Sharing with you things that are on my mind...Maybe yours too. Come back to Wrights Lane for a visit anytime! And, by all means, let's hear from you by leaving a comment at the end of any post. THE MOTIVATION: I firmly believe that if I have felt, experienced or questioned something in life, then surely others must have too. That's what this blog is all about -- hopefully relating in some meaningful way -- sharing, if you will, on subjects of an inspirational and human interest nature. Nostalgia will frequently find its way into some of the items...And lots of food for thought. A work in progress, to be sure.

06 January, 2011

LAUGH, THINK, CRY LIKE JIMMY VALVANO

JIMMY VALVANO, doing what he did best.
I am constantly reminded of Jimmy Valvano, the legendary basketball coach who is well known for his inspiring speech at the 1993 ESPY awards event created by the American cable television network ESPN. Diagnosed with bone cancer in June, 1992, Coach Jimmy is a great example of never giving up, even if the odds are against you.

While accepting the inaugural Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, he announced the creation of the "Jimmy V Foundation", an organization dedicated to finding a cure for cancer. He revealed that the foundation's motto would be "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."  His speech became legendary, and he closed the speech by saying, "Cancer can take away all of 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." One particularly poignant section of Valvano's speech is as follows:

"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."

He naturally received a rousing standing ovation from the ESPY crowd. Sadly, Jim Valvano died less than two months after his famous speech. He was only 47 years of age.  More than anything else, his inspiring words are his legacy.  His tombstone reads: "Take time every day to laugh, to think, to cry."

I do all three things at least once a day.  So does Rosanne, only a lot more, God bless her.

If you have 10 minutes to spare it would be worth the time to listen to this video.  You will be moved.



THANK YOU COACH!

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