THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
EPISODE 109 of a Daily Dose of Greatness Quest with Trevor Crane
SUMMARY
Today’s show is dedicated to the greatest of all time, Muhammad Ali.
I just finished his book, The Greatest, and today, I want to share with you some of the lessons I learned, and have inspired me.
Lesson #1: Focus and OBSESSION
Lesson #2: Hard WORK
Lesson #3: Skill and the WILL
Lesson #4: Fighters are DISCOVERERS
Lesson #5: Marketing and PROMOTION
Lesson #6: Listen to the VOICE
Lesson #7: The dangers of VICTORY and the power of being DEFEATED
Lesson #8: LOVE and taking a stand
DAILY QUESTION
What area of your life are you committed to becoming… THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME? A great mom, dad, friend, son, daughter, wife, husband, leader, student, business person, speaker, author, marketer, lover??? Come on! Get creative!!!
Don’t you want to become the GREATEST lover? (Maybe I should teach a course on this.)
QUOTES FROM MUHAMMAD ALI
“Too many victories weaken you. The defeated can rise up stronger than the victor.” – Muhammad Ali
“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali
“I’m gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. George can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.” – Muhammad Ali
“Champions are not made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them, a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have last minute stamina.” – Muhammad Ali
“I’m gonna fight for prestige, not for me but to uplift my little brothers who are sleeping on concrete floors today in America.” – Muhammad Ali
“There are two kinds of people in this world, those who COMPROMISE and those who take a STAND. When you take a stand, you have to be willing to pay for it.” – Muhammad Ali
DAILY CHALLENGE
Read Muhammad Ali’s book, preferably the AUDIOBOOK, The Greatest, and learn from the greatest of all time. Challenge yourself to become THE GREATEST at something.
Become the greatest mother, the greatest wife, the greatest husband, the greatest father…
Become the greatest business-man/business-woman, the greatest leader, the greatest role model to your kids and friends and family. Whatever it is.
HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NEXT:
Get a FREE COPY of my book, HIGH PAYING CLIENTS at: trevorcrane.com/freebook
ABOUT TREVOR CRANE
Trevor Crane is best known for 2 bestselling books, High Paying Clients and Big Money With Your Book… without selling a single copy.
If you want to become IRRESISTIBLE to your ideal target client, and massively grow your leads sales and revenue, Trevor can help you craft a book that becomes your most powerful marketing tool, in 90-days or less. For details visit: EpicAuthor.com
TRANSCRIPT
Hey guys. Welcome to the daily dose of greatness quest. This is Trevor Crane and in today’s episode, I’m shooting in my office as a video episode.
So for those of you listening on podcast, make sure you check us out on YouTube. And in the background of where I’m holding my camera right now you can see my bookshelf, or I’ve got some of my books and posters and things but I’ve got a picture of Muhammad Ali over my fireplace.
Today’s show is all about the greatest of all time. And today’s show is dedicated to Muhammad Ali. I just read his book The Greatest and I know you’re gonna love the show
(INTRO – AUDIO)
So welcome back. I just finished the audio book, The Greatest and guys, I love books. I’m so excited that my career now is helping people tell their stories and I love to read about other people’s stories. I love to study the greats and how else what how much greater can you get them Muhammad Ali.
Like I said, I’ve got his poster hanging in my office where he’s standing up over his fight I think with Sonny Liston. I think that’s the fire. He said I am the greatest. Not only do I knock them out, I pick the round.
And today, I want to share with you the eight lessons that I got from Muhammad Ali, from reading his autobiography. And I listened to it books. If you guys are listening to audiobooks, I don’t know what you’re doing like I love I know you’re listening to podcasts are probably listening to audiobooks.
But if you’re not like subscribing to a lot of old and you should absolutely be doing it. I love it because I can multitask. I can do this is one of the only times I can multi task because I’m a big dumb guy. I’m like, handle like physical labor and listening to something that’s about what I can handle.
Now, here are the lessons I got from Ali. I wrote them down on a little sticky tab here. I made some notes on my computer. I’ve been reading this book for last few days. And I absolutely loved it. I’m going to give them in what I think is an order of what I learned from one Muhammad Ali was a young man to when he you know, finished his final fights and what went into this book.
So, number one, what I thought was really stood out for me was the focus and obsession that he had even as a young man. When he recognized that he could fight, he just never dropped the ball.
