- He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
- The repetition of affirmations leads to a belief, once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
- My only fault is that I don’t realize how great I really am. I am the greatest; I said this even before I knew I was.
- I hated every minute of training, but I said don’t quit, suffer now, and live the rest of your life like a champion.
