15 Muhammed Ali Quotes That Inspire Greatness

There aren’t many people that can say what Muhammed Ali said and get away with it, not without sounding like a complete asshole, anyway.

There aren’t many people that can say what Muhammed Ali said at all, let alone believe it.

But so much was the confidence of the man that he became a legend for it.

I mean, who says “I’m so mean I make medicine sick”?

He also said, “I’m young; I’m handsome; I’m fast. I can’t possibly be beat.” And — “It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am.” And then topped that by saying — “If you even dream of beating me you’d better wake up and apologize.”

Can you imagine?

Most people would get booed offstage or told to get a grip if they said such things, but somehow Muhammed Ali became even more loved because of it.

“Braggin’ is when a person says something and can’t do it. I do what I say.” — Ali

So, to continue in the theme of the great man, here are 15 more of my favourite quotes that showcase the world champion he became but also the human he was all along.

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.”

Muhammed Ali was one of the greatest manifesters of all time. What he shares here is what all that the great mystics have shared over time. And that is that no thought (mind) alone is strong enough to pull invisible energy into real matter, it has to coupled with an emotion (heart).

When these two forces combine anything is possible.

August Goncalves put it like this — “Thoughts are electric. Feelings are magnetic. Together they create the electromagnetic field that attracts all things to you.”

“We cannot be brave without fear”

Even the big man himself got scared and this proves it. A life without fear isn’t the desired goal but rather learning healthy ways to face fear.

That’s because on the other side of our fear is desire. And going after a dream takes courage.

When fear alchemises into love, our life becomes an expression of joy experienced through the soul.

“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough”

I love this one. It reminds me that the only limitations we place on ourselves come from within.

It also reminds me to dream much bigger than ever dare to dream, big enough that a life so beautiful and exuberant is exhilarating yet scary.

“A man who has no imagination has no wings”

So, fly!

Dream, imagine, visual. Wander through the infinite pool of possibilities and allow your wings to take you there.

“You don’t lose if you get knocked down, you lose if you stay down”

It takes courage to know that whatever just knocked you down is worth pursuing. It takes courage because it normally f*cking hurts.

But as Brene Brown says, “If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall.”

We can’t be brave and not get our ass kicked from time to time. It’s part of the deal.

This is to help you get back up.

“Don’t count the days, make the days count”

Or as Hunter S. Thompson put it…

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”

“He who is not courageous in life will accomplish nothing”

Courage is another word for vulnerability. And vulnerability is the ability to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.

Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.

“What you are thinking about, you are becoming”

Or Mahatma Gandhi put it like this:

“Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny”

Two great men sharing ageless wisdom.

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in a 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.”

What humans have figured out over the years is spellbinding. We’ve learned to alchemise rock into glass. Fly to the moon. Float satellites in space. Make penicillin out of moldy bread, create music, navigate by the stars, sail around the world, create electricity, invent the internet, freeze water, dive deep under the ocean’s surface, grow food, bottle air, make fire, and dance (to name but a few).

None of those were thought to be impossible. Wild, for sure, but not impossible.

Always remember: Everything’s impossible until proven otherwise.

It’s as simple as that.

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

Stagnancy or complacency are two of the quickest ways in which to grow old. Or as George Bernard Shaw so beautifully put it when he said, “we don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”

This quote reminds me to question my beliefs, my teachings, my views of the world so I can see if they need upgrading. We’re ever-evolving beings and our views of the world are part of that ever-moving picture we call life.

“Champions aren’t made in the gym. 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 will”

We are who we dare to become. And if we can hold that vision of ourselves long enough, (or as Muhammed Ali said — if we have a strong enough will), it’s bound to come true.

“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”

And in the end, that match is only with ourselves.

“The 40% rule is simple: When your mind is telling you that you’re done, that you’re exhausted, that you cannot possibly go any further, you’re only actually 40% done.

The human mind is an amazing thing. It both propels us forward and holds us back.” — The Navy SEALs

Muhammed Ali and the Navy SEALs have a lot in common.

“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth”

Muhammed Ali was a fiercely passionate, spiritual man who believed in a higher power. Service to others can often tap into that higher power, whether it’s called God, Allah, Buddha, Love, Source, the Great Mystery, the Divine, Mother Earth, Shakti, or any other name of divination it goes by.

If nothing else, service to others is a way of showing gratitude for being alive on mother Earth.

Of all the 4.5 billion years that the Earth has existed we get to share this small blip of eternity — together. How cool is that?

“To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are”

In other words, fake it until you make it.

Ali also said “I am the greatest. I said that before I ever knew I was.”

“Live everyday as if it were your last because someday you’re going to be right.”

I’d like to go even one step further — live every breath as if it were your last because in one moment you’re going to be right.

Everything goes away in the end. It doesn’t matter how big, small, beautiful, or ugly it is or has been, everything and everyone has signed up to receive the same fate.

Closing thoughts

To close, I’d like to leave you with one final quote. It somehow feels as important today as it did the day he said it.

The world could always do with more love and if nothing else, Muhammed Ali reminds us that it’s possible.

“I wish people loved everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world”