"Don't Give Up... Don't Ever Give Up."

Jimmy Valvano was one of the best basketball coaches of all the time. I have played basketball all of my life, so his story is especially meaningful to me. BUT if you don't know anything about sports, he will motivate you too. 

Jimmy V. was the head coach for North Carolina State in late 80's-90's. He was basically a stand-up comedian who coached college basketball. His team was the true definition of the Cinderella Story. The underdogs who shocked the world to come from the bottom to take the Men's NCAA Championship in 1983. Besides his huge personality, fans remember him running up and down the court with his team cheering, hugging teammates after the win. He went on to be a sports broadcaster for ESPN and ABC Sports. 

In 1992, Coach V. was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer. Shortly after this speech, he passed away. 

THIS. THIS VIDEO.  This is the famous speech that he gave at the 1993 ESPY's for winning the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. Please watch it. Please take the time to listen to all of it. It is a longer video, but it will change your life. This video will change your perspective of life. 

"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special."

To learn more about Jimmy V., read here.

This video always gives me chills and makes me on the verge of tears. It immediately makes me feel like I have a great life. I want to accomplish so much more. These 3 things he talks about, I still try to do everyday. And we all should. It's easier said that done, but we can make it a goal for everyday. 

There will be bad days. There will be hard days, and days you don't want to do anything but lay in bed. But we have to try. We have to find one thing a day that makes us laugh, think, and moved to tears. If you can't find 3 in a day, just shoot for 1. 

Please visit The V Foundation for Cancer Research for more information about donating. 

-DC