Muhammad ali quotes

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.

There comes a time in every person's life when he has to choose the course his life will take.

Tolerance and understanding won't 'trickle down' in our society any more than wealth does.

There are billions of people in the world, and every one of them is special. No one else in the world is like you.

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

The sun is always shining someplace.

All through my life, I have been tested. My will has been tested, my courage has been tested, my strength has been tested. Now my patience and endurance are being tested.

What counts in the ring is what you can do after you're exhausted. The same is true of life.

It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision.

I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.

The will must be stronger than the skill.

I'm a Muslim. I've been a Muslim for 20 years. . . . You know me. I'm a boxer. I've been called the greatest. People recognize me for being a boxer and a man of truth. I wouldn't be here representing Islam if it were terrorist. . . . I think all people should know the truth, come to recognize the truth. Islam is peace.

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

Every day is different, and some days are better than others, but no matter how challenging the day, I get up and live it.

If we continue to think and live as if we belong only to different cultures and different religions, with separate missions and goals, we will always be in self-defeating competition with each other. Once we realize we are all members of humanity, we will want to compete in the spirit of love.

I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was. Don't tell me I can't do something. Don't tell me it's impossible. Don't tell me I'm not the greatest. I'm the double greatest.

You're not going to enjoy every minute of the journey, but the success you'll find at the end will make it all worth it.

It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.

Champions come and go, but to be legendary you got to have heart, more heart than the next man, more than anyone in the world.

I don't smoke but I keep a match box in my pocket, when my heart slips towards sin, I burn the matchstick and heat my palm with it, then say to myself, "Ali you can't even bear this heat, how would you bear the unbearable heat of hellfire?"

It isn't the mountains that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see.

The man of least capacity is the one who shows himself incapable of self-correction.

My toughest opponent has always been me.

Outrun the people who quit when they feel discomfort, outrun the people who stop because of despair, outrun the people who are delayed because of prejudice, outrun the people who surrender to failure, and outrun the opponent who loses sight of the goal. Because if you want to win, the will can never retire, the race can never stop, and faith can never weaken.

Our only hope lies in the power of our love, generosity, tolerance and understanding and our commitment to making the world a better place for all.

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.

Stay in college, get the knowledge. And stay there until you're through. If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you. Advice to a young person to continue his education.

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.

There's nothing wrong with getting knocked down, as long as you get right back up.

Rest but never quit. Even the sun has a sinking spell each evening. But it always rises the next morning. At sunrise, every soul is born again.

In the big leagues everyone has ability. It always comes down to mind games. Who ever is more mentally strong-wins.

I'm sure no intelligent white person, in his or her right white mind, want black men and women marrying their white sons and daughters and in return introducing their grandchildren to half brown, kinky haired black people.

I am grateful for all my victories, but I am especially grateful for my losses, because they only made me work harder.

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

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.

The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality.… If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years.

Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.

What keeps me going is goals.

If I could meet anybody? The prophet Muhammad.

I've never let anyone talk me into not believing in myself

I'll tell you how I'd like to be remembered: As a black man who won the heavyweight title - Who has humorous and who never looked down on those who looked up to him - A man who stood for freedom, justice and equality - And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.

Money and riches don't mean nothing to me. I don't care nothing about being no rich individual. I'm not living for glory or for fame; all this is doomed for destruction. You got it today, tomorrow it's gone. I got bigger things on my mind than that. I got Islam on my mind.

Champions have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.

My health is in the hands of Allah, who has ways of testing us. Whatever happens, happens. I a'int the greatest - it's Allah. I gave myself a job. I work for God.

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

When you saw me in the boxing ring fighting, it wasn't just so I could beat my opponent. My fighting had a purpose. I had to be successful in order to get people to listen to the things I had to say.

I'm the king of the world, I am the greatest, I'm Muhammed Ali, I shook up the world, I am the greatest, I'm king of the world, I'm pretty, I'm pretty, I'm a baaaad man, you heard me I'm a baaad man, Archie Moore fell in four, Liston wanted me more, so since he's so great, I'm a make him fall in eight, I'm a baaad man, I'm king of the world! I'm 22 years old and ain't gotta mark on my face, I'm pretty, I easily survived six rounds with that ugly bear, because I am the greatest.

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

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

I try not to speak about all the charities and people I help, because I believe we can only be truly generous when we expect nothing in return.

Most people don't pray until they're in trouble. When people need help they pray a lot. But after they get what they want, they slow down. If a man takes five showers a day, his body will be clean. Praying five times a day helps me clean my mind.

I'm a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I'm no cheek turner. I got no respect for a man who won't hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.

How many push ups do you do? I don't know. I only starts counting when it starts hurting

I don't count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts. That's what makes you a champion.

I'm gonna have to be killed before I lose, and I ain't going to die easy.

