“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” Jimmy Valvano, 1993 – announcing the Jimmy V Foundation
December 1-7 is Jimmy V week on ESPN. You may not know who Jimmy Valvano was, but if you have had the misfortune of knowing someone afflicted with cancer, the odds are he and his life’s mission impacted your life.
Jimmy Valvano was a successful basketball coach, commentator, and author. He was a person of strong conviction and personal drive. At an early age he pulled out white index cards and began to write down his personal goals for life. He wanted to play high school and college basketball, he wanted to become an assistant coach, go on to become a head coach, cut down the nets in Madison Square Garden and win a National Championship. At age 36, he was able to pull out those cards and cross off every item on the list. Throughout his life he developed a personal philosophy which allowed an ordinary man to accomplish the extraordinary. He once commented, “There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It is up to you to decide what to do with them.” Jimmy V chose to cherish and make the most of each one.
After accomplishing his goals on the basketball court, he explored new directions from writing to commentating. He was not interested in limiting himself to a single profession. He embraced diversity in his life and his interests.
In 1993, Jimmy Valvano was given an obstacle that would prove to be his most difficult. He was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer proved to be too much for him to personally overcome, but through his vision and passion he has inspired and continues to inspire funding for education and research to cure cancer. At the time of his diagnosis, cancer was an underfunded and devastating disease. His charismatic and infectious attitude towards life and easy appeal to people made him an ideal person to raise the awareness of cancer and its impacts on our world and to raise arms to find a way to cure cancer. While no cure has been found, through continued research many forms of treatment have been developed. The Jimmy V Foundation has risen over $100 million in the past 18 years to fund cancer awareness and research.
Jimmy V is an inspiring person. His attitude towards life, even in the face of overwhelming obstacles is something to admire.
The URL below is a video clip from the 1993 ESPY awards when he received the Arthur Ashe award for Courage. During his speech he announces the Jimmy V Foundation.
The URL below is the highlights from the 1983 National Championship. It was one of the most exciting endings the tournament has ever seen.
What do you think of Jimmy Valvano, his life and his mission? Do you have or are you developing a personal philosophy for how you live your life? If so, would you mind sharing? Who inspires you to be a better person? What qualities do they possess you admire?
Gonzo-I think that from what I read, Jimmy Valvano had a very amazing life and a great mission. His life was so good because from an earlier age, he planned what he wanted to do and acheived them. I think that his mission throughout his life was very inspiring and helpful for many people because they could see what he accomplished and would be motivated. I do have a philosophy and I think that it is a good one. My philosophy which I have kept to throughout most of my lif is try and try again. I would have to say that many people inspire me. Two of those people are my dad and my brother. My dad and brother both posses great courage and confidence in their work and beliefs. My dad has astounding integrity and is a very diligent worker. My brother is willing to do whatever he deems necessary to accomplish a greater goal. Also, a huge quality that I admire in both of them is creativity. They are both very creative no matter what they are doing. They can come up with creative stories or just paint things that are very creative. They each have a large assortment of qualities that are very good. I feel that if I can combine the great qualities that both my brother and my dad have, I will be able to make one awesome person.
ReplyDeleteAbby~I think his story is amazing. and no not really. my mom inspires me to be a better person. she is always happy and full of energey and she is really flexible with her job and planns for the day. she is also really nice.!
ReplyDeleteBen R.
ReplyDeleteI think that Jimmy Valvano is a very brave and inspiring person. His life must be very tough living with cancer and his mission is very helpful to other people. My personal philosophy is to cherish every day like it was your last and to always try to make someone's life better. I would say that brother inspires me to be a better person because he is very loving and wants to help others and he always wants to make others happy.
Nora- Jimmy Valvano preached what he believed. You could tell that, in his speech, he truly meant every word. The advice he gave about life was inspiring and true. Also, he knew that he was probably going to die, but he never gave up hope, and he was comforted by the fact that other lives might be saved. My philosophy for life is to follow your beliefs, and always stay true to yourself. No matter what anyone thinks, no matter if they call you weird or think that your ideas are radical and improbable, you should be who you are, whoever you are. I believe that if you try to be like everyone else and always try to fit in, somewhere along the way you lose yourself. You begin to lose any of your own ideas and opinions you might have had. The affect is somewhat similar to the dementor's kiss: you become an empty shell. You depend completely on others to supply you with ideas and opinions. Once you have forced out your true personality, it's hard to get it back. The people who inspire me are my friends and family. My brother Johnny, especially, knows who he is, what he wants, and how he feels (a question difficult for Spock,) and he is not afraid to let people know (another Vulcan difficulty.)
