Don’t just think about surviving…
THRIVE!
In the early days of boxing, experts used specific measurements such as reach, fist, weight, etc., to determine the potential of a boxer.
The legend of boxing, Muhammad Ali, FAILED every single one of these tests and was labeled as a “FAIL” before he even boxed.
When you’re drowned with NEGATIVE circumstances, don’t just think about surviving.
THRIVE!
Ali wasn’t a natural fighter.
He had to put in even more work to overcome the odds and defeat opponents who are more talented than him.
In his fight against the heavyweight champion Sunny Liston, he was the underdog, but he scored the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
He took a different approach to defeat Liston.
Here’s how he prepared for the fight:
“I read everything I could where he had been interviewed. I talked with people who had been around him or had talked with him. I would lay in bed and put all of the things together and think about them, and try to get a picture of how his mind worked.”
Ali went for psychological warfare. The mind games.
He called Liston “the big ugly bear” during the pre-fight build up. At the weigh-in, he even shouted at Liston that “someone is going to die at ringside tonight.”
Ali taunted the champion into rage mode.
At the opening bell, Lisbon went for the knockout straight from the start and fell into Ali’s trap, missing his huge punches and in turn was opened up by Ali’s jabs.
Lisbon lost the match in the sixth round, and Ali, at age 22, became the youngest boxer to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion.
“I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I’m the prettiest thing that ever lived.”
These are Ali’s words after winning the fight.
Ali helps us understand that it is possible to THRIVE against all odds.
Instead of looking in the mirror and saying, “I don’t have the physical abilities to become a champion;” ask yourself “How can I be a champion. How can I use a different path to achieve greatness?”
“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it – then I can achieve it.” – Muhammad Ali