50 Strong Quotes From Muhammad Ali

1. Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.
2. I hated every minute of training, but I said, 'Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'
3. He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
4. 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.
5. I done wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalised a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick.
6. The word 'Islam' means 'peace.' The word 'Muslim' means 'one who surrenders to God.' But the press makes us seem like haters.
7. Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.
8. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
9. Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.
10. The name Muhammad is the most common name in the world. In all the countries around the world - Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon - there are more Muhammads than anything else. When I joined the Nation of Islam and became a Muslim, they gave me the most famous name because I was the champ.
11. Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
12. If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.
13. 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.
14. It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.
15. I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.
16. I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.
17. I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given. I believed in myself, and I believe in the goodness of others.
18. It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
19. 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.
20. It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.
21. My only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am.
22. Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.
23. I would say things like 'I am the greatest! I'm pretty! If you talk jive, you'll drop in five! I float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! I'm pretty!' When white people heard me talking like this, some said, 'That black man talks too much. He's bragging.'
24. A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
25. Terrorists are not following Islam. Killing people and blowing up people and dropping bombs in places and all this is not the way to spread the word of Islam. So people realize now that all Muslims are not terrorists.
26. The man who has no imagination has no wings.
27. If you lose a big fight, it will worry you all of your life. It will plague you - until you get your revenge.
28. My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.
29. 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.
30. What keeps me going is goals.
31. I have been so great in boxing they had to create an image like Rocky, a white image on the screen, to counteract my image in the ring. America has to have its white images, no matter where it gets them. Jesus, Wonder Woman, Tarzan and Rocky.
32. It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.
33. 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.
34. If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
35. I'm just hoping that people understand that Islam is peace and not violence.
36. I always bring out the best in men I fight, but Joe Frazier, I'll tell the world right now, brings out the best in me. I'm gonna tell ya, that's one helluva man, and God bless him.
37. It's not bragging if you can back it up.
38. At home I am a nice guy: but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far.
39. Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.
40. Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
41. I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.
42. Anywhere I go, there is always an incredible crowd that follows me. In Rome, as I land at the airport, even the men kiss me. I love Rome.
43. Joe Frazier is so ugly that when he cries, the tears turn around and go down the back of his head.
44. It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.
45. I'm the greatest thing that ever lived! I'm the king of the world! I'm a bad man. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived.
46. I never thought of losing, but now that it' s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.
47. Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can't talk. The man can't fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he's gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons.
48. I should be a postage stamp, because that's the only way I'll ever get licked. I'm beautiful. I'm fast. I'm so mean I make medicine sick. I can't possibly be beat.
49. I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.
50. A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.