True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.

Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?

Inside of a ring or out, ain't nothing wrong with going down. It's staying down that's wrong.

What you are thinking is what you are becoming.

You could be the world's best garbage man, the world's best model; it don't matter what you do if you're the best.

The one without dreams is the one without wings.

Whatever the challenge was, however unattainable the goal may have seemed, I never let anyone talk me out of believing in myself.

Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step.

You lose nothing when fighting for a cause ... In my mind the losers are those who don't have a cause they care about.

The more we help others, the more we help ourselves

No one starts out on top. You have to work your way up.

We have one life / It soon will be past / What we do for God / Is all that will last.

Just remember that you don't have to be what they want you to be.

Spirituality is recognizing the divine light that is within us all. It doesn't belong to any particular religion; it belongs to everyone

When a man says I cannot, he has made a suggestion to himself. He has weakened his power of accomplishing that which otherwise would have been accomplished.

My main fight is for freedom and equality.

How could they say that my religion, Islam was a 'race hate' religion after all the plunder and enslavement and domination of my people by white Christians in the name of white supremacy?

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.

My soul has grown over the years, and some of my views have changed. As long as I am alive, I will continue to try to understand more because the work of the heart is never done.

What you're thinking is what you're becoming.

If the culprits are Muslim, they have twisted the teachings of Islam. Whoever performed, or is behind, the terrorist attacks in the United States of America does not represent Islam. God is not behind assassins.

I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.

I'm so mean I make medicine sick!

God gave me Parkinson's syndrome to show me I'm not 'The Greatest' - he is.

It's hard to beat a guy when he's got his mind made up that he's going to win.

To succeed,all I need to do is suffer.

If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don't ask how. Hitch him up.

Allah's the Arabic term for God. Stand up for God, fight for God, work for God and do the right thing, and go the right way, things will end up in your corner.

What I will remember most about Mr Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge.

Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall.

You don't want no pie in the sky when you die, You want something here on the ground while you're still around.

My only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am.

The word 'Islam' means 'peace.' The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the press makes us seem like haters.

I came back to Louisville after the Olympics with my shiny gold medal. Went into a luncheonette where black folks couldn't eat. Thought I'd put them on the spot. I sat down and asked for a meal. The Olympic champion wearing his gold medal. They said, "We don't serve niggers here." I said, "That's okay, I don't eat 'em." But they put me out in the street. So I went down to the river, the Ohio River, and threw my gold medal in it.

You dont lose if you get knocked down; you lose if you stay down.

The greatest victory in life is to rise above the material things that we once valued most

Islam religion has no color distinction, we are just Muslims.

Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.

A black, a Puerto Rican and a Mexican are in a car. Who's driving? The police.

Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall. Some mountains are higher than others. Some roads steeper than the next. There are hardships and setbacks but you cannot let them stop you. Even on the steepest road you must not turn back.

I outwit them, and then I outhit them

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

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 even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.

If you look at the world the same way when you're 50 that you did when you were 20, then you wasted 30 years.

Once the Choice is Made, Do Not Look Back, Do Not Second-Guess Your Decisions

I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.

The man who has no imagination has no wings.

The woman is the fiber of the nation. She is the producer of life. A nation is only as good as its women.

The only limitations one has, are the ones they place on themselves

If you are not the best, then pretend you are

God gave me this illness to remind me that I'm not Number One; He is.

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.

I'd like for them to say he took a few cups of love, he took one tablespoon of patience, teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness. He took one quart of laughter, one pinch of concern, and then, he mix willingness with happiness, he added lots of faith, and he stirred it up well, then he spreads it over his span of a lifetime, and he served it to each and every deserving person he met.

I have learned to live my life one step, one breath, and one moment at a time, but it was a long road. I set out on a journey of love, seeking truth, peace and understanding. I am still learning.

The greater our level of understanding, the harder the tests become.

Don't count the days, make the days count.

I try to learn as much as I can because I know nothing compared to what I need to know.

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.

We can't be brave without fear.

What's really hurting me, the name Islam is involved, and Muslim is involved and causing trouble and starting hate and violence. ... Islam is not a killer religion. ... Islam means peace, I couldn't just sit home and watch people label Muslims as the reason for this problem.

Love is a net that catches hearts like a fish

We all have the same God, we just serve him differently. Rivers, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans all have different names, but they all contain water. So do religions have different names, and they all contain truth, expressed in different ways forms and times. It doesn't matter whether you're a Muslim, a Christian, or a Jew. When you believe in God, you should believe that all people are part of one family. If you love God, you can't love only some of his children.

When you're right, nobody remembers. When you're wrong, nobody forgets.

God will not place a burden on a man's shoulders knowing that he cannot carry it.

I was the first one in the gym, and the last one to leave.

This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction.