Celebrating The Life of Muhammad Ali: "Don't Count The Days, Make The Days Count"

Matthew Robi

- - Six years ago today, Muhammad Ali passed away after a lengthy battle with Parkinson's disease that lasted 32 years.

On this day, we didn't just lose one of the best athletes who ever lived. No. Muhammad Ali was much more than an athlete. We lost one of the most remarkable men who ever lived.

Time and time again, Ali symbolized precisely what it means to be a hero. When push came to shove, Ali always put action behind his words and was willing to sacrifice everything for his people. As he watched his brothers and sisters face the evils of racism and poverty, rather than turn his head, he spoke out louder than anyone else.

Muhammad Ali was always very rebellious towards the white oppressors, but in the year 1964, he doubled down. In 1964 Ali publicly converted to Islam and even went on to change his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. For a while, the media refused to refer to him with his new name. Ali said, “Cassius Clay is a slave name. I didn't choose it, and I don't want it. I am Muhammad Ali, a free name- it means beloved of God, and I insist people use it when people speak to me" when he was asked why he changed his name. From then on, it was set in stone; he had rebranded himself completely.

Fast forward to 1966, Ali was selected in the draft for the Vietnamese war and refused to serve. Ali came to Vietnam's defense and was on record saying, "shoot them for what? They never called me nigger; they never lynched me, they never put no dogs on me, they didn't rob me of my nationality. Raped and killed my mother and father. Shoot them for what? How could I go shoot them poor people? Just take me to jail!". Shortly after, Ali was found guilty of "draft evasion" and was relieved of his boxing titles and in jeopardy of serving five years in prison. He appealed the supreme court saying his ethical and religious beliefs prevented him from serving. After an extensive five-year trial, the supreme court repealed its conviction in 1971, and Ali did not have to serve any time in jail or in the military.

Not only was Muhammad Ali morally sound, nobody could own a room quite like Muhammad Ali. He had a charm to him that America had never seen before. Ali always conveyed exactly what he was thinking in the most consumable way. It came so easy to him that he would often practice his poetry mid-conversation.

Today we show our appreciation to the great Muhammad Ali. A man who held his values close to his convictions and clenched them both in his fists as he knocked out his opponents and pushed for equality.

A Short Collection Of Muhammad Ali's Greatest Quotes:

1. “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” – Muhammad Ali

2. “If you even dream of beating me, you’d better wake up and apologize.”– Muhammad Ali

3. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth. – Muhammad Ali

4. "I wrestled with an alligator, I done tussled with a whale; handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder in jail; only last week, I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick; I'm so mean I make medicine sick."

5. “Friendship is a priceless gift that cannot be bought nor sold, but its value is far greater than a mountain made of gold.” – Muhammad Ali

6. “It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” – Muhammad Ali

7. “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”– Muhammad Ali

8. “If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it — then I can achieve it.” – Muhammad Ali

9. “When it comes to love, compassion, and other feelings of the heart, I am rich.”– Muhammad Ali

10. “I would like to be remembered as a man who won the heavyweight title three times. Who was humorous and who treated everyone right. As a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him, and who helped as many people as he could. As a man who stood up for his beliefs no matter what. As a man who tried to unite all humankind through faith and love. And if all that’s too much, then I guess I’d settle for being remembered only as a great boxer who became a leader and a champion of his people. And I wouldn’t even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was.”- Muhammad Ali

11. “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.”– Muhammad Ali

12. When Ali was asked "What would you like people to think about you when you've gone?", he said:

I'd like for them to say:

He took a few cups of love.

He took one tablespoon of patience,

One teaspoon of generosity,

One pint of kindness.

He took one quart of laughter,

One pinch of concern.

And then, he mixed willingness with happiness.

He added lots of faith,

And he stirred it up well.

Then he spread it over a span of a lifetime,

And he served it to each and every deserving person he met." - Muhammad Ali