I have this thing where when I hear about someone
inspirational I go into CIA mode. I gather all information that can possibly be
available (to me) on that person; interviews, documentaries, books, movies,
ex-wives, neighbour’s kids, dog’s DNA…anything! One of those people has been Muhammad
Ali, this is largely due to my older brother’s obsession with the man (read as
The Champ).
In our courting stage (i.e. getting to know him better), I
watched a documentary titled Muhammad Ali: The Greatest of All Time (G.O.A.T in
social media speak). Well you could say things were getting pretty serious – by
the end of the documentary I felt like I knew the man (read as The Champ). I was ready to jump straight
into marriage!
Today that documentary has become my “feel good song”. There’s
something about watching it that makes me just believe in myself, it makes me
feel…invincible *cues dramatic superhero music*
See, I used to be that person who only does better when they
get a stamp of approval from a person of authority. Though I longed for it, I
was never one to “prove them wrong”. I required acknowledgement and validation
in order to get better. Now this is a dangerous zone because when enough people
constantly told me I couldn't or I wouldn't, I didn't. This stemmed from always
being the “model kid”. From being the only one of my friends in the hood who
could speak English, from being the first beginner swimmer to use the kicking
board (refer to my blog post titled S.W.I.M),
from being made captain of the first team hockey (more because of my leadership
qualities – my friend Nontobeko was definitely the better player) from being
made athletics captain of our house team in grade 7, from being made the first
black (yes I pulled the race card) Head Girl of my primary school, from being given a solo part in the
school choir (because I was Head Girl). Side note: I actually cannot sing and my Mom was shocked when I told her I'd made choir, let alone the fact that I was also selected to be the BEYONCE of the choir! And so the cycle continued throughout
high school and university. I just worked hard and everything due to me came my
way, and I guess I was likeable. And then, I started working!
My first year went pretty well, then going into my second I
worked for a manager I must've rubbed up the wrong way because I was born. Out of the blue (true story) they completely changed the way they treated me. To this day I'm still not sure of what I did or didn't do and I have never bothered to go CIA on that issue. It was like a long and winded telenovela-episode period of my life which I shall tell in detail on my Oprah interview, which she seems to have forgotten about. I haven't *side eye*
To maintain your attention I’ll stop there. *Fast-forward* I
decided to move cities got a new job and decided from then on to take on life
with a Muhammad-Ali-kinda-attitude (taken down a few notches). My mission
became being great, believing I was great and convincing others of my greatness
through hard work and persistence (refer to Project
Management blog post). What had changed my attitude? The infamous Muhammad
Ali “underwater training regime” shot. The man (read as The Champ) managed to
get himself a two-page spread in Life magazine after photographer Flip Schulke
told him there was no way he (Ali) could get coverage in the magazine. No, the
story doesn’t end there; Schulke eventually shot him (with a camera) after Ali
told him that he was the only boxer in the world who trained under water.
Success. Nobody could tell His Greatness he couldn't. Nevah!
And now we have all these cool images, only thing is…Ali
couldn't even swim (watch the documentary for this one).
