In my first year, when I was driving in runs, winning games and making headlines, there was an old man who came to games at Seals Stadium, and one day he called me over, introduced himself and told me not to believe anything written about me or think too much of all the accolades.
Interpretation
Stay humble and grounded despite achievements and praise.
Willie McCovey's quote reminds us of the importance of humility and perspective in the face of success. It speaks to the idea that while accolades and recognition can be gratifying, they should not define our self-worth or lead us to become arrogant. The wisdom shared by the old man emphasizes the need to remain true to oneself and not get lost in the noise of public opinion.
In practice
During a motivational speech about achieving success in sports and business.
I'm an athlete and I'm black, and a lot of black athletes go broke. I do not want to become a statistic, so maybe I overcompensate. But I'm paranoid. Oprah told me a long time ago, 'You sign every check. Never let anyone sign any checks.'
One is too small a number to achieve greatness.
No matter what you do, do it to your utmost. I always attribute my success to always requiring myself to do my level best, if only in driving a tack in straight.
I have the world heavyweight title not because it was 'given' to me, not because of my race or religion, but because I won it in the ring through my own boxing ability.
It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.
I think about my own career, and when I graduated from college, the Internet didn't really exist yet. And so not having a specific plan, being able to be opportunistic at the end, is what enabled me to make some of my best decisions, which is to go to places that were growing but that I didn't plan to have happen.
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