Top Motivational Quotes by Muhammad Ali

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Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, KY in 1942, Muhammad Ali became probably the most recognizable human being on the planet in the 1960s and 1970s. He won the 1960 Light Heavyweight Olympic Gold Medal and then went on to become Heavyweight champion of the world multiple times.

Even his nickname for himself - The Greatest - was an affirmation and he meant it. His flamboyant and confident personality, paired with the great Howard Cosell, made him an icon. He was stripped of his title for choosing conscientious objector status during the Vietnam war. This was the first of many instances when he would demonstrate himself to be a principled person of conscience.

Sports Illustrated named him the Greatest Athlete of the 20th Century.

Here are 13 of my favorite Muhammad Ali motivational quotes.

  1. It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.

  2. Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.

  3. Don’t count the days. Make the days count.

  4. Braggin' is when a person says something and can’t do it. I do what I say.

  5. I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.

  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. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

  8. I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'

  9. A man who has no imagination has no wings.

  10. Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you're going to be right.

  11. To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If not pretend you are.

  12. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, then they can sure make something out of you.

  13. A man who views the world the same at 50 as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.