Shadowing Practice: It's Not OVER Until You Win! Your Dream is Possible - Les Brown - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great honor that we present to you, Les Brown.
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What I'd like for you to do right now, I want you to think about your dream, because I'm in a room full of dreamers.
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Think about your dream right now.
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I want you to think about it and envision it.
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Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me share something with you.
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I do not believe that any of us have dreams
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that were not given to us for the purpose of accomplishing those particular dreams.
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And I want to share something with you that has changed my life.
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I started out, as was indicated by Jack, some very humble beginnings.
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I don't know what that dream is that you have.
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I don't care how far-fetched it might appear to be.
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I don't care how disappointing it might have been as you've been working toward that dream.
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But here's what I know.
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That that dream that you're holding in your mind, that it's possible.
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Let's say that together, please.
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It's possible.
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See, sometimes we can't say, I can do that.
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But what we can say that it's possible that I can have my dream as we run toward it,
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as we work on it day in and day out.
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No one, ladies and gentlemen, could have convinced me when I started out just over six years ago working on my dream.
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And I want you to think about whatever your dream is because I was willing to take a chance.
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And most people won't do that.
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Most of the people that you talk to, to try and bring them into the business, these are not risk takers.
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Most people have done all that they're ever going to do.
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They raise a family, they earn a living, and then they die.
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But people who are running toward their dreams, life has a special kind of meaning.
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And here's what I will share with you, that in the process of working on your dreams,
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you are going to incur a lot of disappointment.
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a lot of failure, a lot of pain, a lot of setbacks, a lot of defeats.
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But in the process of doing that, you will discover some things about yourself that you don't know right now.
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What you will realize is that you have greatness within you.
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What you will realize is that you are more powerful than you can ever begin to imagine.
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What you will realize is that you are greater than your circumstances, that you don't have to go through life being a victim.
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As Jack indicated, I was born in Miami, Florida, in an area called Liberty City, in an abandoned building on a hard Ninolean floor with my twin brother.
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We were six weeks of age.
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We were adopted.
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When I was in fifth grade, I was identified as EMR, labeled, educable, mentally retarded, put back from the fifth grade into the fourth grade,
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and stayed in that category until I got out of high school.
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I don't have any college training But I met a high school teacher who one day changed my life.
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I was waiting on another student And
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when he came in he said to me young man go to the board
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and write what I'm about to tell you And I said I can't do that sir.
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He said why not?
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I said I'm not one of your students.
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He said it doesn't matter follow my directions now I said I can't do that sir.
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He said why not?
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I said because I'm educable mentally retarded And he came from behind his desk and he looked at me.
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He said, don't ever say that again.
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Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality.
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And that man, Mr. Leroy Washington, did something for me.
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He started planting seeds in my mind.
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that enabled me to begin to dream as Dexter has been doing for you.
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And ladies and gentlemen, I started working on my dream.
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And most people don't work on their dreams.
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Why?
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For many years, I didn't.
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One is because of fear, the fear of failure.
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What if things don't work out?
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And the fear of success.
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What if they do and I can't handle it?
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The other thing is that most people, ladies and gentlemen, they get comfortable.
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They stop growing.
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They stop working on themselves.
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They stop stretching.
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They stop pushing themselves.
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and they end up becoming very cynical about life and they throw in the towel on themselves
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and on their families and on their dreams.
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And the other thing is that most people don't feel worthy.
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What I'm doing now, I could have been doing years ago, but because I did not have a college education, because I didn't believe in myself,
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because I allowed other people's opinion of me to control my destiny, I didn't act on my ideas.
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So I applaud you for your dreaming, for your running towards your dream.
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I applaud you for believing in yourself because that's what life is about.
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Stretching and challenging, looking for ways that you can begin to improve yourself.
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And ladies and gentlemen, as a result of stretching out, of acting on my dream, and I don't know what that dream is for you, I can tell you that it's possible.
