A captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and former Miss USA, Deshauna Barber, has shared some valuable life lessons in her powerful speech during a commencement ceremony at Virginia State University where she also earned her degree in business management.

In an inspirational video shared by The Daily Goalcast, Deshauna talked about how she failed six times in her state pageant (District of Columbia) before becoming the first soldier to be crowned Miss USA.

Dashauna said, “Do not fear failure, but please be terrified of regret.”

She added, “If I had won Miss USA in my very first year, I would not have been Miss USA. I would not have been the version of myself that I needed to be to properly handle a national title.”

After winning Miss USA 2016, Deshauna went on to represent the USA at the Miss Universe 2016 pageant which was held in Manila, the Philippines and made it to the Top 9 out of 86 contestants.

“There are a lot of questions that is going to keep you up at night, but I guarantee there isn’t one question that will keep you up longer at night than the question, what if I didn’t give up?”

Success is not easy but if you are losing motivation and wanting to quit, don’t. Deshauna is a living proof that not giving up on your goals, ambitions, or whatever dreams you have, pays off.

Don’t give up, great things take time.

Watch this video:

Photo: Miss Universe, Steve Marcus / Reuters, Ethan Miller / Getty Images