“You could be the world's best garbage man, the world's best model; it doesn't matter what you do if you're the best.”
-Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight boxing champThe desire to be the best pushes athletes in every sport. What is required to be the best? Is it how strong you are? How fast you are? Is it the championship titles or Super Bowl rings you have? Muhammad Ali is nicknamed “The Greatest” and has an incredible record of 56 wins with 37 by knockout and only five losses. Boxing experts list Ali as the greatest fighter of any era and the only other fighters who come close to commanding the same level as of respect are Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Lewis. Ali did what no one had ever done, he won the heavyweight championship on four separate occasions. However, some of Ali's prime years as a fighter were spent idle. He was denied a boxing license due to his status as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.
Part of being the best is making tough choices and facing the consequences. The Vietnam War divided our country. So many people were against it and so many young men saw it as their duty to support the government's role in Southeast Asia. It's not so different from today. Many are critical of the war in the Middle East. Ali made a choice not to fight because of his religious convictions. My father fought in Korea and my older brother served in the Viet Nam era. You may or may not agree with Ali’s decision but I hope you can respect that he made a decision based on his principles and he paid the price for it. Refusing the draft in Vietnam hurt Ali as a boxer and financially. However, it probably helped him as a person. Part of growing up is finding your voice, discovering your values and morals and doing everything you can to live your life based on those things.
Hard work is a virtue. Discipline is a virtue. These are the keys to being the best. Yet so many people find it difficult to work hard and be disciplined. At the same time they say they want to be the best. Sporting activity can be very different from work. In the world of work sometimes the effort that we do is not seen to directly benefit us. In sport it’s a completely different story. All your effort and hard work go into making you a better athlete. Your team may not always win but at least you know you've done your part to make a victory much more possible.
When you're given a job by your coach or supervisor do you drag your feet? It's pretty common. Sometimes it's because we don't understand why were asked to do a certain job. Sometimes it's the way we were asked to do it. It can be hard to get beyond that but it's an important step in your growth as a player. Always do the task you are given to the best of your ability. If there are several other people involved in the task, make sure that you're the strongest link in the chain.
“Jive” is a word I used to hear a lot in my home growing up. It was a word that my mom used all the time when she was describing her coworkers. “Jive turkey” was a very popular expression in the ‘70s but it faded out after a few years. The problem is the behavior hasn't gone anywhere. These days we use different words to describe the same behavior. A jive coworker has no interest in being the best they can be. Since I was a kid I have always wanted my finished product to be excellent and not judged as “jive”. My mom had very high standards for herself and I know I inherited that from her.
Why are there so many jive turkeys everywhere? I don't really like to describe people as lazy. I just think some people have different standards of effort and excellence. We see it every day when cleaning a room, completing a job at work or working out in the gym. What is your standard of effort? How do you personally define excellence? Where did you learn your standards?
The only way that it possible to be the best at anything is to have high, exacting standards. We can never guarantee the outcome of our actions but we can't guarantee the effort that we put in. Muhammad Ali came from a strong, stable home and could have made very different career choices. He didn‘t need to fight his way out of poverty. The fact is at a very early age he found out he was very good at boxing. When we demonstrate success at something we enjoy, it instills a desire to get even better. This is especially true when the activity seems fun or easy to us. Ali made it look easy when he won his first Golden Gloves match 1958. He won on the local level and then on a state level and that could've been the end of the story. To be the best boxer in your weight class in your entire state is a tremendous accomplishment.
The only way that it possible to be the best at anything is to have high, exacting standards. We can never guarantee the outcome of our actions but we can't guarantee the effort that we put in. Muhammad Ali came from a strong, stable home and could have made very different career choices. He didn‘t need to fight his way out of poverty. The fact is at a very early age he found out he was very good at boxing. When we demonstrate success at something we enjoy, it instills a desire to get even better. This is especially true when the activity seems fun or easy to us. Ali made it look easy when he won his first Golden Gloves match 1958. He won on the local level and then on a state level and that could've been the end of the story. To be the best boxer in your weight class in your entire state is a tremendous accomplishment.
Ali’s next step in his quest to be the best was to become an Olympic champion and represent his country. It was at the Olympics in 1960 that Ali won the gold. However, being the best amateur boxer in the world didn't exempt him from racial discrimination in his home state of Kentucky. As terrible as racism is everyone has some kind of hurdle to deal with, some kind of challenge that is completely unfair but necessary to overcome. Having an unfair boss or coach can cause some to quit. For those who have the heart of a champion, that unfairness can cause them to work harder than ever in order to master the skills necessary to change the situation for the better.
Whatever your sport is find a model of excellence. Find out how hard they train and know that you must train even harder. Being the best is about more than just physical skills. Who you can look up to as a person? Ali has many accomplishments inside the boxing ring but he has placed a great deal of importance on character development, spirituality and his humanitarian mission since he retired. Your religious path may be different but Muhammad Ali’s commitment to the religion of Islam certainly helped him to find his moral compass and avoid the negative behavior that destroys more fighters than the hardest punches ever could. In order to resist the vices of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and gambling you must master your emotions and win the “war within” to be the “greatest” in your sport.
Ajamu Ayinde, C.M. Ht., A.C.H., Certified Sports Hypnotist & Creator
M.E.N.T.A.L. Games ™ sports enhancement systemSports success begins in the mind. ™
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