“Don't give up. Don't ever give up.” – Jim Valvano a.k.a Jimmy V. (March 10, 1946–April 28, 1993)

When this man died, I was only 12 years old. I couldn't have known about him. It's only through the wonders of the technology we have today – the technology that we have taken for granted – that I chanced upon the following video of Jimmy V. at youtube.

An amazing speech indeed. It summarizes a dying man's wisdom of how life should be lived (Valvano died less than 2 months after giving this speech) –

“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 went on to say that it is important to know where you are (A) and where you want to go (B). To get from A to B, you need to have enthusiasm, you need to have dreams, you need to have goals and you must be willing to work for it. Yes, that's right, to reach your goals, you must be enthusiastic everyday and to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems. You need to spend time and give hope to others. It doesn't happen by magic – you need to consciously make it happen.

Valvano also urged everyone to enjoy all the precious moments in life – this came from a man who definitely knew better, a man who was fighting and unfortunately succumbed to cancer.

Valvano's speech made me laugh… it made me think… and it moved my emotions. Isn't it miraculous that he's still able to touch so many lives after he's gone?

To find out more about Jimmy V, here are 2 books you can read on this amazing man:

• The Gifts of Jimmy V: A Coach's Legacy
• I Remember Jim Valvano: Personal Reflections and Anecdotes About College Basketball's Most Exuberant Final Four Coach, As Told by the People and play

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