And I read this about Lance Armstrong, which I know is not a popular guy anymore. After he they found out that he drugged and he cheated to in the Tour de France. But one of his one of his rules to success was an obsessive compulsive like obsessive desire to win and relentless focus. And and I think that oftentimes that’s criticized in our culture.
And I I love the fact that Muhammad Ali did all the things that he did not just in the ring but in the political spectrum. On the world platform, he was a winner and he was someone who was always willing to listen to his own voice. Getting ahead of myself on these lessons here.
But he had a focus, an obsessive focus. When we lose focus, we’re not going to go ahead and get will restart what we’re after. And I think that that’s really key. One of the things I’ve got book posters in the back of me right here that I help my clients do when I’m helping them write a book is and make help them make a declaration to the world that they’re going to make it happen.
Like Muhammad Ali is the one who called himself the greatest and then he lived he may he turned his dream into reality by speaking it into existence. And he lived up to that expectation of himself. This frickin guy.
All right, number two hard work. Holy, mind and body. He knew that he needed both.
So he worked hard harder than any athlete at that time he would run to the Jimmy oftentimes couldn’t even get to the gym because it’s across town and you couldn’t get a ride. So he ran to the gym. He didn’t start counting his reps until he was in pain, hard work.
All too often, like my daughter, she’s 11 she was a kid but she doesn’t want to work hard and I’ve had people work for me in the past to wanted who take lunch breaks lunch breaks get it and I know you by lawyers was to get a lunch break. But like honestly, if you’re not committed to hard work and and falling in love with the journey of hard work and the lessons that you get inside of it. You’re.
I mean, if you want you want to become if you want to become great. If you want to learn from the greats. You might as well study the greats and I believe if you don’t, you don’t really know something until you live it and you can’t live it until you teach it you don’t know it and yada yada until you live it and teach it which is why I’m sharing with you my lessons today.
Number three the skill and the will. You got to have the skill and the will.
Now, I wrote down what Muhammad Ali talked about his the definition of being a champion. I wrote it in my computer here my notes when I was running and I probably exercising I had to stop to write this down he talks about what it takes to be a champion.
“Champions are not made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them, a desire, a dream, a vision. they have to have last minute stamina.”
One of the reasons Muhammad Ali trains or does he knew that he had to be able to go the distance he had to have last minute stamina. He had to be a little faster. Champions have to have the skill and the will, but the will must be stronger than the skill. Many fighters have lost to less skillful opponents who had the will to win, who are determined to keep going, no matter what.
Muhammad Ali also said that fighters are discoverers. They discover something about their opponents or about themselves that others don’t know. No one can tell them what to do, how to fight, or what to do. Oh, excuse me. No one can tell them how to fight and what to do.
So Muhammad Ali knew and somehow learned, and that he needed to find his own way. Yes, he had advisors around him. Yes, he had trainers. Yes, he had people around to support him. Yes, they can coach them. Yes, they can train him. Yes, he had authorities telling him what he should be. His name should be Cassius Clay.
When he chose Muhammad Ali. He had the world stage telling him what he couldn’t could not do when he avoided the draft. And instead of listening to any of that, he listened to the voice inside at a time we was talking 22 years old when he won the World Heavyweight Champion of the world for the first time from Sonny Liston 22 Dylan, the world he was the prettiest he was the greatest.
Another thing I learned from Muhammad Ali man is he knew he was a marketer.
He was constantly promoting a lot of that song and dance. And all that noise that he was making was to get TVs attention to get the media’s attention and he got their attention. He ended up calling the biggest purse the world I’ve ever seen when he fought Foreman in the Rumble In The Jungle after he had come back from a four year exile.
Where after when he said he wasn’t going to join the draft and he wasn’t going to serve Uncle Sam and he wasn’t going to support the war in Vietnam. He supported he said for his religious beliefs, he was not gone in and he was not going to fight and he had nothing against the Vietcong. And boy did he take for that. They took his they took his only way to make money at the time, which was box.
And obviously the only income you get earned was when he was on the road speaking. And he had his buddies book him speaking gigs. And he spoke all around the country. And he spoke at every college and university he could find. And he found that the people actually supported his beliefs and his decisions. And it was more of the politics and the government that we’re holding them back.
But when he went to go fight in the Rumble In The Jungle in Zaire, when he was on his way back to retrieving as heavyweight crown and he was fighting George Foreman, he got a $10 million purse. Each fighter got $5 million for that fight. And in that fight, surrounded by his advisors with all the training and preparation he had done to float like a butterfly, sting like a bee sting like a bee.
