Jimmy Valvano's Acceptance Speech at 1993 ESPYs
I have had this speech in mind since week one of this class. I found that it fit in perfectly with Larsen's Cultural Myths. I watch this speech every year with my husband. It is a hard one to forget. This is Jim Valvano speaking at the 1993 ESPYs a month before he died of cancer. He was the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Award. I cannot imagine where he found the strength and energy to give this speech as vibrantly as he did. It is an older speech, yes, but one that has stuck with me. There are many things in his speech that apply to Larsen's Cultural Law. I will start with The Wisdom of the Rustic.
The Wisdom of the Rustic: where we come from. At 6:30 mark he said, "I remember where I came from. It is so important to know where you are right now. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be?" This is a great question and Jimmy V answers it by saying you have to have and enthusiasm for life, you have to have a dream, a goal, and you have to work for it. This leads into the possibility of success. Valvano knows all about the possibility to be successful. He tells a story about his first coaching experience, and how he was going to get his team to be successful.
At the 2:40 mark he discusses the attitudes. He says that if a person can laugh, think, and cry in a day, then that is a full day. He talks about this again at the 7:30 mark. He challenges the audience to enjoy life, the precious moments they have, to spend each day with some laughter, some thought, to get emotions going and to be enthusiastic everyday, and to keep their dreams alive no matter what challenges they may have. He then brings everything back together by tying it back into the rustic of the wisdom. He knows where he is and he knows what he wants to do. At this moment he announces his partnership with ESPN to create the cancer foundation.
He then gives the audience another challenge to rise to the occasion. After Jimmy announces his foundation for cancer research he persuades people to support either the AIDS or the cancer foundations. I noticed that he is passionate about cancer research, but did not want to take away form anything that could go to AIDS foundations.
The Process Premises
This is a very passionate speech from Jimmy Valvano. This speech touches on three of the process premises. The first process premise of needs uses emotional security and the sense of roots. The second premise of emotions is used a lot with happiness, joy, laughter, and he talks about not being fearful. The third process premise of attitudes is also used. He tries to change peoples attitudes toward their outlook on life and to be more positive and enthusiastic.
Wow! What a meaningful speech, especially due to his cancer and untimely death. I enjoyed how he talked so passionately about the need to have happiness, joy and laughter as part of a fulfilling day. I think he asked for and implored our help very effectively. A great effort to rise to the occasion to support both cancer and AIDS research. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a meaningful speech, especially due to his cancer and untimely death. I enjoyed how he talked so passionately about the need to have happiness, joy and laughter as part of a fulfilling day. I think he asked for and implored our help very effectively. A great effort to rise to the occasion to support both cancer and AIDS research. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteI agree, what a meaningful speech! I think he has his audience in the palm of his hand because of his illness and circumstances. He gets everyone to applaud when he suggests that the 3 things everyone needs to do are to laugh, to think, and to experience emotions every day of our lives. That is great advice! I love how human he was when he says that he remembers where he came from. It is pretty great that he had the opportunity to speak that close to the end of his life. I would be interested to know how much money he raised for his foundation and for aids. He is so passionate and has such a great outlook on life. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteGreat speech and even better analysis. It was great how he was able to tie in the stories of his early career while staying focused on his purpose. You could truly feel the passion he felt for his cause. His emotion carried his message to the hearts of the audience.
ReplyDeleteGreat work on this. Thanks for sharing this video.
The passion in this guy, Jimmy Valvano, is definatley there. This made me think about the coaches I have had going through life. This passion that is expressed is contagious. After seeing this video It makes you want to implement in your own life the three steps he has talked about. To make each day meaningful. I believe this moved a lot of people to action and appreciate their lives, even more so after his death, and the positivity he shared a month before that even happened.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amber for sharing this video and your analysis. As I watched, I couldn't help but think about how precious life becomes when we realize death is near, but in reality we never know when our end will come, and we go about our lives as if we have all of the time in the world. I was inspired by his words and his dedication to helping fund research for a cure, even in his final days.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how some people and their energy and joy are just contagious and stay with us even after time has passed. He definitely had the ability to spur action in those that he spoke to. I think that is especially so as he was struggling with the very thing that he was encouraging people to donate to. I know when I see people working to overcome their struggles and lead happy successful lives, I am inspired to do the same. I have no excuse but to do my best each and every day. I'm not battling for my life. I am almost ashamed of my negativity at times when I know there are many that are so much worse off than myself. I guess this is where the attitude comes in. No one can dictate how we feel or behave. That lies squarely on our own shoulders and we need to decide how to live each of our days.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very awesome speech. I love his outlook on life. I liked the philosophy that he adopted from Vince Lombardi. Family, Religion and the Green bay Packers. This is a philosophy that we can all adopt. Family, Religion, and what ever else makes is happy. He had great courage even in his last few months of life. Thanks for your post Amber!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite speeches. It is so honest and happy, even under the shadow of cancer and death. When you're dying people really listen to you rather than just waiting for their turn to talk. He was able to get his impassioned point across and used all sorts of Larsen to do it.
ReplyDeleteGreat write up Amber thanks. I have been asking others if the speaker changed the myth or the process premise if they think it would have been as successful. I am now wondering after reading your write up if you think it would have been successful if he focussed on one. I know you mentioned a few in there and it is hard to find speeches that don't include multiple but do you think he would have had as much success with using just one myth and process premise?
ReplyDeleteLook at you with all the comments. I thought about this speech as soon as we started this class. It's awesome. I love how genuine he is and the fact that they still use it today at the beginning of each Jimmy V foundation ESPN auction. It's that powerful.
ReplyDelete