they cut me 2 times across my right rib
they caught me two times across my right
PEC they cut me one time across the left
side of my neck one time of course the
right side of my neck they cut me from
the bottom of my armpit all the way down
to the bottom of my hand and that they
got through cutting on me they said son
you’re gonna be in this hospital for the
next 40 days I walked out of the
hospital on the third day they said you
broke the record how did you do it and I
said first and foremost the thing I want
y’all to understand I would never let a
circumstance or situation if I my life
[Music]
my mother got pregnant with me at 15
years old I grew up on the east side of
Atlanta about five minutes away from the
weather Atlanta Braves flick and the
neighborhood by the name of Kirkwood
drugs gangs violence you name it and I
came up in the two-bedroom home 14
people and I used to sleep on the floor
my grandmother Miss Daisy Johnson
she used to come to us and she was safe
one night out of the week you all get
the opportunity to sleep in the bed and
so when I got the sleeping the bat it
wasn’t like I got the bed to myself and
I like man I got the bed to myself it
was fire all my cousins in the bed and
so we slept three to the foot and three
at the head and so as a kid pretty quick
I had to make a decision of what I
wanted to do with my life because in
that same house I had eight uncles all
eight of which they’re still going in
and out of prison to this day because
they sold drugs and they were engaged
and so I looked at it it’s kind of like
that quote that says learn from the
mistakes of other people because you
can’t make them or yourself and so I saw
them selling drugs but it also saw the
outcome and so I said I’m not selling
drugs I’m not joining a gang because I
see where that road leads to either I’m
gonna end up better in prison I said to
my best bet may be to go to the NFL and
so I went to my cousin by the name of
tomorrow said listen man I want to go to
the NFL
I felt our family deserves a better way
of life let’s work for I said we’re
gonna be patient we’re gonna engage in
consistent action every night and so
every night you go out a new race light
for the light board and Kirkwood
no shoes like more delightful every
night and so one night we were getting
ready and racing down the street came a
big green pickup truck and they pulled
over to the side and out of it got a
white guy first white guy ever saw in my
life
true story and my uncle Bobo just got
sentenced to 40 years in prison he was
on one killed my other uncle Johnny he
was on the other corner my uncle Bobo
took off running and looked at me said
eight don’t talk to him saying to me
that guy has to be the police Coast ray
walked up to us nicest guy in the world
he said would you kids like to play
organized sports I step to the front I
said yes sir
he said go in the house and get your
guardian my uncle JJ was there an in
house I said oh there’s a guy outside he
asked me like play organized sports I
told him yes he said well I go in the
house to get my body and I’m coming to
get you
will you please talk to uncle say sure
my uncle walked outside coach Trey said
would you like to sign these kids up for
organized sports my uncle said yes sir
but I hate to tell you we don’t have the
money he said don’t worry about the
money you get him to the park and I’ll
take care of it that same guy still buys
me drawers and socks until his day on
Christmas and I’m 29 years old he
started when I was 7
you see most nights after practice
everybody will need to go home and I
always had to sit in the park because my
mother worked that way and my mother
didn’t get off work till about ten
o’clock 10:30 motion nights and I’ll be
sitting there in the park and I loved it
I didn’t want anybody to take me home
because when I went home I was sleeping
on the floor work votes in the racks and
so any time I got in solitude to dream
any time I got in solitude to think
about what I wanted to do for my family
my community I took advantage of it and
solo strikes I’ll be sitting there in
the park and I’ll be looking up at the
light and I would be envisioning myself
doing things in the NFL in vision of
myself doing things for my community and
just ask the right
always go out my mother she would pull
up and she used to drive an old beard
Greek hubcaps off the car seat torn up
the car was all beat up and she will
pull up and she will put the car in park
now always hop up I went over to my
mother I will give her a hug and a kiss
I would say mommy if you don’t mind can
you please sit back in the car I have to
do some extra drills I have to go to the
NFL sure but never have to work another
day in your life and I knew she was done
and every night my mother would say sure
and she was sit back in that car those
claw lights we hit that filter here you
got a seven-year-old kid doing back
pellet drills but his friends running
laps chasing his dream to go to the NFL
and just beyond those claw lights I
could always connect with my mother’s
eyes and so it made me dig a little bit
deeper it made me push myself a little
bit further they made me work a little
bit harder
I’ll never I just think on the harder
you work the harder it is to surrender
you see the reason people quit they