He was in the middle of fight in the middle of the second round fight, and George Foreman and he saw an opportunity saw something in his opponent he saw the way to beat him was the tire amount and he saw that it wasn’t by floating like a buck by dancing and his his crew was telling dance chin dance.
Instead for the first time and Ali’s career hit the ropes hit the ropes in the middle of in the middle of the fight and he let George Foreman pummel him because he knew that he needed to hire the guy down at the time Ali was in his 30s and foreman was in his 20s and he was he was like a crusher but Muhammad Ali saw the vision for himself yes he had advisors but he was willing to listen to the voice inside.
I think that was one of the most important lessons that is congruent with some of my current mentors talking about what we find the inside going back to what he talked about is being a champion that he champion has that champions are made from something they have deep inside them a desire a dream a vision that they have to have last minute stamina that that the skill and the will homeboy knew that he had the will.
What I also learned from Ali was when he talked about the difference between being the victor and the defeated and often times and I wrote This down too many victories can weaken you.
What he saw in Foreman was that the guy had had so many knockouts even before the third round was typically when you knock them in and out he’s big prediction and what he wanted to do was knock Muhammad out in the in the round three he’d never gone past round eight and only hit round eight three times in his career up until that stage.
Muhammad Ali took him to round eight and beyond and Muhammad Ali knew that too many week too many victories weaken you he’d already experienced that himself he’d already experienced failure he’d already experienced being defeated any learn how to come back from that he goes on to say that the defeated can rise up stronger than the victor.
Holy shit, what a good, what good lessons. You know I’m going to do I’m going to insert a little best of Muhammad Ali right now before I wrap this up, so you got to watch this video. I’m going to go ahead and use video editing here and I’m going to add this and this is something I found on YouTube, over 5 million views. So check this out.
He would come to the gym and if he didn’t get a ride to the gym, he didn’t have no car, he would run. He would run across the causeway.
Mohammed Ali, one of my great heroes, had a great line in the ’70s when he was asked, “How many sit-ups do you do?” He said, “I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it really counts.” That’s what makes you a champion.
“Jerry, I’m the greatest fighter that ever stepped foot in the ring. Money will be lost that night. This will be the biggest upset in the century of all boxing.”
“I think you’re a big bag of wind. The damnedest showman that ever lived, and you ain’t kidding anybody.”
The odds were 7-to-1. It’s very big odds… for a heavyweight championship fight.
It has to be Liston.
Liston is a much bigger puncher.
Where all these bigmouth people talking about I talk too much Well, I want all of them to be there. And I’m gonna shut up all of you’s mouths. And Cassius Clay has won out of six-round..
Cassius is not my name no more.
So you want to keep calling me a white man’s name. I’m not white.
Ali continues to scream at Terrell.
He beat the hell out of those who didn’t want to use his name.
Mr. Muhammad Ali has just refused to be inducted into the United States Armed Forces.
I’m just about broke. I’m not allowed to work here now in America.
I’m gonna fight for prestige, not for me but to uplift my little brothers who are sleeping on concrete floors today in America.
He wanted to become famous to help people. It’s wonderful…
I’m gonna float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. George can’t hit what his eyes can’t see.
All you chumps are gonna bow when I whoop him, all of you, I know you got him, I know you’ve got him picked, but the man’s in trouble, I’ma show you how great I am I bluffed him, I’d done everything. Beat him up, basically for about five or six rounds. I thought it was easy. Then about the sixth round he whispered in my ear, after I’d hit him in the side, “That all you got, George?”
And never talk about who’s gonna stop me. Ain’t nobody gonna stop me. I must be the greatest. I shook up the world. I shook up the world. I told you all, all of my critics, that I was the greatest of all time.
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
When you’re a kid, you always bet some fellas, “I’m gonna be champion one day, and when I’m champion, I’m gonna come down and show you I’m wrong.”
And then I say, “Guys, I’m gonna be a great doctor one day” and I’m gonna be a dentist. I’m gonna be a great scientist.” “I’m gonna be the President of the country.” And there are very few people actually are able to make good of the boasts and come home and say, “I told you.”
How freakin awesome was that? How could you not be inspired by Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all time who spoke his will into existence?
I talked before about how I am statements are so powerful and every every day I am focused on I am a marketer, I am a closer I am a leader, but how about having the phrase and putting it on a world stage of having the balls to say I am the greatest, I am the greatest of all time. And living up to that. How many people have done that? How many people have the courage, have the balls to do it?
