The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
Interview in Playboy (November 1975)
MA
Muhammad Ali quotes
1942-2016 · Athletes and coaches
American boxer and three-time world heavyweight champion.
7 quotes, 5 traced to where Ali said or wrote them.
I hated every minute of it. But I said to myself, 'Suffer now, and live the rest of your life as a champion.'
On training, as quoted in Newsweek (September 25, 1978)
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.
Statement after losing to Ken Norton (March 31, 1973)
Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.
As quoted in Jet (August 1992)
It's a lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believe in myself.
As quoted in 101 Best Ways to Get Ahead (2004)
If Ali says a mosquito can pull a plow, don't ask how. Hitch him up.
As quoted by George Plimpton, TIME 100 (June 14, 1999)
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Pre-fight chant (1964); the line was coined by his cornerman Drew Bundini Brown