don’t take pride in what they do the
harder you work the harder it is to
surrender and one night my mother
couldn’t pick me up and she’d go go
straight
she said coach I can’t make you tonight
can you please take inky on and so he
put me in about eight guys in the back
of his pickup truck and he said he can’t
drop your flash and so when he got to my
house I got out on the sidewalk and I’m
standing in front of 125 one Street and
I looked back at coach tray and I said
why why are you doing this because where
I came from people didn’t just help you
it was I pat you on your back you got to
Pat me on my back you remember I did
that for you you got to do this for me
and I said why are you doing this and he
looked back at me and Sun Sun I want to
tell you something and he said I don’t
want you to ever forget it he said son
the more you make sure that somebody
else’s life is okay God will always make
sure that your life is okay
you
and I will never forget I got the high
school
and nobody in my family had ever been to
college they all dropped out ending up
in prison my high school the name of his
criminal in Atlanta they used to call it
crime high range to shoot teachers and
my first day I walked through the metal
detector and a cop was standing on the
other end of the metal detector and he
said what is your plan little man I said
my plan is to go to Division one
he said no you’ll probably go to
cellblock D one I said no you got the
wrong guy
he said I heard that before your uncle’s
came through and said the same thing I
said no I’m telling you you got the
wrong guy you know the first person I
went to see when I got my scholarship
paper but you know the most amazing
thing happened it wasn’t that I went to
college I had three little cousins
sleeping on that same floor that went to
college I saw friends in my community
come off the corner from selling drugs
and go to college I saw friends in my
community come out of gangs and go to
college all because I shifted my mindset
and it wasn’t about me
I brought generational curses in my
community because it wasn’t just about
me I didn’t care so much about me going
to college I wanted the ones coming
behind me to get
and I got my scholarship up to Tennessee
and they looked at me when I first said
campus 135 pound kids soaking wet in the
SEC and the first reporter he asked me
he said inky johnson do you even think
you’re gonna play at the university of
tennessee he said your 135 pounds I said
not only am I gonna play I’m gonna start
I said you made a mistake I said see
what you don’t understand and this is
what most people do they based judgment
off of what they can see what they don’t
understand the moments that make you who
you are the moments that they can’t see
you see anybody can be on their best
behavior when somebody is standing over
their shoulder watching them seeing if
they’re gonna do what they’re supposed
to do but what they’re reported in cuc
he can see I came from cream hi we can
see I was 135 pounds you can see i was
5-9 he can see all of the stats he can
see all of that but what he never saw
was when I was in the park of my mother
when I was seven years old she was
sitting in that period we were at 10:30
at night but he didn’t see was every
Saturday morning at 5:30 I was up
running two miles to a fire station and
two miles back what he didn’t say was
every time I said well that boy with
Wilson ranch with my cousin’s I got up
every morning went to school and never
made one excuse but he didn’t see was on
Christmas Eve when a cop when a guy came
through me and my cousin’s window he
stuck a nine-millimeter in a 45 and
bonfire face and took all of our
Christmas gift and we had to stand on
the curb and I mother told us y’all just
be great
he didn’t see that and those were the
moments that made me who I am and so now
his opinion then matter and the opinion
would never become my reality and my
freshman year playing special teams some
would see the game broke star lineup you
know the first person I went to see at
media day and I’ll never forget my
sophomore season I finally made it to
the point in my life where I felt as if
everything in my life was lining up
spiritually I was getting the psyche
life was in shape on track to graduate
in three years life was insane education
I still remember the day I was in the
film room watching film and I was
watching a California bears him my
defensive back coach Larry Slade came in
the room he said inky johnson I got some
good news for you and I dropped the
clicker I said coach what is it he said
son you’re a projected top 30 driving
he said all you have the newest ladies
next 10 football games your automatic
multi-millionaire I ran out of the room
I got on the phone I called my mother my
grandmother I said listen I said after
this season we were never struggling I
said we would never miss another meal
I said after this season our lives about
the change forever
and little didn’t – our lives are really
about to change
[Music]
you
the first game we come out play against
California bears I get an interception
we shut them down we get the victory
second game we’re playing against Air
Force he gets late in the game found
ourselves in the dogfight
quarterback drop back he released the
ball to the running back coming down my
