Show Them What You Are Worth

“Show Them What You Are Worth”

In the history of American filmmaking, literally hundreds of thousands of movies have been produced, but only a handful of these movies have become legends.

But just what is it that makes a movie a great movie – a legend?

It’s the ones that move us – they make us laugh, they make us cry, they give us hope and courage and pride – these are the movies that we never forget. And sometimes the greatness of that movie is found inside just one speech.

Such is the speech that I heard in one movie I watched a few years ago. It wasn’t a great movie, but the words spoken by the main character were great.

We all know the movies surrounding the boxer, Rocky Balboa. There were quite a few of these “Rocky” movies; I think there were a total of five, and none, in my opinion was great; maybe only the first one was worth watching again. But in his movie produced a few years ago, when the character, Rocky, is now an old man, too old to box, Rocky says something that is worth remembering, worth repeating.

In one scene he was talking to his teenage son, trying to talk to him of the things of life, and Rocky made a comparison of life as compared to what happens inside the boxing ring. Here’s what he said:

“It ain’t about how hard you can hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. And if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you got to be willing to take the hits.”

What’s Rocky trying to tell his son?

• Don’t let others determine your greatness;
• Don’t let others set your course in life for you;
• Don’t let others determine whether you are good enough, or smart enough, or strong enough;
• Don’t let others determine your value or worth.

But, most of all, Rocky was making it clear to his son that once you set yourself out there, before you set out on your course of life, be prepared,

and be willing to take the hits of life.

So, my conclusion for this lesson – these few words of advice:

1. Look around you; find those that you respect because of the way that they walk.
2. Watch and learn from them.
3. Determine the way that you want to walk.
4. Then do it!

And remember – right is right even though no one else is doing it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone else is doing it.

I am a story teller. Since 1998, I have been telling the true stories of our nation and those Americans gone before us.  To say the least, these stories have been well received by Americans, both young and old.  So, here’s where the stories have taken me.  In 1998, I was broadcasting my stories on just one radio station in Washington State.  Today, from Texas 15 years later, these programs are now broadcast through a syndicated radio network to over 400 radio stations all across America, with literally millions of listeners.