Originally published on Linkedin Pulse. 

[June 3, 2016], we lost Muhammad Ali.  If you want to reflect upon how remarkable he was, look beyond his audacity and performance in the ring -- stunning as they were.  Think about who he was at what time in history.

He always had a lot to say to people in the arena since that was where he was raised.  Here is a sampling for those building something from nothing -- any of us trying to make impact in any way:

 1) "I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want."

 2) "I should be a postage stamp. That's the only way I'll ever get licked."

 3) "What you're thinking is what you're becoming."

 4) “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. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”

 5) “He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.”

 6) “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 the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

 7) “Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.”

 8) “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.'”

 9) “If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.”

 10) "I shook up the world. Me! Whee!"

 11) “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

 12) "Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you."

 13) "Don't count the days; make the days count."

 14) “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.”

 And perhaps most importantly of all:

 15  "Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."