ReplyDeleteNoah R- After reading this thread, I was moved that such a wonderful man had his successful life and career was ended by cancer. I loved how he had planned out his life, on little notecards nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteI do not have a direct approach to how to live my life, though I would like to be a priest. My philosophy is to treat everyone with love, kindness, respect, and dignity, and somehow that works for me.
I have many human role models, but of course the greatest influence for me is God. He is great and good, and His fairness, truth, and overwhelming love inspires me to advance in my faith and life.
Kristen- He is a really amazing person who has truly lived life to the fullest. I don't really have one except to always try your hardest. My brother, Kevin, inspires me to be a better person. He is always nice to everyone and and always gives 110 percent in everything in life.
ReplyDeleteTaylor b.: I think Jimmy is a very inspiring person and decided to do something with his life instead of doing nothing. I admire him for that.I don't really have a philosophy but there are many different things i want to do when I grow up like: become and FBI agent, get into the WNBA, learn how to play the guitar and many more I don't know where I am heading but I hope it is good.There are alot of people who I look up to in my life and who have gone through some rough times. Some of the people I look up to are my cousin Zach, and my Uncle Jery.My cousin right now is in the army and is fighting to keep this country safe.He is also having a baby in the near future. He is a very outstanding person and i look up to him for that reason.My Uncle Jery is a police officer who is fighting crimes. I want to be like him someday making the worl a better place.
ReplyDeletejared- jimmy is an insperational person that had a great mission. my philosophy is never give up, and ive been using this for most of my life and its really helped. there are lots of people i look up to but one in particular is my dad. he has been a succesful dentist and played for boise state. the qualitys my dad has is hes very understanding, honest person.
ReplyDeletePatrick O': Jimmy V. is a great inspiration to many his. His life, and his mission, shows people that you can accomplish what they want if they try. My personal philosophy is to do the best you can in whatever you do. My dad inspires me to be a better person because he is kind and outgoing.
ReplyDeleteKarina- Jimmy V's story is very inspirational and shows people to never give up and always have confidence. My personal philosophy is to never give up and accomplish what you desire. I would have to say that my sister is the one who always inspires me to be a better person. I admire how she always tells me to always stay true to myself and she always boosts up my confidence. My sister gives me great advice. She is usually always nice and is fun to be around.
ReplyDeleteGrant- Jimmy V sounds like an amazing person. He was very determined and hard working. I don't really have a philosophy but i try to work hard and never give up. My grandfather was a really inspiring person. He was an incredibly hard worker and had a great personality and sense of humor.
ReplyDelete~Emily T~
ReplyDeleteI think Jimmy V.'s story is truely inspiring.He was able to reach all of his goals at a young age, and even though he couldn't personally overcome it, he raised really awareness. I don't really have a philosophy. And my parents are some of the people that I look up to, they
have courage,dedication, and drive to accomplish things.
~Emily T~
Jilly- I think Jimmy Valvano is a really amazing person he showed people how of you really want to do something in life then you just need to work hard and you can do almost anything. It must have been hard to develop cancer and then die from it. I think Jimmy's mission is really good because he started resurch for cancer and that has helped a lot of people in many ways because they now have more and more ways to prevent, slow down, and cure cancer. I guess my personal philosophy would be never give up if there is something you really want to do someday you will have the courage to do it even if you don't now and good things come to those who work hard and deserve them. I admire all of my friend and my family. Some one who inspires me is my brother he always works hard and tries his best. My brother also tries new thing even if he is not really sure about them, he also makes me feel better about myself and encourages me to always try hard. My brother is funny and fun to be around.
ReplyDeleteLAUREN- I think Jimmy's life was amazing and his mission was inspiring. My personal philosophy for how I live my life is live life to the fullest, because I don't want to waste one second of it. My parents inspire me to be a better person. They are hardworking and caring for all people. I admire those qualities of them.
