Member-only story
What Makes People Respect You — Understanding the Secret of Muhammad Ali
If you love God, you can’t love only some of His children.
I still remember departing with my friends at the airport. I was going to leave them for good to start a new phase of my life. Amid the heavy goodbyes, one of my friends hugged me and said, “I respect you, dude.”
There are moments in life that will stick until we’re old. And I know that that was one of those moments for me. That meant a lot, I wanted to reply but the words were stuck in my thoughts. To be given such a remark was flattering.
Days have passed, but I kept thinking about his compliment. I asked myself how do you earn someone’s respect? No matter their status, we seem to respect some people more than another.
Recently, I studied the life of the man that requires no introduction. The boxer who fights outside the ring. Of Muhammad Ali. Out of respect for his name, Ali’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was the first and only star mounted on the wall instead of it being on the ground.
In reading books and articles about this man, I learned why everyone from all walks of life loves and respects him. Connecting Ali’s life principles to the question at hand — What are the secrets that made him earn even his enemies…