How To Have The Confidence Of A Champion

Muhammad Ali was one of the most outspoken self promoters in sports history. He said that he was the greatest all the time. You would think that that confidence would be construed as arrogance. Yet Ali was one of the most beloved sports icons we've ever known. Today we're going to look at what made him such a remarkable man. How he was supremely confident without coming off as too arrogant. And how we can make the kind of impact he did on the people around us. The first thing you have to note about Muhammad Ali is that he could trash talk like no other.

Well, Henry Cooper's nothing but a tramp. He's a bum. I'm the world's greatest. He must fall in five rounds. But if you talk about me, I'll cut it 3. Predict that this will be Busta's last stand. I will do the bust up what the Indians did to Custer. I'm gonna wipe him out. I'm gonna do something to Joe Frazier that might be illegal. My lawyers told me to bring a bail sponsor to get me out of jail. They might put my tail in jail and get me out on bail after what I do to Joe Frazier.

Ali predicted he'd crush every fighter he ever fought. And he us. But you never heard him say, I respect his talent. I've been training hard and I think I'm gonna come out on top. It was always about how the guy he was fighting was a total bum and was about to get whooped. Obviously, this runs the risk of coming off as extremely arrogant. But Ali pulled this bravado off while remaining very likable. And it was primarily because his confidence was real, but his arrogance was performed. And you knew he was kind of joking when he made ridiculous and funny.

Statements like, only last week I murdered a rock, injured a stone, hospitalized a brick. I'm so mean, I make medicine sick fast. Last night I cut the light off my bedroom, hit the switch was in the bed before the room was dark. Now I'm gonna hit you six times before you count two. I say go, count, go. One, two. You wanna see it again?

The rhyming, the exaggerated bragging, the humor. These are things that let the audience know it's all just a performance. We know Ali didn't really think he was going to go to jail or that he was faster than lightning. And because we can see that he's partially kidding, we can forgive the boasting. So the lesson here is that if you're going to brag, it is actually less obnoxious when you take it to the Extreme. If you can take it so far to the extreme that people laugh, then bragging can even become something that people like about you. And I've seen Kevin Hart make this same type of joke often. And I will say you look fantastic. No, it's like, honestly, it looks like somebody drew me.

It's like, perfect.

You see there just an example. But that kind of exaggerated boasting can actually make people like you more. And that's how it was with Ali. But let's be clear. Talk without walk means nothing. A huge portion of Ali's charisma comes from the fact that he was superhumanly talented. He backed up what he said. Look at how good he was.

Another jarring right hand that time, folks. Another one. Sonny Lobble. Sonny Lobble catches Ali moving in on London. A fuselage of punches by Muhammad Ali. London goes down. Sneaky right hand. Another sneaky right hand. This time he works over the shoulder.

Ali was so good that sometimes he looked like he had actual superpowers. So if you're going to brag, make sure that you're doing it over the top to the point of humor. But if you want to convey honest confidence that inspires people, make sure you can back it up. As much confidence as Ali had and as much as he showed he was just as good in the ring. But that wasn't everything that Ali had. He was also a dominant force in every interaction. Watch here how he completely ignores the reporter telling him that he isn't pretty and delivers one of his most iconic lines. This kind of interaction might look insignificant, but it happens all the time, and it is very important. It is a clash of frames. We've talked about this before in different videos on Tyrion, if you want to check that out. But right here, Ali's frame says that he should be doing the talking. The reporter's frame says that Ali should listen because. Because he's asking questions. Those two frames collide, and Ali, as always, comes out on top. The winner of any frame collision is going to be the person who believes their frame more. But watch here to see the subtleties of how that is communicated. And I want you to pay attention to three things. First, how Ali doesn't look at the reporter, but the reporter looks at him. Second, how Ali doesn't respond to what the reporter says, but the reporter responds to him. And third, how the reporter tries to physically pull Ali towards him, but Ali doesn't budge.

I am the king of the world. Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it. You're not that pretty. I'm a bad man. I took up the world. I took up the world.