sideline now close to tackle like I
approach any other tackle and the way
I’m approaching it he’s done my knock
you out are you gonna knock me out of
165 pounds I can’t play with anybody but
at the point of contact when I hit this
guy something different happening had
never happened to me before in my life I
hit him and it seemed as if every breath
of my body left my body went completely
limp I fell to the ground I blacked out
I’ll never forget with my eyes open my
teammates ran over to me my first guy
that was over was drive me or the middle
linebacker for the Patriots one of my
best friends and he said ain’t get up
let’s go
I said I can’t he said what do you mean
you can’t you’re out lock down the
corner we need you let’s go
I said I can’t move I said there’s a
shot going through my whole body I can’t
feel anything man when the scariest
moments of my life in his shock
eventually left and they stayed in my
right arm in hand I remember as I was
lying there I flipped my head to the
left and I could see the doctors and the
trainer’s running onto the field and I
felt my head up to the sky and I said
God I said surely nothing has happened
in this moment that can alter my life I
flipped my head back over to the left
they were bringing his fireboard up I
flipped my head up to the sky said God I
said that’s precautionary measures right
they get me up on his farm boy they’re
willing me off the field and I looked at
the doctor because I couldn’t feel my
right on they had poked me with all type
of needles and he can you feel this can
you feel like coming full of thing
and I said doc can you can you lift my
right arm in hand he said sure ain’t can
he raised it up and I I lifted my left
and I pumped the Trump supporters as he
was bringing my arm down I looked at the
doctor I said oh game I said I’ll be
back never thinking that would be the
last game that I would ever play in my
life
they give me an analyst things turned up
but not that sterile opinion in Iman
they give me over to the hospital
say inky we’re gonna take you back to us
some cat stands they took me back they
ran the cat scans and they wrote me back
into my room and I’ll never forget it
all in about a 15-second timeframe I was
lying there in my bed and I could see
over my right shoulder and I looked at
my father and we caught eyes and my
father he went to take a step in and he
looked at me and said son I can’t do it
and he walked out my mother she came in
she was running she kissed me on the
forehead she said a friend she saying
everything is gonna be okay if she ran
out and as soon as my mother stepped
outside of the room the doctor rushed
him from the opposite side he said hey
get in here we gotta rush just got back
to emergency surgery he’s about to die I
said what I said my mom just told me
everything that’s going to be okay like
this total opposite you talking about
I’m about to die I said what happened he
said so what happened you have busted up
to play me an artery in your chest
you’re bleeding internally have to rush
you back and take the main vein out of
your left leg and plug it into your
chest and orally save your life and when
I woke up from recovery the same doctor
was standing over me say inky as some
good news and some bad news for ya so
you got some bad news for him after
telling I about to die I’m still alive
how bad can it get him to do it he said
a good news is son you saved your life I
said thank you sir he said the bad news
is you have nerve damage in your right
shoulder Saku he said we gotta sing up
to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Minnesota I said cool
he said what the problem is you probably
can never play the game of football
again in your life
I said no way you said yeah ain’t you
got some pretty bad nerve damage I said
no I said God no disrespect man but uh
I’m eight games away like doc no
disrespect but this is about to change
my family’s life doc I’ve been working
for this ever since I was seven years
old doc there’s no way God not now ah
like let me make it to the NFL so I can
help my family first like that me we
miss Mel and you’re talking about my
three at the end right now like no way
and I snapped out of it I said man I
never cheated I said there’s no way I’ve
never cheated I’ve never cheated myself
I gave everything I had to it and I
respected it I never cheated there’s no
way that my career could be over I said
send me up to the Mayo Clinic and after
several visits I’ll never forget this is
when reality set in it was me my mother
my father in the room and the doctors
came in they said inky johnson here’s
the deal
he said sudden you have torn all the
nerves and you’ll break your plexus and
say your brachial plexus or the nerve
roots that go from your spine and they
come down and they control your shoulder
your arm in your hand they say you have
torn them at all levels
it cannot be rebuffed it says something
we hate to tell you but you’re on it
would never be the same again your hand
the same against Sun you can never play
the game of football
[Music]
and the next morning I walked into the
doctor’s office they said something what
option did you choose
I said no disrespect to you doctor I’m
not choosing an option my situation is
out here it said cut with the tube top