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No one could have convinced me that after just over six years, I will have my own book entitled Live Your Dreams.
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Just over six years, I will have five specials on public television.
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Just over six years, I've done motivational speaking for AT&T, Procter & Gamble, McDonald's Corporation, Xerox, IBM.
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Just over six years, I will now have my own talk show that will premiere on Monday, Labor Day.
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I'm saying to you, your dream is possible.
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Your dream is possible.
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But not only is it important that you believe
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and begin to know that it's possible for you to live your dream as you run toward it,
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but I've done something that I want to share with you called choosing your future.
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In fact, I've developed a set of tapes talking about how to begin to create your own reality by choosing your future.
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and not only is it important for you to know it's possible for you to choose your future
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but it's necessary that you work on yourself, that you develop yourself.
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It's necessary that you get the energy drainers out of your life, people who don't want anything, people who are not striving, people who are not challenging themselves,
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people who aren't growing, people who have stopped dreaming.
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It's necessary that you align yourself with people and attract people into your business who are hungry, people who are unstoppable and unreasonable,
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people who are refusing to leave life just as it is and who want more.
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My mother used to say birds of a feather flock together.
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If you run around with losers, you will end up a loser.
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It's necessary that you get the losers out of your life if you want to live your dream.
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it's necessary to know that everybody won't see it
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that everybody won't join you that everybody won't have the vision it's necessary to know
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that that a lot of people like to complain
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but they don't want to do anything about their situation
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that you are an uncommon breed you know you have to know within yourself
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that I can do this even
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if no one else sees it for me I must see it for myself that's necessary it's also ladies
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and gentlemen necessary that you be creative when you're working on your ideas
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that you understand the importance of changing up of readjusting your strategies many times we can have a great idea
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but if you're not advancing it in the right way and things don't happen, you become discouraged and think the idea doesn't work.
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No, that's not true.
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It's necessary that we become creative.
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I remember when I was in New York walking down the street and a guy approached me and said, hey mister, can I shine your shoes?
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And I said, no, I'm in a hurry, I don't have time.
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I kept walking, someone else said, hey man, your shoes look bloody, may I shine your shoes?
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I said, no, I don't have time.
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I'm sorry.
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I'm busy.
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And I was walking fast and many people solicited me for my business.
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And then finally, a young man stepped in front of me and he said, excuse me.
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And he started counting, 97, 98, 99, 100.
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He said, sir.
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I said, yes.
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He said, come here, please.
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I said, what is it?
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He said, today is my birthday.
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And every year, just to thank God for another year of life, the 100th person who passes my shoeshine stand, I offer them a free shoeshine.
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Would you give me the honors?
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I said, why, sure.
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I got up on the shoeshine stand, George, and I sat there, and he shined my shoes diligently.
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And when I got down, I looked at them.
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They were sparkly.
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And I was walking away, and I said, thank you.
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And I stopped.
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I said, excuse me, but how much do you usually charge?
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He said, only $2.
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I said, I tell you what, today's your birthday.
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Here's five.
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Keep the change.
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He said, thank you.
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As I was walking away, looking in the opposite direction of other people coming in, he started counting again.
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97, 98, 99, 100.
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It's necessary that you be flexible, that you are always thinking of how can I improve this better.
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This is a customer-driven economy.
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It's necessary for you to always explore various ways in
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which you can improve the quality of service that you're providing for the people in your organization.
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I remember something a major company had talked about the extra value service they were providing for their customers.
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And the lady who had the news conference summarized it this way.
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She said, it's not our intention to satisfy our customers or to please our customers.
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Our intention is to amaze them.
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It's necessary if you're going to compete today
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that you look for ways to amaze your customers by being one of those individuals that keep your commitments, that keep your word that's relentless.
