This is probably one of the most inspirational speeches I´ve listened to in a very long time. It´s from the movie “Any Given Sunday”, an Oliver Stone film. Here a good review by Andrew Manning. Here the trailer.
The message is clear and powerful: in life you have to push with all you got if you want to achieve anything. Never give up in life.
THE SPEECH
I don’t know what to say really.
Three minutes
to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play
till we’re finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the shit kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.
Now I can’t do it for you.
I’m too old.
I look around and I see these young faces
and I think
I mean
I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh….
I pissed away all my money
believe it or not.
I chased off
anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately,
I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror.
You know when you get old in life
things get taken from you.
That’s, that’s part of life.
But,
you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game
life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don’t quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don’t quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.
On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that’s going to make the fucking difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.
I’ll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know
if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.
Now I can’t make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy
who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.
That’s a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That’s football guys.
That’s all it is.
Now, what do you gonna do?
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Now, I’m looking to you for some wisdom:
- What lesson or inspiration do you take from the speech?
- Do you know other great and inspirational speeches?
And remember, share your thoughts & ideas and enjoy what others share with you 🙂
My Twitter: @DavidCantone
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Blaine Bullman
// Sep 25, 2009 at 7:15 am
That was an amazing speech. A lot of points to really take away. Like “inches are everywhere around us and we fight for that inch”, those inches are the opportunities we have to take, we have do more than the people around us and stopping us from getting the results we want.
It’s the small steps that count and it’s true in the end they will all add up.
This will really push me to do more because I think I can do more, to get a few more inches, I know im capable of more.
Thanks for sharing this David and Id love to see more.
.-= Blaine Bullman´s last blog ..5 Tips To Consider When Designing Your First Blog =-.
David | ilcantone.com
// Sep 25, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Yes we have to get a few more inches, step by step we’ll have our goals closer every day.
Thanks Blaine for your comment, it push me to keep working 🙂
A little Link Love For Friday | blaineblogger.com // Sep 25, 2009 at 8:19 pm
[…] Al Pacino’s Inspirational Speech From “Any Given Sunday” […]
Johnluffa
// Oct 5, 2009 at 9:22 am
Great Post,
A great way to start my Monday morning.
In fact, this will set the tone for the rest of the week.
It’s good of you to post the speech too.
I’ve got your RSS bookmarked.
.-= Johnluffa´s last blog ..Catch the Channel Hoppers =-.
David | ilcantone.com
// Oct 5, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Hi John and welcome to ilcantone.com. I’m glad to see your here.
Thanks for bookmarking the blog.
David
// Nov 2, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I have watched this inspirational speech many times over and still can’t get enough of it. “Hats” off to you Dave for posting this inspirational speech.
You are a champian.
.-= David ´s last blog ..Are You Striving For Excellence? =-.
David | ilcantone.com
// Nov 3, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Jejjee thanks David.
Yes, I do love this speech.
Regrads.
DAVID CANTONE // Sep 10, 2010 at 8:45 am
Como Hacer un Video Viral en una Palabra…
Un video viral es aquel que se propaga por la Red sin ningún control. ¿Cómo podemos crear un video viral? Una sola palabra encierra la verdadera llave maestra de lo viral. Descúbrela…….
ken
// Dec 10, 2010 at 5:39 am
Living is adDicting,,,good to know some of the rules,,thanks Al