ORDINARY PEOPLE DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

How Jim Valvano’s 1994 ESPY speech changed my life

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“Every single day, in every walk of life, ordinary people do extraordinary things”.

It was quite a few years ago that I first heard Jim Valvano’s famous “Never Give Up” speech from the 1993 ESPY awards but I will always vividly remember the moment that I discovered it.

It was a weekday in the dead of winter and I was home by myself and, as usual with these out of sequence off days, I started it off by making a cup of coffee before retreating back to bed. Once back in there I listened to podcasts in a comfortable state of half sleep until noon until the fear of completely wasting the day propelled me out of bed and into the kitchen to make another cup of coffee. Eventually I made my way to the washroom where I stood, procrastinating and scrolling through my Twitter feed for fifteen minutes before finally getting into the shower.

The next sequence of the weekday off day is part organization and part relationship preservation. I force myself to make a list of all the things I have to do, but don’t want to do, and then get all that shit out of the way so that I can relax. I don’t actually remember what was on the list that day but it’s usually a pretty standard one. I imagine that I cleaned the cat’s litter box, collected all my clothes from the overflowing hamper, added the dirty dishes to the clean ones already in the dishwasher and turned it on(it’s easier to rewash the clean than unload them) and then I always finish it off with a quick run around with the vacuum. Vacuuming is an essential part of this game and a nice finishing touch because it the most visible way to prove that you did something productive while your partner was at work all day.

So after racing around trying to finish all the chores in under an hour (giving the cleaning a shot clock of sorts is essential to motivation) I sat on the couch with the gentle hum of the dryer and dishwasher in the background and I cued up a documentary that had been saving for a time that I could give it my undivided attention.

The documentary was called “Survive and Advance”. I didn’t know anything about it except that it was part of the 30 for 30 ESPN series which pretty much guaranteed that it would be enjoyable, and that the topic was North Carolina State’s unlikely run through the 1983 March Madness tournament.

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From the opening moments it was apparent that this wasn’t an ordinary sports doc and wasn’t going to just relive and glorify a great moment without scratching the surface. The aim of the film was a deep dive and one that would scope well beyond the borders of basketball.

When I first heard a clip of Jim Valvano speaking all the hair on my neck stood up. I didn’t have any context for what I was hearing or who was saying it and I think that’s what made the experience so special. I didn’t have any pre conceptions or bias and was basically a blank slate. (I now employ this strategy often and avoid watching trailers to movies if I can)As the film rolled forward the context was revealed to be Jim Valvano speaking at the 1993 ESPY awards. Twelve minutes of rolling beauty that later became known as Jimmy V’s “Don’t ever give up” speech.

I stopped the film and brought up the full speech on YouTube.

Without an ounce of hyperbole, watching this changed my life and the way that I think about literally everything. His words will always echo in my mind and will always be there, waiting, like a trick up my sleeve and as a reference point for my internal compass. It serves as a reference point for the times when I can’t get motivated or when I feel the slow tide of depression rolling in and when I reflect on a situation where I wasn’t the best version of myself. The moral of Jimmy’s message is that it’s never, ever, too late to start. To start being a better person. To start a new adventure or a new relationship or to rekindle a dream that time has reduced to embers. Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.