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It's necessary that you work with the people that you bring into your organization, that they see that you are a good example of a person to work with
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because you model integrity and determination and ambition and truth
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and honesty and the way in which you conduct business this the next step is
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that is you that is you that no one can do it for you but you
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and even though you face disappointments even though you will experience
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some setbacks it goes with the territory you must understand
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that I remember I was playing a game with my nine-year-old son John Leslie
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and I beat him 10 straight games in a game called connect four and finally I said John Leslie, I'm bored.
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I don't want to play you anymore.
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And I got up.
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I said, I'm ready to go to sleep now.
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And repeat after me, please.
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Let's say to this together.
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It's not over until I win.
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John Leslie said, no, you can't go now, Dad.
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I said, why?
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He said, it's not over until I win.
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that was his attitude we sat down and we played several other games
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and finally after the 11th game john leslie won
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and he got up and he yawned
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and he said i'm ready to go to sleep now
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and i'm saying to you what if all of us took
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that attitude after we face a rejection and a no
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or we have a meeting and no one shows up
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or somebody say you can count on me and they don't come through what What if we have that kind of attitude?
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The cause repossessed.
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Nobody believes in you.
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You've lost again and again and again.
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The lights are cut off, but you're still looking at your dream, reviewing it every day and say to yourself,
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it's not over until I win. will yield to you.
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Now here's the next step.
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Repeat after me please.
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It's possible.
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I can live my dream.
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It's necessary.
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I work on myself.
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Surround myself with winners.
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Become creative.
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It's me.
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I've got to make it happen.
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It's not over until I win.
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The next thing that's important to know, yes, it's possible that you can choose your future and direct the course of your life as you run toward your dream.
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it's necessary that you have goals that you write those goals down
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that you plan that you think constantly of how you can begin to improve what it is
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that you're doing if it's your presentations if it's your recruiting skills whatever
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that is it's also necessary
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that you look for ways to always find a way to pull it out
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when everybody else think that you are defeated
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that you've got to take personal responsibility to know
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that in order to become successful you've got to make it your personal business to do it
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but the next thing ladies and gentlemen I want to share with you
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that some of you already know
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that it's hard it's not easy it's hard changing your life it was hard
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when just over three years ago in the Penobscot building in Detroit Michigan where I was operating my business
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and I fell on some hard times
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and I was sleeping in my office it was hard coming into the lobby
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and the security said excuse me mr. Brown can we see you for a moment
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and I said yes and I walked up to the counter
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and he gave me an envelope and he said would you mind reading it here
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and I open the envelope and the envelope was from management
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that said this is an office tower it's It's not a hotel.
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Please do not sleep in your office." And I said, excuse me, sir.
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I said, I just worked long hours in creating my business.
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I'm an entrepreneur.
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And right now, things are bad for me.
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But they're not going to be this way always.
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And I just asked for the opportunity to continue to operate like I'm doing.
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I'm not trying to make this my home.
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And it was hard coming through the lobby And sometimes they would laugh.
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There's a guy talking about becoming successful.
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And look at him.
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He's bathing in the bathroom upstairs on the 21st floor.
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He sleeps on the floor.
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Him and two other dreamers up there.
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Look at him.
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It was hard, ladies and gentlemen, coming to speak to people.
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And I was facing financial difficulties in my own life.
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I was behind on my bills and my dreams.
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And I'm saying to them, you can live your dream.
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It was hard, ladies and gentlemen.
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It was very difficult to pick myself up each day believing that I could do it.
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There were times that I doubted myself.
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I said, God, why is this happening to me?
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I'm just trying to take care of my children and my mother.
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I'm not trying to steal a rock from anybody.
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Why did this have to happen to me?
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It was very hard.
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And here's what I want to say to you.
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For those of you that have experienced some hardships, Don't give up on your dream.
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No one could have convinced me by holding on, by continuing to push forward,
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by continuing to run toward my dream, that one day I would have my own talk show.
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It's a long shot, ladies and gentlemen, from Liberty City, an abandoned building on a floor, never knowing my mother or father.
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It's a long shot being here with you today in this dome.
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In Atlanta, it's a long shot.
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No college training, labeled, educable, mentally retarded.