ReplyDeleteIts Student Five (gain)- Well his life was amazing. Being an amazing Baketball coach. Now that is hard. His mission to raise cancer awarness was HUGE! He was probably one of the key players in raising cancer awarness in the world. If think that i am not a persoal philosapher. Somebody that inspires me to do well is Ronald Regan. He to me was a grat leader in american history. He posecess great leadership and intellect.
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ReplyDeleteTim: I think that Jimmy is very inspirational. His life was good because he was organized and followed his dreams. His mission was very helpful and set a good example by doing what he did. Yes, my philosophy is to never give up and treat people with respect which has worked out pretty well so far. Someone who inspires me is my parents. They always help me and chose jobs that benefit the community because they want to make the world a better place. Some qualities that I admire in them are that they are caring, hardworking, and they are good at following the golden rule.
ReplyDeleteDavid- I Jimmy Valvano's is very inspiring because he knew what he wanted to do he set his mind to it and he did it. He sends the message that you will be faced with many obstacles in life but you must overcome just as Jimmy did. My personal philosophy is " one day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it worth watching" or in other words live your life to the fulest. The person that inspires me to be a better person would have to be my mom because when she says something she tries to say it the nicest way possible. She shows kindness and just how to be a good parent.
ReplyDelete~Megan~
ReplyDeleteI think Jimmy Valvano is a very inpirational person. He didn't take things for granted, and he lived his life to the fullest. When he says in his speech "If you laugh, think, and cry each day then you've lived a full day" you can definally tell that he knew what he wanted in life and wasn't going to pass for anything else. My personal philosophy is pretty much the same, live life to the fullest, make sure that when you look back at life that you are satisfied with what you did. My dad inspires me to be a better person. He is always one to step out of his way for others. He is a nice person.
this is chocolate thunda (Conner) - i think the life that Jimmy V. has lived and his mission that he had is very inspiring. it shows that with the right mindset and goals, hard work can get you where you want to go. i think that he lived every minute of his life to his fullest, even when he found out he didn't have a lot of time left to live it. going off of Jimmy Valvano's life, it teaches me to become more focused, hard working, and optomistic on how to reach and complete my goals. i try to be those these characteristics and many more every day. hopefully be doing these things i will strive to meet my standards and by doing so maybe inspiring others to do the same just like Jimmy V. inspired me. there are a lot of people that inspire me to be a better person but the people who inspire me the most are my brothers. they have all accomplished many things that i wish to accomplish. if i am in need of help in my life they're there to help me through it by giving me hope and advice through their experiences and knowledge. some of the characteristics that they share are that they are confident, detirmined, hard working, intelligent, resourcful, optomistic, couragous, acceptive, living, loyal, and very helpful. chocolate thunda is out for the week.
ReplyDeleteBailey A.K.A. Stud- I think Jimm y had a great life other than his death. His mission was spectacular adnhe is helping alot of people. He gave his money not for him but for others. For my life I always go by If you aint first your last. My mom inspires me to being a better person by sending insperational stuff and making me reas insperational books. Shes always trying to help someone.
ReplyDeleteAnna K~ I think Jimmy V is a very inspiring person who has a great attitude toward life. He seemed to never doubt himself and he just loved life and took advantage of everything that it had to offer. My personal philosphy is to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. I have known exactly what I was going to do since I was 9. I want to be a marine biologist and a conservationist. I mainly want to study sharks. As for who inspires me... I would have to say that my mom does. She worked hard to go to college and she completed it even though it was tough. She rarley complains about things and says that you got to do what you have to do. She is outgoing and always tells me to do my best even though it might be hard.
ReplyDeleteBella- I think Jimmy Valvanno is very inspiring and a great person. Many people are inspired in what he did when he was alive. My dad showed me this video a while ago, his phrase, "Don't give up, don't ever give up," is my philosiphy in which I live by. My parents inspire me to be a better person becasue they are trustworthy, hardworling, and nice.
ReplyDeleteJohn- Jimmy Valvanno, unlike many others, took his diagnosis very well. Instead of crying and pouting over it, he became proactive and raised awareness of it to help other people rather than only himself. I have several philosophies about life, one would be to stand up and take action for what you believe in rather than sit there and hope it happens for you. My parents, like many people, and several other objectives push me to pursue my strength to do my best every day. All of my objectives are hard working, persistant, patient, and straight forward in what they do.
