Former boxing writer Harold Conrad visited a women's prison with heavyweight fighter Muhammad Ali. "All the inmates lined up," wrote Conrad. "They were ooh-ing and aah-ing as he went along. There were some good-looking ones. But he kissed only the ugly ones." After they left the prison, Conrad asked the fighter to explain why he chose to kiss only those women. "Because no one ever kisses 'em," responded the man who called himself The Greatest. "Now they can remember that Ali kissed 'em."

Just another example of Ali's pompous ego? Perhaps. But I think it reflects his memories of painful slights to him as a black man before he became wealthy and famous. It's a recognition by one human being of the need we all feel for positive strokes.

Straight-A students get compliments. Good athletes receive cheers. But average people don't expect such attention. They just tend to blend in with the woodwork. Everybody needs affirmation of his or her intrinsic worth—a person created in God's image and loved by him. Performance aside, people need to be noticed. They need pats on the back, smiles, hugs. It's how we tell one another, "Hey, you're not alone!"