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But I kept running toward my dream.
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Don't stop.
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Don't stop!
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Don't stop running toward your dream!
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It's very important, as you hold on to that dream, there are moments when you're going to doubt yourself.
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There are rough times that are going to come, but they have not come to stay.
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They have come to pass.
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It's very important for you to know that.
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Don't say I'm having a bad day.
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Say I'm having a character building day.
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it's very important for you to believe
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that you are the one to make this happen i remember
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this high school teacher mr leroy washington at the end of
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school one june it was just a few days before we were supposed to leave.
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And I just got my report card.
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And it indicated that I'd failed history.
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And I'd failed English.
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And I would have to go to summer school.
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And I was feeling within myself that I was a failure, that I'm slower than most people and getting paperwork.
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And I was feeling down on myself and very negative.
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And Mr. Washington was giving a speech to the graduating seniors and I was in 11th grade.
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And even though I wasn't supposed to be in there, I went in there because the speech he was giving, that speech was for me.
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And as he talked, my heart began to beat fast.
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Tears began to run by my eyes, and I was in the back just listening to him because he said, and he was a very dramatic man, I still talk to him to this day.
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He said, as graduating seniors of Booker T.
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Washington High School, I want you to know that you are blessed and highly favored.
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And that as you go toward the future, begin to know that you have greatness within you.
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And if just one of you here begin to envision yourselves as being blessed and highly favored to reach your goals.
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If just one of you capture the essence of what that means, that you have greatness within you and responsibility to manifest that greatness.
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that you can make your parents proud, you can make your school proud, you can touch millions of people's lives,
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and the world will never be the same again because you came this way.
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And the students gave him a rousing standing ovation.
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And as he left the auditorium, I ran down the steps and I caught him in the parking lot.
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I said, Mr. Washington?
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He said, yes.
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I said, do you remember me, sir?
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He said, no. I said, my name is Leslie Brown my mother she works in the cafeteria here I'm one of the twins Leslie
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and Wesley I said Mr. Washington
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but you know you know I got these big dreams you
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know I like talking to people I love people I said I want to work with people
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and I got this dream of buying my mama a home could could I do
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that Mr. Washington he said it's possible Mr. Brown and as he walked away I called him again I I said,
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Mr. Washington, he said, what do you want now?
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I said, I'm the one, sir.
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I said, I'm the one.
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You remember me, sir.
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I'm this Mamey Browns boy.
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I'm the one.
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I'm the one.
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And you must feel that.
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That that's why you're here.
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Because you are the one.
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And I remember when PBS first played one of my specials called You Deserve.
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one Sunday afternoon in Miami Florida I had some friends call him to tell him to tune in
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and he watched the program he called me in Detroit
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and I answered the phone I said hello he said may
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I speak to Les Brown please I said who's calling he
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said you know who this is I said oh mr. Washington
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it's you he said you were the one weren't you I said yes sir he said
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and you were so crazy I said I know but I'm rich now.
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Ladies and gentlemen, it's not going to be easy.
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It was hard laying on the floor of the Penobscot building, looking out of the window, daydreaming, saying Les, can you do this?
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Can you make this happen?
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I used to listen to tapes day in and day out about see you at the top,
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my great friend Zig and Dennis Waitley and different other motivational speakers and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Dexter saying,
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don't let nobody steal your dream.
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I used to ask myself, can I do this?
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And something said within me, you're the one.
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You're the one.
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And let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen.
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while you're here and before you go back home to your respective cities
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and communities write down at least five reasons on why you
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deserve your dream on why you won't give up what's going to make you unstoppable why you must be unreasonable
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because logical practical thinking says you can't do it today but
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if you want to produce unreasonable results in your life like living your dream
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and taking charge of your destiny you've got to be an unreasonable person you've got to be an uncommon person
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so write down the reasons of why you're here my first major goal was to buy my mother a home
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and let me tell you something ladies and gentlemen what what will reasons do less
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Nietzsche said if you know the why for doing you can endure almost anyhow what do you mean by that
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If you know why you're doing something, when the hard times come and they're going to come, when the disappointments and the rejections come and they're going to come by the truckloads,
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your reasons will be your rod and staff to comfort you, to pick you up.