ReplyDeleteAsaro#1 I think Jimmy Valvanno is a hero not only as a coach, but in general. He not only shocked the nation with one of the greatest upsets in ncaa basketball history, but gave a wonderful speech saying that we can beat cancer and never give up. I have one keep moving on weather in life or a game of hoops.Jesus,Jimmy V and Rajon Rondo. They all have one thing the love of being alive and the never say die aditude.
ReplyDeleteSQUIRREL-Jimmy V was a great mentor and teacher to alot of people. He was very successful on what he did. The main reason I look up to Jimmy V is because he set very high standereds and goals for himself and he achieved them. This makes me even want to set higher goals for myself then I already have.I want to try to live life like Valvanno did!!! I LOVE JIMMY V! SQUIRREL out.
ReplyDeleteSQUIRREL is back! Aaron IM SORRY TO TELL U THIS BUT rajon rondo?????? not so much.
ReplyDeleteEmma- Jimmy V's life seemed like it was filled with extremly adventerous life. Every second of the day he treated it like it was his last! He seems so determined with his life. He also had so many goals in life.I dont have a personal philosophy. A person that inspires me to be a better person is my dad. He always does the right thing even when no one is watching. He makes me a better person by just being himself and I see that and just want to do the same.
ReplyDeleteAbhi- I think Jimmy V is an inspiration. My philosophy work hard and never give up.My brother inspires me. That is because he make me be a better person. He is always kind, helping, and a hard worker.
ReplyDeleteMadeline- Wow. That was... inspiring. Jimmy V. didn't go wallow in a little pool of self-pity. He went out and lived life to the fullest. Outstanding. Amazing. Personally, I haven't got a philosophy, not yet anyway. People that inspire me? My family and friends come to mind. Each has a different quality. Some have courage, others compassion, still others an uncanny ability to read people. Yet each posesses the same quality: kindness.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Nora, I love the Star Trek and Harry Potter references!
Mary-Jimmy V seems like an amazing person other than his death. He lived his life to the fullest and when he found he was diognosed with cancer he used the rest of his life to help others. When he did that it makes me and I'm sure everyone else realize what a great person he is. When he found out he was sick he didn't complain and give up. He helped others like himself have a brighter future where there would be cures for these kind of illnesses and to tell others to never give up.
ReplyDeleteMary-Oh and my philosphy on life is to live it to the fullest. LIve it while you have it.
ReplyDeleteEmily B~
ReplyDeleteJimmy V.'s story is really amazing, the way he fullfilled his lifes dream. He has inspired many people. I dont exactly have a philosophy, at least for now. Many people inspire me but it narrows down to 1 main... inspirer my freinds.
Alice - Jimmy V's story is very inspiring and amazing. Well my philosophy is well every second counts, don't try to waste it, cause you might not know if you'll have another one. I have a lot of people inspire m. To my grand ma all the way down to my sister. Yet the person who touch the most on me was my aunt Teresa. She too was diagnosed with cancer and well shortly past away this summer. Even though she's not with me right now (Physically)shes with me in my heart. She is the only reason I wake up and make me move on when the going gets tough. So i will like to thank her for being in my life and doing all the things she did for my family and I. Another thing is I will like to be thankful for people like Jimmy making more people aware about cancer. You guys are helping a lot of people today.
ReplyDeleteKobe- I think Jimmy V's story is truly amazing and is very inspirational. If there is one person in my life that influences me more than anyone else is my uncle. My uncle always hung out with me ever since i was a little child. He took me places and was a big part of my life growing up. And now that he has graduated law school he has inspired me to become a lawyer as well, and i will work hard to achieve my goal.
ReplyDeleteThe Freelance Pianist - I firmly believe that Jimmy V's life is a testament to the importance of setting goals and never giving up. My personal philosophy is this: The only thing holding you back from achieving greatness is yourself. Have faith in God, and have faith in yourself. If you can do this, you can do anything. The person who inspires me the most is Albert Einstein, who possessed staggering brilliance, amazing imagination, solid faith, and a sense of humor that could light up any darkness. He taught me the value of hard work, faith, and most importantly the fact that life WILL choose to knock us down, but we can always choose to get back up.
