Motivation Daily by Motiversity - One of the Greatest Speeches Ever | Ray Lewis

Episode Date: December 8, 2022

This is one of the Best Speeches Ever from Ray Lewis on the story behind his jersey number 52 and on Effort.Speaker: Ray Lewishttps://twitter.com/raylewis“I grabbed this deck of cards, and I flipped a 7. And I started doing seven push-ups. I flipped a 6; I did six. I flipped a 9; I did nine. I flipped a 2; I did two. I flipped another 9; I did nine until I got all the way through the deck. Jack, Queen, King worth 10. Aces – 25 and Jokers – 50. Until I got sick and tired of what pain felt like in my gut…I shuffled them all over again, and I started doing sit-ups. I wanted to make sure sports wasn’t the reason I started training. It was to make sure another man never put his hands on my mama…" - Ray Lewis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The link is in the description. Today, I wanted to just really hit on something dealing with pain. I asked my mom one day. I said, Mom, I said, would you buy me a deck of cards? She says, Junior, I don't gamble in my house. ain't no cards coming in my house I said mom I don't need them

for gambling I don't want them for gambling I just need a deck of cards mom my mom for years from the time I was 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 I never saw a woman

take so much physical abuse than the way I've seen my mother be Every freaking day of my life can't help her because I'm not strong enough at the muscle to get these men off my mother. Her mother's a very high yellow woman and every time they hit her, she would bleed from her eyes. She would walk around for days with sunglasses on in the house. I said, Ma, I need a deck of cards. Last altercation we got in My stepfather hit my mama so hard in the face

My stepfather hit my mom so hard in the face I called her And I looked at him with this rage and this pain in my eyes Like one day One day And I took this death in car I couldn't live in the house So I had to live in the garage

And after this last altercation we had with this guy I ran to my garage and I grabbed this deck of cards, and I flip the seven, and I started doing seven push-ups. I flipped a six, I did six. I flipped a nine, I did nine. I flipped a two, I did two.

I flipped another nine, I did nine. Until I got all the way through the deck, Jack Queen King worked 10, ACE's 25 and Joker's 50, until I got sick and tired of what pain felt like in my gut. It didn't even matter to me anymore, because I started shuffling them all over again,

and that's when I started doing the sit-ups. because I wanted to make sure sports wasn't the reason why I started training. It was to make sure man never put his hands on my mama again. Oh my mama? No pain. No pain will ever stop me from taking care of you and my brothers and sisters. That's why I started doing what I started doing. Sports was a byproduct of what people started to see.

It was the behind the scenes that was driving me crazy. There's two sides of pain that I don't think a lot of people really understand. There's one side of pain that's the suffering and the discomfort side of pain. But then there's another side of pain that's called effort. It's called glory. It's called if you can find a way to push through pain, there's something greater on the other side of it. And if you never tap into it, it's because the first time you felt that you backed off. The first time you felt, ah, that burned, the first time you feel that it's too much.

And we rationalize with ourselves to where we automatically stop. That's why a bunch of us give up so much in life so quickly. That's why kids have a problem finishing things in today's time. Because soon as they feel a small bit of discomfort, of things ain't right, they're gone. I can't do it no more. Suppose I told you the greatest pain of my life. This pain of my life is the reason I'm standing here today. To take a little pain, go through it.

You're not going to die because you're feeling a little pain. You ain't going to die at the end of pain and success. Pain is temporary. It may last for a minute or an hour or a day or even a year, but eventually it will subside. And something else will take its place. I quit however, it will last left. On the other side of that pain, of that pain, on the other side.

Promise. 10 years old, I picked up these deck of cards. And one day I counted them, and I found out it was 52 of them in the deck of cards. 52. I turned my greatest pain into in my business with the greatest achievement. ever is the touch on the unbony trophy. 52 cards. And ironically, my number end up being 52.