That took about eight seconds, which is as long as it takes for there to be a winner in a frame game. These short little frame collisions happen all the time throughout your day in tons of different ways. And what's remarkable is that from what I can tell, Muhammad Ali always stayed firmly rooted in his own frame. When we see that kind of conviction, we can't help but be drawn to it. Here's just another little example that you might relate to. When two people go to give different styles of hate handshakes, watch how Ali maintains his frame. Ali isn't trying to be a jerk. In fact, he was very playful throughout this interview. But he has grown accustomed to setting the tone of the interaction. Pay attention in your own life in subtle little ways. Who do you make adjustments for and who do you stick to your guns with? That's a pretty clear indication of who the leader is in any sort of relationship. Now, there is no problem with taking a follower role sometimes, but in certain situations, like sales pitches, interviews, even dates, you are usually going to benefit from being the leader. So those frame games become very important. Ali was so confident, had such a strong frame, that he seemingly had no fear of being honest. That might not seem like a big deal, but most people are extremely afraid of what others would think of them if they were totally real. Have you ever been in a conversation and pretended to know something you didn't so that you wouldn't look stupid? Look at how Ali handled that exactly type of situation.

It's false propaganda. Why, for instance, should have been propagated by Malcolm X. What's what. What the. I like to say I'm not trying to be fun and I hope the people don't laugh. Sure, but I barely got out of high school and the word propagated by Malcolm X. What do you mean, Malcolm X?

Admitting what you don't know, especially when you want to come across as intelligent, takes serious guts. It shows leadership and courage. Similarly, have you ever bit your tongue when you disagreed with someone who was telling you how wrong you were? Look how Ali handled that kind of a situation.

My enem. My enemies are white people, not Viet conservation. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposing I want equality. You won't even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs and you want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won't even stand up for me here at home.

It's not just his skill at Boxing. But this, that made Muhammad Ali an icon. Agree or disagree with him, you knew exactly what he stood for. You knew exactly how he felt because he told you to your face. That kind of unreserved honesty draws people like a magnet because it shows that unlike almost everyone else, Ali wasn't afraid of the consequences of the truth. Here he is speaking about his refusal to fight in Vietnam. If you don't know the background, the short of the story is that Ali refused to fight in Vietnam when he was drafted based on his religious beliefs as a Muslim. Now keep in mind he is a black Muslim man in 1960s in America. This is a huge, huge thing.

And even the heavyweight championship of the world, this is all there for me. If I will only give up my belief, if I will only deny the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the truth that God has given to you. Whatever the punishment, whatever the persecution is for standing up for my religious beliefs, even if it means facing machine gunfire that day, I will face it. Before denouncing Elijah Muhammad and the religion of Islam. I'm ready to die now.

You might not agree with Ali's religious beliefs or his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, but when you see someone stand up to authority and social convention, because at the time Vietnam was still pretty well supported, you can't help but respect that person's conviction. Most people blow whichever way social norms take them. And when we find someone rooted firmly in their own beliefs who is willing to suffer the consequences of stating and standing up for what they believe in, part of us loves them for their bravery. So if you take only one thing from this video, make it this. Think of something you believe in that you might be hiding from the people around you and stop hiding it. You don't have to push your beliefs on others, but stand up for what you believe, even when it's inconvenient for you. It might feel like that would alienate you from everyone, but it's actually one of the best things you can do to build self esteem and radiate charisma. If you're curious what some of the other things that can help you radiate charisma are, there's actually four things in total in a first impression. And unfortunately, most people do these completely wrong. They make a mistake in the order and butcher their first impressions. So if you're curious what those things are and how to avoid that mistake, we've set up another video that you can get by clicking the box here. It's going to take you to another page where you can submit your email and avoid making that mistake for the rest of your life. If you've enjoyed this video and want to be the first to know when we post new ones, go ahead, subscribe to the channel. That way we'll pop up on your YouTube home screen every single week. You won't have to worry about ever missing a new video. Just go ahead, click the button here to do that and you'll get lots more breakdowns like these. Plus the best tips that I have for being your most charismatic, confident self in the moments that count the most. If you have any video suggestions, please go ahead, write them in the comments. Muhammad Ali was a very common suggestion, and I couldn't be happier that I finally took the time to research him because he is an incredible dude. Hope that you guys enjoyed this video and I'm looking forward to seeing you in the next one.