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Once again, I got a saying on one of my tapes, if life knocks you down, try and land on your back.
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Because if you can look up, you can get up.
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Let your reasons get you back up.
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I remember when I bought the home from my mother and she came out of the car.
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When I opened the door, I said, Mom, I think I know these people in this house.
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That was my first major goal.
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And then I couldn't conceal it anymore.
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I said, Mom, I got this for you.
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And as she went from room to room, looking at the house and saying, Thank you, Jesus.
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Thank you, Lord no one ever could have convinced me that this could have happened to me.
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And she looked at me, she said, Leslie, and you caused me so much problems as a boy, you were always into stuff.
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She said, no one could have convinced me that day when I walked in that house
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and this lady was holding you and your brother.
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And she said, ma'am, I want you to promise me two things.
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And she said, what is it?
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She says, one, promise me that you won't separate them.
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She said, I want them raised together.
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I want them to know each other.
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I got pregnant while my husband was away in the war, and I can't keep him.
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Promise me that you won't separate him.
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She said, I promise I won't.
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I've never had children.
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I promise I won't separate him.
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And she said, promise me that you'll never tell him about who I am, because if my husband ever found out, he would kill me.
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She said, I promise.
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and she said that she gave them to us and
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and she kind of cried and she and she was walking out the door
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and she looked at my adopted mother she said remember don't
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you separate them she said i swear to god i won't i won't separate them i'll keep them together
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and she said as i held y'all in my arms i
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never had any children of my own i didn't know how i was going to do it
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but i knew with the help of God.
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I will do it.
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And ladies and gentlemen my mother had a dream of having children
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and raising us she didn't know how she's gonna do it you're gonna be just like
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that and some of you already there well you don't know how you're going to make this happen
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but you just feel within yourself some way somehow with the
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help of God I'm going to make it happen repeat after me please
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no matter how bad it is
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or how bad it gets I'm going to make it I'm
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going to make it shake somebody's hand on your right and left and say you got the right stuff So,
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yes, it's possible for you to live your dream.
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It's necessary that you associate with winners, that you work your system, that you are relentless, that you never give up.
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It's you.
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You've got to take personal responsibility.
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You've got to make it your personal business to make it happen.
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And you've got to resolve within yourself that I can do this, that it's hard.
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But you've got to say, I'm the one.
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I'm the one to make this happen.
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I'm the one to become successful in this business.
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As you work to help other people to become successful, that feeds your success.
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But you know it's going to be hard, but find out what will make it worth it for you.
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I told Mr. Washington I wanted to become a disc jockey.
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Someone asked me to tell this story and he said Les Brown
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He said if you want to do anything worthwhile in life, you've got to be hungry And so I started working to develop myself.
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He said I want you to practice every day being a disc jockey I said but I don't have any job now.
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He said it doesn't matter
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He said that it's better to be prepared for an opportunity
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and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared So every day I was working to develop myself.
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And that's what you must do.
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And as I was working to develop myself, I applied for a job as a disc jockey, WMBM on Miami Beach.
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I went to a guy named Milton Butterball.
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I said, how you doing, Mr. Butterball?
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I'd like to get a job as a disc jockey.
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He looked at me, he said, you have any broadcast background?
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I said, no, sir, I don't.
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Do you have any journalism background?
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I said, no, sir, I don't.
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He said, we don't have any jobs available.
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I said, yes, sir.
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I went back to Mr. Washington and I told him, he said, don't take it personally.
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He said, most people are so negative, they will have to say no seven times before they say yes.
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He said, go back again.
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So I went back again.
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I said, how are you doing, Mr. Butterball?
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My name is Les Brown.
