Be Great. Do Great Things
One year ago this month, Muhammad Ali, arguably the greatest and most unforgettable athlete of the 20th century, lost his decades-long fight with Parkinson's disease.
I met the “Greatest of All Time” years ago in Chicago and that chance encounter remains as one of the most memorable occurrences in my life to date.
The Muhammad Ali Center opened in 2006 and it is a monument to the man and his principals.
It resembles a presidential library. Visitors from across the world, Boy Scouts and busloads of inner-city kids shuffle through the exhibits that preach the power of positive thinking.
The motto for the center is “Be great. Do great things.”
Mentioned often are “The Six Core Principles” that the “Greatest Of All Time” believed in and lived by:
- Confidence: Belief in oneself, one’s abilities, and one’s future.
- Conviction: A strong belief that gives one the courage to stand behind that belief, despite pressure to do otherwise.
- Dedication: The act of devoting one’s energy, effort, and abilities to tasks at hand.
- Giving: To give voluntarily without expecting something in return.
- Respect: Esteem for, or a sense of the worth of oneself and others.
- Spirituality: A sense of reverence, and inner peace inspired by a connection to all of creation and/or that which is greater than oneself.
These six principals are life lessons, continue to inspire and are what I strive daily to live by. It’s tough but so was the ‘Thrilla in Manila’, ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’, beating Liston and living with Parkinson’s.