Financial wisdom can come from various sources in life and in this case, lessons from the life of the late Muhammad Ali has some valuable insights on how you can manage your money better. The greatest boxer that ever lived sadly passed away a few days ago after battling with Parkinson’s disease for nearly three decades.
NBCNews.com reported he was having respiratory complications and subsequently passed away at a Phoenix-area hospital. Muhammad Ali is one of the sport’s icons that a lot of people look up to inside and outside the boxing ring. As a professional boxer, he was undoubtedly the best the sport has ever produced and his stellar record and stats cannot even give credit to an illustrious career he has had.
Outside the ring, he dedicated his life in the service of others focusing on humanitarian causes. He was a big factor in the release of American hostages in 1990 in Iraq and perhaps in one of the most emotional Olympic flame lighting, he held the torch with trembling arms in 1996 to signify the start of the games. He is a true sports hero and can give out valuable sports lessons you can use in financial management.
Over the course of his career, he has made headlines with the the way he has lived his life and it was a very colourful one. He was the only person who was persecuted in 1967 for refusing to fight in Vietnam but given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005 – the highest civilian honor that can be given out by then President George W. Bush.
Financial wisdom from Ali
Here are few things Muhammad Ali has said over his career that can ring true in your quest to manage your finances better.
“I run on the road, long before I dance under the lights. I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’”
Reaching your goal in life is not like those instant noodles that you were so used to in college. But even at that stage, you were already learning something very important about life. You are sacrificing present pleasures to enjoy the rewards in the future. You are putting off partying at night or eating out in expensive restaurants with friends to be able to study in your room and save up your money because you know your student loans are already building up as you go along. As you start working, what you do with the money you have will determine if you will reach the goals you have set out to achieve or merely settle with what is available. One of the financial wisdom you need to understand is the idea of making sacrifices at present to reap the rewards for the future. That small amount that you decided to put into your 401(k) rather than splurge on new clothes will go a long way in a few years time.
“We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.”
You need to think and go beyond personal dreams and ambitions and ascribe for a higher plan and purpose in life. All the material things you have at present are fleeting and planning to just have them might not be an ideal goal in life. The material things in life are merely tools to what you want to achieve. The amount you have saved up for retirement will help you enjoy a comfortable life but Muhammad Ali is challenging you to use your time here on Earth for a bigger purpose. You might want to volunteer in an NGO group or even start one. You might also want to use your weekends helping the community teach kids to be actively involved in sports effectively taking them away from vices.
“I would have been the world’s greatest at whatever I did. If I were a garbage man, I’d be the world’s greatest garbage man! I’d pick up more garbage and faster than anyone has ever seen. To tell you the truth, I would have been the greatest at whatever I’d done!”
Greatness is a habit that you can start now not when you have everything you think you need. There are people who thinks that they can only be great when they have already a big amount saved up in the bank or when they have landed their dream job. You can start to be great right now with whatever you have at the moment. If you are a junior copywriter then be the best junior copywriter your agency has even seen. If you are working the customer service line for a company then be the most helpful and cheerful person customers can ever hope to talk to on the other end of the line. Greatness can start now and if you make it a habit, it can lead you to better opportunities in the future. Sadly, Nerdwallet.com shares that about 1 in 4 U.S. adults fail to make on time payments on their bill.
“I don’t have to be what anyone else wants me to be. I am free to be who I want to be.”
You might find it too difficult to connect this to financial wisdom but you would be surprised with how the people around you influence your decisions and even actions in life. People will always have their opinion on a lot of things including how you use your money, what you spend on and how you are planning for your future endeavours. One thing you need to remember is that you should only consider the opinions of people who has your best interest at heart. There will always be those that just wants to pull you down and you just have to ignore them. Focus on your craft and your passion and you will soon realize how quickly your social circle transforms to include people who has the same passion, spirit and drive as you do.
“It’s the little nasty habits you pick up in life that will make things miserable for you. So often we look for the big obstacles to lay the blame on when really, those obstacles would’ve presented no challenge had we not been surrounded by nagging, negative people or had we taken better care of ourselves.”
Do not be too caught up thinking about the big things in life because oftentimes, you are held back by the nasty little habits that you have developed over the years. You might be thinking that the amount you need to put in your 401(k) every year to take advantage of the matching program your company has is a little too steep. But if you look at your expenses, you might be surprised that taking away that signature cup of coffee you have every morning and brewing it at home yourself could help you save up enough for that matching benefit for your 401(k). You might be having making computations and find it hard to believe that it will take you up until the age of 75 to retire but cutting down on your entertainment expenses and looking for an extra source of income to reduce that target retirement age to 65. Pay attention on the small things.
Muhammad Ali will remain to be a beacon of hope and strength for people regardless if they are in boxing or just living their everyday life trying to get by. His words can even be used to help you manage your finances better and be more effective in reaching for your goal.