Think. Laugh. Cry.

Jim Valvano could be remembered for his accomplishments as a successful college basketball coach, but it was a speech he gave to raise money for cancer research–knowing he had very little time left to live–that people point to as his greatest accomplishment.

I’ve watched his powerful presentation so many times I’ve memorized parts of it, and it’s made an impact on me. At one point in the program he gives this advice (in response to others who were asking him how he was dealing with his inevitable demise and how he was spending his last days):

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

Think. Laugh. Cry.

JIM VALVANO’S ESPY SPEECH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuoVM9nm42E