Thinking about the women that you know: your friends, sisters, mothers, we know that we are kind of stereotyped. You like sports, you're a tomboy. There are all of these labels ,which is natural for us as a society to do, but it's just really about reminding women of the power that we have inside of us and that you can do anything you put your mind to. You don't want to get stuck. You don't want to get stuck in your own mind.
Laila AliSometimes your worst hits in life wind up being your best advantage. If only you could believe that when you're getting hit.
Laila AliIf you're having a bad day the main thing on the mental side is realizing that I'm having a bad day and thinking about why and then just kind of re-prioritizing and saying, "I'm going to let myself have this bad day, but tomorrow I'm going to get back on track." That's pretty much it. We all have them. You do have to let yourself have them and then go within and figure out why you're having it and prevent it from happening again.
Laila AliThe wrestling, even though I would only wrestle for 15 or 20 or 30 minutes at a time, and it would look like that was the only time I was in it, was really a 24-hour job. Keeping yourself alive, reinventing yourself, staying physically in shape, the traveling, all the other commitments with being a wrestler, it was a crossover situation where it became sports entertainment and you actually became a media star, so it was very demanding.
Laila Ali