Muhammad Ali on Work Quotes

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

"I've wrestled with an alligator, I've tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail."

"I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked."

"Life is a gamble. You can get hurt... To be a champion, you have to take the risk."

"I done something new for this fight... I'm so mean I make medicine sick."

"I’m a fighter. I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I’m no cheek-turner."

"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."

"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."

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

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

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

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

"What keeps me going is goals."

"I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own."

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

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

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given."

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

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

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

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

"I am the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round."

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

"I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived because there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around."

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

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

"I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest."

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

"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."

"I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights."

"I've wrestled with alligators, I've tussled with a whale. I done shackled lightning, thrown thunder in jail."

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