Roll-Models | Professor Prosperity

Professor Prosperity’s Academy: Never Give Up

Author Professor on July 18th, 2008

“Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up”

Those are the famous words of Jim Valvano during his last speech at the 1993 ESPY awards. He died just a short month later on April 28, 1993. This speech has been recognized as one of the greatest speeches of all time, not for the fact that he delivered it basically in his deathbed, but for the courage that it has inspired in many people. His last paragraph is as follows:

“I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I want to say it again. Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.

I thank you and God bless you all.”

You can see the whole speech here on YouTube or you can read it on the V Foundation website here

Jim Valvano winning the NCAA Basketball Championship

So why bring this up in a prosperity and success site? Because there are some unbreakable truths in the speech. With any success you have to perceiver and keep going. You have to be brave through tough times and never stop.

Find your passion, then be passionate about it. There are over 6 billion (6,602,224,175) people in the world. They need a voice. Be that voice, communicate to others, be the expert, be the one that people will turn to for inspiration. Once you have the commitment to something, the commitment to your passion never give up on it.

I have heard it said before that you can succeed in anything if you never give up. Some will take longer than others, but as long as you don’t give up you will always win, you will always succeed.

Find mentors. Find inspiration. Be a kid again, and post them on the wall, get their poster, get their picture, find quotes from them and put them up around your office, your room, where you spend a lot of your time. If you cannot meet them personally watch their videos online, read their books, listen to their speeches, find media that works for you.

Match Lance Armstrong's Intensity

Adversity can make a person do two things, quit, or get stronger. Lance Armstrong was a good bike rider before he got cancer. Most said that he had a ton of talent but would never win the great championships due to his attitude and his work ethic. Once he got cancer things changed. He realized that he had to fight, not just for his life, but for everything that he wanted.

People did not believe that he could come back the way he did, but he came back in a very large way. He came back better than anyone had ever came back from an illness. He was so strong that rumors of drug use overshadowed his accomplishments. No matter what anyone says the facts are this, he is the most tested athlete ever in le Tour de France and he never failed a single test ever. He simply worked harder than anyone else everyday. It all culminated with The Look in the 2001 Le Tour de France when he broke away from the best riders in the world and never looked back again.

So what can we take from all of this?

Health

If you goal and your measure of prosperity is good health it will take time. It will get harder before it gets better but as long as you never give up you will someday be in the best health of your life

Wealth

From the bible to the moder philosophers they all state the same thing. Wealth comes to those who have wealth. It will be a long hard climb to your success but keep going because once you get there you it will only lead to more success and prosperity.