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He said, I know what your name is.
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What do you want?
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I said, I'd like to know whether or not you have any jobs at this jockey, sir.
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He said, didn't I just tell you yesterday we didn't have any jobs?
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I said, yes, sir, but I know whether or not somebody got laid off or somebody was fired, sir.
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He said, no one was laid off or fired.
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Now get on out of here.
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I came back the next day.
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Hello, Mr. Butterball.
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How are you?
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He said, fine.
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What do you want now?
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I said, I'd like to know whether or not you got any jobs, sir.
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Did not tell you the last two days we didn't have any jobs?
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I said, yes, sir, but I don't know whether or not somebody got sick or somebody died, sir.
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He said, no one got sick or died.
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Now don't come back here and throw me out again.
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I came back the next day like I was seeing him for the first time.
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I said, hello, Mr. Butterball, how are you?
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He looked at me with rage.
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He said, go get me some coffee.
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I said, yes, sir.
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And I went to get him some coffee.
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After a while, I would give their lunch and dinner, and I would
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go in the control rooms and take the disc jockeys their food
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and I would not leave until they would ask me to
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leave then they'd started trusting me to pick up entertainers
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that came to town entertainers like the Fort Thompson the Temptations
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and Donna Ross and the Supremes I would drive them all over Miami Beach
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and the disc jockeys big long Cadillacs I didn't have any driver's license but I was driving like I had some
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And one day, one Saturday afternoon, while I was at the radio station, a guy named Rock was drinking while he was on the air.
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I was the only one there looking at him through the control room windows,
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walking back and forth, young, ready, and hungry.
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I was saying, drink, rock, drink.
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Drink, rock.
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I'd have gone to get him some more if he'd asked me to.
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Pretty soon the phone rang, and it was the general manager.
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And I answered the phone.
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I said, hello?
437
He said, Les, this is Mr. Klein.
438
I said, I know.
439
He said, rock can't finish his program.
440
I said, I know.
441
He said, would you call one of the other DJs in?
442
I said, yes, sir.
443
I hung the phone up.
444
I said, now he must be thinking I'm crazy.
445
I called my mom and my girlfriend Cassandra I said y'all turn up the radio
446
and come out on the front porch I'm about to come on the air
447
I waited for about 20 minutes
448
and I called him back I said mr. Klein I can't
449
find nobody he's a young boy do you know how to work the controls I said yes sir
450
He said go in there and don't say nothing here.
451
I said yes sir.
452
I couldn't wait to get behind those controls.
453
I put on an old Stevie Wonder record called Fingertips.
454
I sat down behind that turntable.
455
I said look out this is me LB Triple P.
456
Les Brown your platter playing Papa.
457
There were none before me and there will be none after me.
458
Therefore that makes me the one and only.
459
Young and single and love to mingle.
460
Certified, bonafide, indubitably qualified to bring you satisfaction and hold out of action.
461
Look out baby I'm your love man.
462
I was hungry.
463
I was hungry.
464
You got to be hungry.
465
You got to be hungry.
466
So, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to make your dream become reality, The people that are running at their dreams know that it's possible that you can live your dream.
467
That it's necessary, that you're relentless, that you have a plan of action, that you are creative.
468
The people that are living their dream are finding winners to attach themselves to.
469
The people that are living their dreams are the people that know that if it's going to happen, it's up to them.
470
And they're resolving within themselves, it's not over until I win.
471
The people that are running after their dream know they're gonna have hard times.
472
They keep on running because they're saying within themselves, I'm the one, I'm the one.
473
No matter how bad it is or how bad it gets, I'm going to make it.
474
The people that are running after their dreams are the people that are hungry.
475
Shake somebody's hand on your right and left and say, you gotta be hungry.
476
And as you run towards your dream, I want to dedicate this to you that I love very much.
477
I want to thank Dexter and all of you.
478
It's something that I'm known by.
479
It's on our tapes called Choosing Your Future.