I said no disrespect to you doc cut me
where you got to cut me my situation is
out of your hands
and so I went back to school the next
week after they had just saved my life I
was back in class I had to learn how to
write all over again how to walk again
eyes were on top of shoot all over again
and learn how to bathe all over again I
didn’t know how to live life all over
getting never one time did I say let me
go home I need a great time go to the
training room I said I need some time
off can you all just give me a world
leave time I need to go back home I need
some time off my life just changed last
week and they came to me and they say
Enki go home we know how much the game
of football meant to you I said yeah you
know how much the game of football meant
to me but you don’t know how much like
me you see the thing we have to
understand about everything that we’re a
part of first and foremost it’s a
blessing by God and when it’s a blessing
you can’t help but to give everything
you got to it I’m like God saying I got
spared my life almost died the doctor
came to no avail
there was all one meaning grab my
recipes that son you don’t have a pulse
I don’t even know why you still left
and my last doctor visit they came to
and he said sorry inky johnson you would
never be able to use this on my hand
again in your life
I said no disrespect to you doc but I
used it all in his hand every day for
the rest of my life by the way that I
live my life every day I’m gonna impact
someone’s life every day I’m gonna
empower someone’s every day I’m gonna
inspire someone every day I’m gonna
encourage them
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
I live by this thing called empty bucket
and when people hear it they think is a
cute slogan empty the bucket but what
they don’t understand it’s the unspoken
law empty the boat bucket it’s an
unspoken law of accountability and
responsibility to me on this earth from
my existence and everybody is connected
to me I may be crazy but I don’t know I
just believed that I supposed to give
everybody that is connected to me the
best version of me I just believe I
deserve to give my wife and my children
the best version of me I just believe
the people that it was service during
his hurt I deserve to give them the best
version of me everybody wants to prize
but nobody loves to process everybody
wants to be a champion but nobody’s
willing to put in the work that it takes
to be a champion everybody wants to hold
up the trophy and say man I get it but
nobody’s willing to put in the work that
it takes to do it
I love the process I love the thought of
working for what I wallet and I firmly
believed you never supposed to wish for
it more than you’re willing to work for
it your expectations never supposed to
exceed your effort but a lot of people
they wish and they’re not willing to
work and the great thing about life life
has a funny way of testing all of us and
seeing how bad we really want what it is
that we say we want because the thing I
know about people people can talk to
talk
and people do it very well but life is
going to hit you with a certain level of
opposition life is going to hit you with
a certain level of that bursty and life
is going to say to you you said you
wanted it now let’s see how bad you
really want it but the great thing about
it if you love the process when
opposition in that verse he hits you
will have a way of embracing it and
using it not only for yourself but you
will use it to make everybody that’s
connected to you stronger because your
vision has to be larger than yourself if
everything that you do is just about
doing for your personal gain something’s
gonna come up against you that’s gonna
be a lot tougher than you and if it’s
just about to the moment you hit it
you’re gonna quit and give up every time
you know protic are they called me in
the world they say Inc is a speaker Inc
is a motivational and whatever the case
may be inking whatever whatever it is
but what they don’t understand I’m into
people’s business not a speaker I’m a
server
anybody that has direct contact with
people on a daily basis that is an
opportunity to change someone’s life
don’t ever pass up an opportunity to be
of encouragement to other people don’t
ever pass up an opportunity to inspire
someone who never pass up an opportunity
to empower someone who never pass up an
opportunity to show someone love because
the thing about it my room like you can
see this you can see my arm my wound is
visible
but it’s a lot of people in this room
that are wounded
and you can’t see listen turn
and so the opportunities that we pass up
to be a blessing to other people we can
save their life with just one encounter
when we talk about me too we when we
talk about process over product when we
talk about sweat equity when we talk
about better together do we really
understand what that means because
sometimes the thing about life life
always comes along when we make about
mine and try to distract us but truth be
told we all know that we’re stronger
together
I have been working my whole life and
what I didn’t understand my being
determined to chase something my being
committed to it and what commitment is
commitment to staying true to what you
said you were going to do long after the
