A View of Attaining Prosperity by Overcoming Obstacles as Described in an Inspirational Speech

Introduction

The inspirational quote that I picked for my previous homework assignment was “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe then you will be successful”. As soon as I heard this quote, it inspired me. What made this quote so inspiring was that if people really wanted to be successful as much as they want to breathe, then they will succeed in life. If all you do is focus on becoming successful, you will reach and achieve your goals. The only person who can stop you from becoming successful is yourself. If you do not achieve your goals, it’s because of you, not anyone else. If you eliminate all the distractions that will hinder your path to success, it will help you focus on becoming successful.

A View of Attaining Prosperity by Overcoming Obstacles as Described in an Inspirational Speech

I obtained this quote from a motivational speaker's speech that was intended for college students. The motivational speaker explains in his speech that you have to eliminate all other aspects that will not help you become successful. You can tell that this speech was intended for college students because they can easily get distracted or lose track of what’s important while living on a college campus. He’s basically saying that it’s up to you to make your destiny. If you want to become successful, you will do whatever it takes to become so, despite any obstacles that come across your path. You will overcome everything to receive that college degree. His speech was meant to motivate those students who are lacking in class or even in sports.

The Universal Application of the Speech

The motivational speaker's speech can be directed towards various areas such as sports, education, careers, politics, etc. His speech is extremely powerful, so it can reach out to anyone. All the topics I just mentioned can relate to his speech. The people who are on top or at a high level in their specific fields had the drive that he talks about in his speech. I guarantee you that they were focused on succeeding in their field. They did not procrastinate about completing a task, and when they were doing the task, they were focused on it and nothing else. That’s what separates the people who make it from the people who don’t. The ones who don’t make it procrastinate about everything, do everything at the last minute, don’t put their all into their work, and just don’t want to be successful as badly as their peers.

The Role of Hard Work and Determination in Success

This speech can be directed towards sports because to be the best, you have to work the hardest. You have to go above and beyond everyone else to really succeed. Just doing enough to get by cannot satisfy you; you must want to do extra work. The same thing applies to education. The top student in your class is the one who turns their cell phone off while studying, reads more than required, and studies every night. They are not procrastinating about studying, reading, or doing homework. They’re not waiting until the last minute to do their work or study, and when they’re doing homework or studying, they are focused only on that, not getting easily distracted by everything else. You can elevate your career to heights you never thought were possible, but you can only do that if you apply yourself.

The Intentions and Impact of the Speech

The intention of the speech was to motivate, inspire, and encourage people to handle their business. The speech is basically a reality check for people who are not taking care of business. He’s telling you what you are doing and what you need to do to become successful. It’s not hard to figure out what you need to do at all. He says that “when all you want to do is be successful as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful”. Most people say they want to be successful, but they don’t want it badly; they just somewhat want it. They don’t want to be successful as much as they want to go to a party, go to the movies, hang with their friends, or even sleep. He explains how sometimes you have to sacrifice sleep to be successful. You have to want to stay up for hours typing a paper or studying for an exam to really become successful.

The Extra Mile: A Path to Uncommon Success

Most people don’t go the extra mile to become successful. The day that all you want to do is become successful and nothing else is the day you reach success like never before. Sometimes you have to go days without sleep or some days without eating to really reach that limit. Most people in life do not reach that limit because they do not apply themselves. They don’t even give themselves a chance to reach those heights because they honestly don’t want it that bad. If you are studying for a long period of time and you stop because you’re tired, you’re quitting on yourself. You’re crippling yourself for the upcoming exam or test that you are studying for. Despite however many hours you study, it doesn’t matter because you stopped when you were tired. That’s what he preaches about in his speech; to push yourself to limits that you didn’t even know were possible.

The Importance of Persistence

It doesn’t make sense to quit studying or reading when you’re tired because you have already stayed up for hours doing it, so you might as well stay up for a couple more hours to make sure you understand everything. Because you will reward yourself by getting an acceptable grade on a paper or exam, and that’s what we want. It’s all about self-motivation; no one can do your work for you. It’s up to you. Your mom, sister, brother, or peers cannot do it for you. It has to be you to tell yourself that you’re not going to sleep because you have to study or be the one to tell your friends sorry, I can’t hang with you tonight because I have to study for an exam.

Target Audience and Broader Applications

The motivational speaker's intended audiences were those people who need to be inspired or who need an extra boost of confidence to get them through a difficult time in life. I believe that it can be intended for anyone such as students, athletes, or people who are just starting off their careers. Emmitt Smith, the football player, once said, “All men are created equal, some work harder in pre-season” (Smith, 1994). Even though this is a sports quote, it still speaks volumes for other topics. The athletes that are the best in the sport worked hard during the season but worked even harder during pre-season; that is basically what the quote is saying. This also applies to education because there are students who work the hardest in class and after class go to the professor and still ask questions. They might understand the material in class, but they’re just getting a complete understanding of everything from the professor. That’s what makes them the top performers in their class. The only way someone could not relate to this speech is if they did not want to become successful in life.

Football as a Metaphor for Success

Football is the best genre to explain that can relate to this speech. There’s a famous saying in football, “it’s not the team/player with the most skill, it’s the team/player with the most heart”. Heart will beat out skill 10 out of 10 times in football or in any sport. I vaguely remember a couple of years ago in college football; Appalachian State defeated the University of Michigan, which was one of the biggest upsets in Division 1 history. Michigan was supposed to blow Appalachian State out; it wasn’t even supposed to be a close game at all. But Appalachian State prevailed against the all-mighty University of Michigan and won. This example shows that it takes more than just skill to win a game; it takes heart, and that is his main message in his speech. You have to want it for yourself, and when you do want it, you have to stay with it.

References:

• Smith, E. (1994). All men are created equal, some work harder in pre-season. [Quote].