Shaquille O’Neal credits Muhammed Ali for helping him understand how he needed to be kind to people regardless of their background.
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Shaquille O’Neal is the definition of the phrase ‘gentle giant’. Kevin Garnett even said once that the world should be thankful of the fact that Shaq was raised right because if he wasn’t, who would stand in the way of the 7-footer.
Growing up with a drill sergeant as a father, he understood quite quickly the ins and outs of showing and subsequently receiving respect. Shaq however, didn’t let his upbringing turn him into a quiet and unenthusiastic man who simply followed orders.
The Lakers legend had the best of both worlds when it comes to developing a personality as he showed respect when needed but didn’t take sh*t from others either. Aside from the well-mannered aspects if his personality, Shaquille O’Neal was as lighthearted as they come.
It was actually during a business class at LSU that he realized to market himself and gain endorsement deals, he needed to be the ‘funny guy’.
Shaquille O’Neal on kindness towards others.
The trappings of superstardom usually start with slowly dissociating yourself from the ‘common-folk’. Believing you deserve better because you earn more is something Shaquille O’Neal cut out from his life and credits a Muhammed Ali saying for helping him stay on that path.
“You know, Muhammed Ali said, ‘You can tell a lot about a man by how he treats the janitor.’ If a man treats the janitor like sh*t, he’s going to treat everybody like sh*t. After that I realized I need to just stay cool because all of this could be taken away.”
Shaquille O’Neal has said on many occasions that he only surrounds himself with people who he trusts and when he’s conducting business, has folks around him that are smarter than to help guide him in the right direction.
