Becoming the "Greatest" Is Within Your Power
“I am the greatest!” Muhammad Ali In his book I AM , Howard Falco points out that Muhammad Ali declared himself the greatest boxer before he ever established that fact in the boxing ring. It’s Falco’s theory that Ali became the world’s greatest boxer because he believed himself to be the greatest. And Falco bases this theory in his personal belief that the purpose of the ego is to reinforce- and ultimately make real—whatever we believe about ourselves. I agree with Falco’s theory. Certainly in my own life, I have become the sum of my thoughts—of my I Am statements—which were too often self-negating. Throughout my life, my brain has been a vast sewer of negative I Am thoughts: I am not good enough, I am ugly, I am boring, I am stupid, I am bad, I am a disgrace, I am unworthy, I am unlovable… The list could go on and on. By the time I entered grade school I was already paralyzed by these thoughts. All of the wonderment, excitement and breath of life had been knocked out of me by what ...