There's not a person on my team in 16 years that has consistently beat me to the ball every play. That ain't got nothing to do a talent. That's just got everything to do with effort. Nothing else. Fifteen straight years. Twelve Pro Bowes later. pro bowls later if you want numbers. I don't saw all of it. And the only thing that's kept me

around is my effort. So when you put on this, all I ever knew, because I wasn't a number run recruit, I wasn't the number one lineback, I wasn't even in the media guy. All I ever knew was effort would get me seen on the tape. Effort will get me noticed to get to the lead. Effort would one day take care of my mom and my kids. Effort, which is between you and you. Nobody else can't give you effort. Effort is with inside, man. And I'm still granted because the next critic's talking about he's getting too old.

Keep watching me if I am. Nobody ain't got to convince me of what I do. I do what I do because I do what I do because I'm built from something. And man didn't create it. Every one of you men in here have that opportunity, man, but ask yourself the question personally. How much time you really waste? For real. Do you really represent this?

I represent it because it's all I had. It's only brotherhood I ever been formed to. That's why when I see y'all perform on Saturdays, that is my piece. That's why I run to the hotels. I don't need to talk to nobody before my games. I just need to see what I once came from. I sat in these same chairs you guys sat in, man. I sat around the greatest athletes in the world.

And then I found myself totally different because everybody was asking the question, who is this kid? I'm just sharing my story to tell y'all. Every time you think somebody got it good, man, they ain't always good. Some people just make up their mind and they just grind and say the heck with it, man.

Because sometimes that's all you can do. How much of our brains are we really going to use? I use mine to tell somebody today, September 11, when I step on the field against the Pittsburgh is, if that's what God will is, there's no other man out there willing to give up, but I'm willing to give up. I said that in 1993, but I said I wanted to be the greatest hurricane. And the only thing that I got in the middle of all of that distance is the only thing that father's work is results.

There's no other blueprint. I ain't got no other secrets to tell y'all today. I ain't come here for nothing else but to tell you if you want to do something, work at it. You want a better relationship with God, work at. You want to understand why pulling your pants up important, why yes ma'am and no man is important. Why being in the meeting with complete silence when somebody walks in because it's presence and essence that determines respect. So are we talking about? The power of respect is never to disrespect.

That's why I was the first one sitting down in the meeting. I ain't got nothing to say. Y'all do y'all. I'm good. I got to listen. Something like there I need to grab from it. Except on the same football field at you will. 1993.

And I made a quote that some people call controversy. I call it confidence. I said that I might be the greatest player to ever walk up out of the universe of mine. I did not say that because I thought I was better than everybody else. I said that simply because I was willing to put in the work to now be back here 18 years later and tell you the only brotherhood I still have. You've got to say yes to your life. You've got to say yes, yes to my dreams. Yes to me. Yes, I can make it. Yes, I can. Doesn't matter how many failures I've made. Doesn't matter how many mistakes I've endured.

Doesn't matter about my defeats. Doesn't matter about what I've done. He sits on my chest and a shirt on it. But that rear hurricane is found in my heart. It's this where it all came from. Same path y'all walked. Same calves y'all going in. Same green tree y'all walking up and down.

I had one pair of jeans in college for at least two years. At least two years. What drives you? Because I feel home. And when you're home, there ain't much to say. Our work spoke for itself. That's where I swagger came from. Our Swagger came from. We worked as a unit.

I came to the universe of Miami that was one mind, one set, one set, one heartbeat. It was impossible to get to us. Because if you saw us somewhere, you saw 15 or 20 of us. Gotta stop leaving each other. Gotta start hanging out without each other. The streets ain't chasing the same things you chase.

There's many temptations out there. Just stay focused, man. As a team, though, as a team, that's all I knew when I was here. That's what kind of kept me focused, that I finally ran into a team. And you guys have that same thing. Because this is you, is you will never die.

And I never die. So it's up to you to carry that. It's up to you to carry that. And every Sunday, every Saturday, everything is talked about. I got to commit my very being to this thing. I got to breathe it. I got to eat it. I got to sleep it.

And until you get there, you'll never be successful in life. But once you get there, I guarantee you the world is yours. You won't one yesterday? I know what you carry. When you carry this you on your chest. Know what you carry, man. You carry a legacy, a legacy of greatness. And greatness is a lot of small things done well.

Day after day, work out after workout. Obedience after obedience. Day after day.