100+ Famous Muhammad Ali Quotes That Inspire Greatness

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

"It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges."

"Don’t count the days, make the days count."

"I’m not the baddest, I’m the greatest!"

"I’ve got a tip for you: I’m going to whup you good!"

"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 strength to win."

"I shook up the world!"

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

"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it."

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

"I’ve never known fear. I’ve never feared anybody."

"I am the greatest, I believed that when I was twelve years old."

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

"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made when they want something more than anyone else wants it."

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

"Impossible is just a 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 run from no one, but I will walk away from anything that is not positive."

"I’ve wrestled with alligators, I’ve tussled with a whale, handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail."

"At home I am a nice guy, but I don’t want the world to know that. Superman was the same way."

"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’ve always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative."

"I wanted to prove that I could do whatever I dreamed of."

"I am young, I am strong, I am fast, and I am just beginning."

"I’ve never seen a statue of a critic."

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

"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 not ugly. I’m pretty!"

"I’m the king of the world! I’m the greatest thing since instant mashed potatoes!"

"I’m not the greatest; I’m the double greatest!"

"I’m so mean I make medicine sick."

"My next fight is against an asteroid. I’m going to the moon to train."

"I’m not bragging, I’m telling the truth. I’m the greatest."

"I’m not fighting for the title. I’m fighting for the money!"

"I’m not the smartest man in the world, but I’m not dumb either."

"I’m not lazy. I’m just conserving energy for my next fight."

"I’m not concerned with the Joneses. I’m busy being the greatest."

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

"I’ve never been afraid of any man, alive or dead."

"Don’t let nobody hustle you out of your dreams."

"I’m not afraid of any man. I’m not afraid of death."

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

"Rivers, lakes, and streams are not easily crossed."

"I’ve wrestled with alligators, I’ve tussled with a whale!"

"Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. There was no one there."

"I’ve never taken a back step. Never."

"I’m not scared of no man. I’m not scared of no army."

"I’m not afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens."

"I’m not afraid to stand alone."

"I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be who I want."

"I believe in God, but not the God you think of."

"Prayer gives strength even where there is none."

"I bow to Allah, not to men."

"My religion is Islam, and I follow the teachings of the Holy Qur’an."

"When you know what you believe in, you don’t compromise."

"I’m not trying to be what I’m not. I’m being what I am."

"I found my identity through Islam."

"God has a plan. You just have to trust it."

"I’m not perfect, but I’m blessed."

"I pray five times a day. It keeps me grounded."

"My faith gives me strength when my body fails."

"I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong."

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

"Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?"

"People who say they don’t care about politics are like a man who says he doesn’t care if the bus goes north or south."

"I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me."

"The main thing is to be yourself and speak your mind."

"I’m not a champion because I won. I’m a champion because I fought."

"I gave my country a chance to live up to its promise."

"They stripped me of my title, but they couldn’t strip me of my pride."

"My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, a Vietnamese or Chinese, or Japanese, or any Asian."

"I’m not the problem. I’m the solution."

"Change starts with resistance."

"I will be missed, but I will not be forgotten."

"Don’t wait until I’m gone to appreciate me."

"I’m not going to be around forever, but my words will be."

"A man who isn’t willing to stand for something will fall for anything."

"I’m not chasing fame. Fame is chasing me."

"Legacy is not what you leave behind. It’s what you build while you’re here."

"I’m not worried about dying. I’m worried about not living."

"They’ll write songs about me. They’ll tell stories about me."

"I want to be remembered as a man who stood for peace."

"History will remember me not for how many I beat, but for how I lived."

"Even when I’m gone, I’ll still be floating."

"The name Muhammad Ali will echo forever."

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

"Rivers, lakes, and streams are not easily crossed. Neither is love."

"I love everyone. Even my enemies."

"Kindness is the language the deaf can hear and the blind can see."

"I’ve never hated a man I fought. I respected them."

"Love is the most important thing in the world."

"I fight, but I don’t hate."

"Peace begins with a smile."

"I give to the poor because I know what it’s like to struggle."

"The best way to make someone happy is to make them feel loved."

"I carry love in my heart, not bitterness."

"Hate is too heavy a burden to carry."

"Live every day as if it were your last, because one day you’re going to be right."

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

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."

"Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do."

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."

"The best revenge is massive success."

"Patience is the key to everything. You do everything with patience, you get better results."

"What you give, you get."

"Age is whatever you think it is. I know I’m young in spirit."

"The man who sees things in the sunshine is apt to become blind from the sunlight."

"It’s not bragging if you can back it up."

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses."

"I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee."

"I’ve never been beaten. Even when I lost, I won."

"I never thought of losing, but now that it’s happened, the only thing is to do it again."

"The man who has no guts is afraid to say what he believes in."

"I’m not in it for the money. I’m in it for the glory."

"I’m not scared of no fighter. I’m scared of no style."

"Boxing is the red light district of sports."

"I’m not just a boxer. I’m a poet, a performer, a prophet."

"I never started a fight, but I finished plenty."

"I’m the greatest, and I’m not afraid to prove it."

"I didn’t come to be liked. I came to be the greatest."

"The ring is my stage, and I perform every time."