You have to get inspiration and motivation any time and any place you can get it. That's why you'll often find me watching YouTube videos of Ray Lewis delivering motivational speeches to young American athletes. Lewis, a linebacker on the Baltimore Ravens American football team, is the epitome of toughness and perseverance: two qualities that come in handy for athletes facing seemingly insurmountable challenges, students sitting scary exams this time of year, or ordinary people just trying to face the day.
Lewis is the epitome of motivation. Any time you get the test-taking jitters, check out Ray Lewis. Any time you have a difficult time dragging yourself out of bed in the morning, check out Ray Lewis for a powerful dose of motivation. Somehow Lewis manages to get across the message that perseverance is strength, but strength means very little if you waste it on yourself. Strength means fighting for and caring for the person next to you. Winning isn't everything, but caring is.
Here is some of what Ray Lewis recently said to the Stanford basketball team: "If tomorrow wasn't promised, what would you give for today? ... Forget there was any sunlight left. What would you spend today thinking about? Yourself? Or the man that's beside you? ... We get one opportunity in life. One chance in life to do whatever you're going to do; to lay your foundation, to make whatever mark you're going to leave, whatever legacy you're going to leave.
"Wins and losses come a dime a dozen but effort-nobody can judge effort because effort is between you and you. Effort doesn't have anything to do with nobody else. Every day is a new day. Every day is a new moment." You can see Lewis's entire speech at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07fhOVQ9wEA.
Listening to Lewis makes you think about what is important and what is worth fighting for in life. In the scheme of things, those exams you're about to sit are nothing more than one of the many challenges you will face in life. In the scheme of things, that unappreciative, mean boss can't rob you of your strength or your soul.
You decided who you will be and what you will be, and you never have to bow to pressure. You don't have to change yourself or lose yourself because of the power-seeking haters that try to knock you off balance. That's the message you get from listening to Ray Lewis. All you have to do to persevere is keep getting up whenever you get knocked down. Keep trying.
I have heard Lewis say, "I was never the biggest or brightest or fastest or most talented athlete, but no one could ever beat me when it came to effort. Whenever I stepped on a football field, I knew no one could match my effort." In a motivational speech to the Miami Hurricanes, Lewis said: "All I ever knew was effort. Effort will get you noticed. Effort helped me to take care of my mama and my kids. Effort is between you and you. Nobody else can give you effort. When I step on the field, there's nobody else out there who's willing to give up what I give up.
"If you want to do something, work at it. If you want to understand why you need to pull up your pants and say yes ma'am and no ma'am, it's because it's presence and essence that determines respect. Work your heart and soul out in a day-not to please someone else, but to turn around and walk away at the end of the day feeling the strength that comes from effort."
Last count, there were 591,794 hits on that speech. You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07fhOVQ9wEA. In Ray Lewis: the Living Legend, this much revered athlete said, "I play for the guy next to me." Watch his philosophy about not going down the dark route on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxlSqEHwQFs and see why that speech had 858, 890 hits when I last counted.
I wish I could give you a current West Indian athlete I find comparable to Lewis in terms of exemplary performance that is channelled into a means of motivating people. I just don't happen to know of anyone at the moment who gives so much of his heart and soul to the game and then tries with that same heart and soul to teach people the value of effort.
But that's all right. The point is that we can always find people to motivate us and help us to become better people. Sometimes you have to search far and wide, but there is always someone who can inspire you. It could be a teacher, a relative, a friend, a teammate or co-worker.
Just remember, as you head towards those exams today or fight the traffic to get to work, that all that is really required of you is effort. No one can ask you to do more than your best. You know what that is. You define effort and then you give your entire heart and soul for you and the person next to you. That is what makes a good day.
