Muhammad Ali

Don’t count the days; make the days count.

Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.

Champions aren't made in gyms. 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 skill.

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

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

What keeps me going is goals.

If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it - then I can achieve it.

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

A man who has no imagination has no wings.

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

Wisdom is knowing when you can't be wise.

We can't be brave without fear.

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

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

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

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.

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

I don't count my sit-ups; I only start counting when it starts hurting because they’re the only ones that count.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. His hands can't hit what his eyes can't see. Now you see me, now you don't. George thinks he will, but I know he won't.

My wealth is in my knowledge of self, love, and spirituality.

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

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

I'm so mean, I make medicine sick.

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

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

Each time I thought I had achieved my life’s purpose, I discovered it was only another step in my journey.

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.

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.

We spend more time learning how to make a living than we do learning to make a life.

When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.

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.

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.

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

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.

Jokes? There are no jokes. The truth is the funniest joke of all.

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

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

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

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

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. 

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.

It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.

It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.

I'm young; I'm handsome; I'm fast. I can't possibly be beat.

Truly great people in history never wanted to be great for themselves. All they wanted was the chance to do good for others and be close to God.

Others may know pleasure, but pleasure is not happiness. It has no more importance than a shadow following a man.

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.