move that you have set it in it’s left
you see people think commitment is
saying yes I’ll do it on the days when
they felt good but I’ve been committed
to everything that I ever started in my
life and I never stopped and I never
quit it and so by being committed to
everything that I started I finished it
if not the certain type of spirit it
built the certain type of mentality and
built the certain type of individual and
so now I couldn’t quit even if I wanted
to I couldn’t lay in the bed even if I
wanted to I couldn’t stop even if I
wanted to I had to watch what equity in
my life and everything because I
understood my existence wasn’t about me
I went for me to win a long time ago I
understood the process is more important
than the product it wasn’t about the
outcome for me once I made it to the NFL
or not that was inconsequential in God’s
plan for my life but I was going to fall
in love with that process because I
understood by falling in love with that
process it was going to turn me into a
machine I asked him I said if there were
some younger people in an exact business
that you started and he asked your
advice on what should they do to build
something similar to what you all have
built here you know what advice would
you give them and he said well I would
tell them you know do things the right
way
know treat people right and he said I
would tell him work you know work your
tails off right and I said um you know
in my head I said man we live in a world
to where I don’t know if if people
appreciate what things produce and my
whole life the only advantage that I’ve
ever had as a person I’ve never been the
most talented never been the biggest the
fastest the strongest even though I was
a four sport athlete my whole life you
know at the top of every sport that I’ve
ever played I was never the most
talented I was never the fastest God
never the strongest guy I’ve always been
a small guy my whole life and I wish
that God will show up and they knew that
I was the guy that played football they
knew behind the jersey I was probably
number three number 29 in college but
when I was show up on the scene I would
always get the reaction this is the guy
because I was small I didn’t even look
the part but the only thing I’ve always
had my only advantage was I wasn’t
afraid of hard work but most importantly
I knew what I represented and so by
knowing what I represented my commitment
my dedication and my perfection to my
craft and what I represented it was
always on another level and so now when
guys did ten Sprint’s I did 30 because I
knew I was working for something greater
than myself and what I represented was
always greater than myself and for
example two weeks ago I was with the kid
downtown Atlanta and I took him downtown
and me and my wife we have a foundation
it’s where we worked with homeless
shelters we’ve adopted three right and
we worked with kids teenagers right we
take them we put them in uncomfortable
situations and we challenge their
perspective in a thought process about
life so it was this 15 year old kid he
had been acting up in school
giving his mom problems you haven’t seen
his father since he was born basically
and I take him downtown Atlanta and I
take him right under a bridge and so now
you got Turner Phil you got what the
Falcons played with the Hawks play you
got the world of coca-cola you got a
jail you got these successful companies
you got people going to work you know
got the briefcases doing their thing you
got light happening and then you got
under a bridge got a gentleman a grown
man
sound asleep cardboard box sleeping as
if a person would be in a bad sleep and
I looked at the kid and I said do you
think he planned to be there I said do
you think when he got of age at a
certain point in his life do you think
he said man you know one day I’ll
probably be sleeping under bridge on a
cardboard box the kid said no I said
what do you think huh kiss said I don’t
know what do you think happening so I
think life happened he said what do you
mean life I said I think at a certain
point in his life he was excited he was
Jack he enjoyed something he was a part
of something special something had a
legacy attached to it whether it was his
family whether it was a dream a goal of
aspiration I think at a certain point
every day he got up something he
represented he got excited about it he
was driven he was committed he was
dedicated about a huge stoked about it
he was jacked about it but I think at a
certain point life made him forget what
he represented and life stole his joy
his peace his happiness life symptom of
that Drive life took that dedication
that commitment so much so to the guy
that was once driven to the guy that was
once happy and excited about what he was
a part of and what he represented and
the legacy that was attached to it that
same guy ended up sleeping under a
bridge the only advantage I’ve ever had
everything I encountered and everything
I ever hit in my life I understood what
I represented and life will never take
that away from me and so on September 9
2006 when I’m eight games away from
being a projected first-round draft pick
and my life changed overnight something
I had been working for since I was 7
years old in a park with my mother
watching us sit in an old beat-up Buick