That I and I find it difficult to even challenge myself to say that and I’m wondering what the am I going to be the greatest at but now that I even said that I know what it is. I know what it is for me, I am the greatest father I am the greatest husband, I am the greatest leader. I am the greatest businessman. I am the greatest friend. I am the greatest son. That is my goal to become the greatest.
Now I don’t know whether I’m not going into Heavyweight Championship boxing. I want to challenge myself to become the greatest at whatever it is I do.
One of the reasons why I’m making you a video right now instead of just doing an audio podcast is I can do an audio podcast easily. It’s not exactly easy after planet just a little bit about what I’m going to say but it’s harder for me it’s more challenging for me it’s scarier for me it’s more vulnerable for me to connect with you here.
To look you in the eye to to to get better at to speak to you on video I’ve gotten by on my voice and speaking on the phone and I mostly meet with my clients on the phone and the face to face thing I’ve got to prepare I’ve got to make sure that the lightings right in the sound is right and that everything is delicious for us to that I’m entertaining and I was like you know what, it. I have to go ahead and get beyond this. I have to go out and challenge myself to get just as comfortable in front of this and in front of you as anything else.
And so I’m here trying to become the greatest. All right Hold on. Let’s go ahead and continue here.
Marketing and promotion.
Muhammad Ali was I can’t think of a better example I in fact I want to model his marketing and promotion that he did and how he saw into opportunities when he was banned from boxing, he had to find ways to get back out.
He challenged Frazier at the time the heavyweight champion of the world and he called him up on the phone and a lot of any said brother let’s do this thing let’s stage that I met you and you’re mad at me and these are two brothers trying to kill each other a lot of what he did was just sensationalism for the media.
It wasn’t real. It was created to go ahead and create attention and attraction to get people to love him or hate him because he didn’t he didn’t matter It was what was going to fill the box office and get the the power on to to create the tension in the people are decision makers to go ahead and bring about the fight that he wanted to have happen there kept him.
There was so much government pressure from like Nixon. Richard Nixon, the president of the United States hated frickin Muhammad Ali. Didn’t want to give him his title back didn’t want to give him the chance to even fight.
And so Muhammad Ali found a way to to to use media and the public to go ahead and influence common opinion to get him back. And he staged a whole thing where he was trying to kill form and incoming that foreman Frazier in New York City or wherever that Jim was in, like, bring them out and they decided to have a rumble in the park.
And then Muhammad Ali talks about how did how did the leak get out he goes I know because I started it and if people would swear thousands of people swore that they saw Frazier and Muhammad Ali duking it out in the streets which never happened but the button but Muhammad Ali was able to use the media and marketing and promotion to his benefit so that he use it to his own ends.
I love this guy. I love his book. Guys, look at the amount of information you can learn when somebody puts their heart and soul into a book and you should write a book Holy. You ever in your book yet please give me a frickin phone call please reach out to me on social media Let me help you write your book what’s more important about your reading Muhammad Ali story anybody else’s story or my stories as you telling yours let’s get into this as finish this up.
Muhammad Ali love kids. I wrote that down in my notes. He loved the people he decided to go ahead and make his winning and his championship and his his career about the people that he wanted to represent not just about his name and his fame but he made it about all the downtrodden.
He chose to go ahead and take black rights and African American rights and put it at the pinnacle of what he was fighting for. against the establishment. And against directly. That’s about as white as you can get. But you gotta love the frickin guy.
I guess that’s all I got for you guys. Too many victories can weaken you. The defeated can rise up stronger than the victor.
Here’s my challenge for you today. There’s a bunch of quotes that I’m going to go ahead and put on today’s episode with pictures of Muhammad Ali all over them. So go check it out on the transcript from today’s episode. Look at all of the video snippets that I’ve got, that I’ll post up and the images that I put up.
But challenge yourself to become the greatest at something like I just did right now. I didn’t know that that’s what was going to do today read what I was going to challenge you with but become the greatest mother, the greatest wife, the greatest husband, the greatest father, whatever it is, become the greatest businessman, become the greatest leader, the greatest role model to your kids and friends and family.
And that’s my challenge for you learn from the greatest of all time. Read his book. It’s called The Greatest. I listened to it on audio, frickin awesome.
And I can’t wait to see tomorrow for another daily dose of greatness quest. I’m going to share with you another way to take your life and business to the next level. Not through something all complex, but through simple things that you can apply to your life to make it greater, make it a magnet.
To get even more awesomeness, which means all my best stuff, download my app by texting Trevor to 36260. It will show up right on your cell phone.
