Inspiration from Muhammad Ali

For some time now I have been looking for something to motivate me to read for my CCNA( Cisco certified network assistant)exam and in fact I gave myself the deadline of the first of August to start reading but unfortunately, I haven't been able to pick up the book let alone read it. it is breaking my heart and I cannot place my finger on the reason why I haven't been able to read it and the worse part is that I am suppose to write the exam at the end of the month. Could it be because I am loosing my faith in myself and in humanity or because I am grappling with a lot of things? luckily for me I guess I found a reason to go on. I saw a documentary on Muhammad Ali. I thought about it all night and now I guess I am ready to face my fears and move on no matter what.
The title of the documentary was 'facing Ali' and it was about the men who fought against Muhammad Ali during his career as a boxer. Great boxers like Leon Spinks, ken Norton, Trevor Berbick and some others spokes about him, their fights, his career and most importantly how he librated the black men of his time. Many of them chose boxing as their career because of him and because of how it had helped to cause positive changes to the black people.
Mohammad Ali, born as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. on the 17th of January, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, united states to a father who painted bill boards and signposts and a mother who was a household domestic, changed his name after joining the nations of Islam in 1964. He is a former American boxer nicknamed the greatest and a three time world heavy weight champion. During his career Ali was involved in several historic matches. Out of 61 fights he won 56 and lost 5. He was indeed a great fighter. In 1984 however, he was diagnosed of Parkinson's disease and despite his disease he remained a beloved and public figure. In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by sports illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.
Muhammad Ali to me is a legend and he used to say that 'I am the greatest' . He was the greatest in in time. it wasn’t as if he didn’t face challenges or that he didn’t have his fears too just like all other humans but today he is a celebrated hero because of the battles he fought due to his indomitable spirit. Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, which he described as "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"..
According to the Ali Center website, "Since he retired from boxing, Ali has devoted himself to humanitarian endeavors around the globe. He is a devout Muslim, and travels the world over, lending his name and presence to hunger and poverty relief, supporting education efforts of all kinds, promoting adoption and encouraging people to respect and better understand one another. It is estimated that he has helped to provide more than 22 million meals to feed the hungry. Ali travels, on average, more than 200 days per year."
Boxing is a very dangerous sport because boxers are susceptible to a lot of injuries ranging from head injuries, eye injuries, body damages other diseases at old age. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons say that 90% of boxers sustain a brain injury. It is not surprising that head injury is so common in boxing. It is estimated that when a boxer gets a direct blow to the head it is like being hit by a 12lb padded, wooden mallet travelling at 20mph!
Being hit on the head can cause fractures to the bone of the head and face and tissue damage in the brain. A blow can damage the surface of the brain, tear nerve networks, cause lesions, bleeding and sometimes produce large clots within the brain.
We all hear about great men whose stories change our lives forever. From Muhammad Ali's story I have come to realise that nothing ever remains the same. We all have different times when we flourish and times when we don’t but the most important thing is for us to live our lives in such a way that we would we would not regret at the end of the day.
Just like I want to meet great men like Nelson Mandela who have changed the world in their own way, I also want to meet Muhammad Ali because I see he as a hero. I am surprised about this statement myself because until now I didn’t consider these type of people as heroes instead I just see them as men who became great because of the opportunities they had. I am glad I now know the difference.
At the end of it all, I am holding a statement he made in 1942 very close to my heart which is that 'Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill. I wish myself luck in my reading and I hope to pass my exams in flying colours .