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Muhammad Ali: Gladwell's Ten Thousand Hour Rule

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Recommended: The life of muhammad ali essay

Asa Zeinemann
Dr. Nolan
English 10
6/6/23

Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest icons of his age with his boxing career and his vociferous positions on current issues. But like all people, many things in his life brought him to that success. Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942, in segregated Louisville, Kentucky, and was named Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr until 1964, when he changed his name to Muhammad Ali when he joined the Nation of Islam. Later in high school, he would win six golden gloves and two national championships ending high school with a 100-win eight losses record. Right out of high school at 18, he had his first professional fight. Later in 1970, Ali, when faced with a fight he could not win, was charged a felony charge …show more content…

Ali put in his time and saw the result of his devotion to the sport. Gladwell uses the Beatles as one of his anecdotes; “On the first trip, they played 106 nights, five or more hours a night.” (Gladwell 49). This idea of practicing a lot to master one's craft is the basis of Gladwell's Ten Thousand Hour rule. Gladwell also acknowledges that to be able to devote one's life to any craft, one needs help from others; “Ten thousand hours is an enormous amount of time. It is all but impossible to reach that number all by yourself” (Gladwell 42) for Ali he had his team and fans to support him throughout his career. To become successful, one always needs people to support …show more content…

Ali’s dedication throughout his life was the key to his success, from overcoming injustices he faced due to his race and religion, to setbacks in many forms. He kept training and improving his mind, body, and spirit through it all. This drive to become better formed the icon we view him as today.
Work Cited
Brown, D. L. (2018, June 16). ‘Shoot them for what?’ how Muhammad Ali won his greatest fight. The Washington Post.
Cavett, Dick, director. Dick Cavett Show. The Dick Cavett Show, ABC, 1973, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxuqSzE2mB0. Accessed 2 May 2023.
Durham, Richard, and Muhammad Ali. The Greatest, My Own Story: Muhammad Ali. Book Club, 1976. Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Robinson, 2017.
Eig, Jonathan. Ali. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown, and Company, 2008.
Gast, Leon, et al. When We Were Kings. Gramercy Pictures, 1996.
Putnam, Pat. “BETTER NOT SELL THE OLD MAN SHORT.” Sports Illustrated, 29 Sept. 1980.
Putnam, Pat. “Doom in the Desert.” Sports Illustrated, 24 Sept. 2015.
“UofL Libraries: Muhammad Ali: A Transcendent Life: The Man.” The Man - Muhammad Ali: A Transcendent Life - UofL Libraries at University of Louisville,

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