480
And it says simply this, that if you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time,
481
your peace, and your sleep for it, If all that you dream and scheme is about it, and life seems useless and worthless without it,
482
and if you gladly sweat for it and fret for it
483
and plan for it and lose all your terror of the opposition for it, and if you simply go after that thing that you want with all of your capacity,
484
strength and sagacity, faith, hope and confidence and stern pertinacity, If neither cold poverty, famish or galt,
485
sickness or pain of body and brain can keep you away from the thing that you want.
486
If dogged and grim, you besiege and beset it.
487
With the help of God, you'll get it.
488
This is Mrs. Mamie Brown's baby boy, Leslie Calvin Brown, saying it's been a plumb pleasing pleasure as well as a privilege.
489
Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 488 sentences and 5515 words to shadow. The speech runs for 35:12. The speaker talks at a natural 157 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 less common words from the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
- gentleman /ˈd͡ʒɛn.təl.mən/ (noun) — Any well-bred, well-mannered, or charming man.
- hungry /ˈhʌŋ.ɡɹi/ (adjective) — Affected by hunger; having the physical need for food.
- jockey /ˈd͡ʒɑki/ (noun) — One who rides racehorses competitively.
- disk /dɪsk/ (noun) — A thin, flat, circular plate or similar object.
- convince /kənˈvɪns/ (verb) — To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence.
- tape /teɪ̯p/ (noun) — Flexible material in a roll with a sticky surface on one or both sides; adhesive tape.
- unreasonable /ʌnˈɹiːz.(ə)nə.bl̩/ (adjective) — Without the ability to reason; unreasoning.
- greatness /ˈɡɹeɪtnəs/ (noun) — The state, condition, or quality of being great
- indicate /ˈɪndɪˌkeɪt/ (verb) — To point out; to discover; to direct to a knowledge of; to show; to make known.
- stretch /stɹɛt͡ʃ/ (verb) — To lengthen by pulling.
- mentally /ˈmɛntəli/ (adverb) — In a mental manner; an idea thought out in one's mind, as opposed to an idea spoken orally.
- shine /ʃaɪn/ (verb) — To emit or reflect light so as to glow.
- disappointment /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt/ (noun) — The feeling or state of being disappointed: a feeling of sadness or frustration when something is not as good as one hoped or expected, or when something bad…
- loser /luzɚ/ (noun) — A person who loses; one who fails to win or thrive.
- envelope /ˈɛnvə(ˌ)loʊp/ (noun) — A paper or cardboard wrapper used to enclose small, flat items, especially letters, for mailing.
Phrasal verbs you will hear
- look at (verb) — To observe or watch.
- work on (verb) — To apply mental or physical effort to (something) in order to shape, form, improve, investigate, solve it, etc.
- think about /ˈθɪŋk əˌbaʊt/ (verb) — To ponder.
- come back (verb) — To return to a place.
- give up (verb) — To surrender (someone or something); to inform on (someone).
- act on (verb) — To act decisively on the basis of information received or deduced.
- build on /bɪldɑn/ (verb) — To add additional elements or components to (a framework, a concept, a device, etc.) in order to extend it.
- come in /ˌkʌm ˈɪn/ (verb) — To enter.
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 169 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bath /bɑːθ/, worthy /ˈwɝ.ði/, worthless /ˈwɜːθ.ləs/, worthwhile /ˌwɜː(ɹ)θˈwaɪl/, feather /ˈfɛðə/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shine /ʃaɪn/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, rejection /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɛkʃən/, capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/
- Long words — get the stress right: unreasonable /ʌnˈɹiːz.(ə)nə.bl̩/, disappointment /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪntmənt/, associate /əˈsoʊʃi.ət/, difficulty /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/, integrity /ɪnˈtɛɡɹəti/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like gentleman, hungry, jockey.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to say · used to listen · used to ask |
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | you've been working · has been doing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has changed · have done · I've done |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | were not given · was indicated · was born |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.