ReplyDeleteJake-Jimmy V is an inspiration for all people especially to athletes. My philosophy on life is to be confident at all times.many people do this but my dad especially my dad. When he was a teen he played baseball. He played pitcher,sometimes he would give up a home run but the next batter he struck out. He had to have courage and confidence to do this. €€€€€€€€££££££¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥
ReplyDeleteRich- I think Jimmy V is a wonderful person who had a brave mission to find a cure for cancer. My personal philosophy is to never give up. My dad inspires me because he is the one who taught me never give up if you want to achieve something and he teaches me what I need to do to become a better person.
ReplyDeleteNoah g I think that Jimmy V is an amazing person and like rich^said he had a brave mission to find a cure for cancer. My personal philosophy is to strive for greatness. If theres anyone i look up to it is most certainly father, who always taught me to never give and always do it right.
ReplyDeleteScott- I think Jimmy V had a amazing life,and I think he had a tough mission that is still on going today even though he has passed. I don't really have a personal philosophy, but the person that I look up to the most is my dad because he never gives up on anything and has taught me to do the same.
ReplyDeleteItalian stalian.... i think jimmy v had an amazing life and inspired me to do good in life. I think his mission was very inspiring. My philosophy is if you get knocked down get
ReplyDeleteAnna M.- i think he is an amazing person!i don't have a life philosophy for my self.but i plan on one for the future.my mom is an ispiring person to me because of the many things she has accomplished. and i look for qualities like honesty, courage, and respect.
ReplyDeleteGarren- He is a very inspiring figure that knows how to dig down into peoples hearts and put a message there. I do not have my own philosiphy on life but I definately agree with Jimmy's. My Parents inspire me because they always want me to try my best and they are kind and they put others before themselves.
ReplyDelete~Jenna~ Jimmy V's story was truly amazing. his speech really taught me alot. to accomplish one full day he said you need to laugh , think, and cry, i evidently have not accomplished many days.i don't really have a specific philosophy. i guess that i could say that mine is either make someones day even if it makes yours worse because in the end it works out for everyone or it is if you are not yourself then who are you? be yourself because it is the best that you are.i look up to my family. my mom, my dad, and my brother. they are all very nice and accepting they are honest and forgiving. i hope that i turn out to have all of these same qualities that i love.
ReplyDeletetentontubies-(braedy) well his life is interesting and must of been hard. my philosophy in life is to acomplish my dreams and to have an facetious life. the people i look up to are my dad, mom, and both of my grandpas and grandmas. my dad because of all the things he has acomlishes. my mom because of all she does for me. my grandpas because they both fought in world war II. my grandmas because they are good cooks, love to have fun and are always a blast to be around. also Jimmys speech and what he talks about is truely fantastic, from all you have to do to only acomp;ish one is a lot and he is one amazing person. And Noarh you Just love Star Trek dont you. thank you.
ReplyDeleteBen S- Wow, Jimmy never gives up. With that kind of personality nothing will get in your way of what you do or what you want to do in life. My philosophy to life is a good saying, life is like a coin, you can spend it in any way you wish, but you can only spend it once. we all ony have one life to live. I look up to a lot of people but i dont have a particular person, i have a group that i look up to though. and that group is the U.S. Armed Forces. They are out there protecting and looking out for this country. This inspires me to look out for others and help them when they are in need. The U.S. Armed Forces are described as hard working, tough, loyal, and they are never afraid to protect this country no matter what the challenge is.
ReplyDeletePeyton- i think that his story and mission are inspiring. he never gave up when he was diagnosed with cancer and he was an extremely hardworking person throughout his life. i unfortunately do not have a personal philosophy in my life and need to think about setting up one. My parents inspire me to be a better person. they give me inspiration and advice each day and encourage me to live a good and honest life. My parents are hardworking people that nnever give up when faced with adversity. they also find time in their lifes to help any family members that are in need of help and go to great lengths to help anyone in need.
ReplyDeleteFrancesca- i think that he is very brave and it teaches a lot of people a lot of stuff. He never gave up and he tried hard to have a good life and live it as good as he can. I dont have a personal philosophy because i havent really thought about it. My family and some of my friends inspire me to be a better person, they give me advice and if im doing something bad they tell me and then i wont do it next time.
ReplyDeleteJoseph- Jimmy V had an amazing life,and super inspirational to helping people. He had a great plan and he followed it, making his mission successful and amazing. one philosophy i like is "you miss 100% of the shots you dont take."-Gretzy. I would say my brother inspires me. i dont know why but he is just amazing and always helps me to help other people
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