Regal when she had me at 16 years old
and she took me back to a two back room
14 people sleeping on the floor with
roaches and rats and
Mills when I was a kid it was times when
I went to practice I hadn’t even eaten
and guys would be out there complaining
and the only thing I was working on was
my work ethic and my drive and my dream
and my goal to get to where I was trying
to get to and I knew if I would have
stopped and that moment I would never
get to where I was trying to get to I
would really miss mills and I’m working
toward this dream and this goal and I
finally get to the point I can smell it
I could taste it I can see it and I’m a
part of something I’m a part of
something like a southern motion but it
was University of Tennessee I’m a part
of a game – I got my guys why do we go
and we work every single day we show up
five o’clock in the morning we’re
working towards something we got an
element of collective character we got
an element of responsibility
accountability we got an element man
when I tell you I got your back I got
your back when I tell you I care about
you I care about you when I tell you I
love you I love you I was a part of
something and I get to the point to
where I’m going projected first-round
draft pick and I go out and I make a
tackle and this is the thing that people
don’t even know people know my life
change behind the game of football
but people don’t understand the play and
how would happen people don’t know that
wasn’t even my god people don’t know I
had my guy already I could have easily
faded down the sideline running with my
guys to quarterback was dropping back to
release the ball but as I’m running and
checking my guy I see my teammate
getting beat my guy who I told him the
tunnel hey man if you get beat I got you
back and I knew my teammate probably
would have caught the guy if you were to
cross the ball because my teammate he
wouldn’t want to be a first-round tim
pick multi-million dollar guy went on a
play for the Patriots so I knew he was a
pretty talented guy and he probably
would have cost the guy and talked with
him but I told him hey man if you get
beat I got your back and it just so
happened to play unfolded with a little
bit over two minutes left in the game to
where my guy now he was getting beat and
I’m fading off for my god but I see the
quarterback he was releasing the ball to
the guy that was beating my teammate and
I said man I got to go I got to have his
back and I go up and I roll up and I go
to hit this guy to indicate it’s tackled
probably put
the game if I to hit him and caught him
the right way if I hit him and caught
him how I really wanted to catch him it
probably would have ended the game and I
would’ve made him fumble because I knew
the game of football like you guys know
the furniture business I knew it in and
out like a god take two steps off the
line of scrimmage I could tell you which
way he was going but God would cut
inside I could tell you it’s only about
three things he can do out of this
formation like I knew it in and out and
so I knew if I had caught him in the
right location at the right time how to
pop that ball out but it didn’t work
like that I hit him and as soon as I hit
him it seemed as if every breath and my
body left I’ve lost control of my body
never happened to me before
body went completely left seemed as if
every breath of my body left him I’m
falling to the ground like man what’s
happening in a blackout as soon as I hit
the ground a blackout never happened to
me before my blackout I come back to my
teammates run over to me hey ain’t you
know man that’s rock let’s go cuz I
can’t I said what do you mean you can’t
you always get up get up that’s wrong I
can’t move
so there’s a shot going for my neck to
my toe I can’t feel any shock you’ve
instantly left and it stayed in my right
arm in hand I remember as I was lying
there they bringing the spine board out
it put me up on the spine board as
they’re willing me off the field I
looked up to this guy said surely
nothing that’s happened in this moment
that can alter my life this is what I
love to do and get me over to the
ambulance they said man we’re gonna take
you to the hospital run some cat scans
will bring you back into your room will
tell you herself I said all right cool
they take me in the room it run
cat-scans they bring me back into
another room and when they put me into
the room in my hospital bed my mother
comes in she kisses me she prays for me
now she’s going to walk out doctors rush
in from the opposite side as my mother
is walking out and when my mother told
me son you’ll be all right it was a
certain element of peace attached to her
because I have been with my mother my
whole life me and my father our
relationship was pretty much a business
relationship early years he wasn’t there
when I started playing sports he came
along in the picture but I needed him to
get out of my situation right and so we
had a business relationship but when my
mother said something to me have been
rocking with my mother since I was 16 I
had miss mills with my mother since I
was just you were 16 I mean and so when
she said it would be okay I was like all
right cool and then she’s going to walk
out doctors running in and say hey guys
get in here we got a rushing back to
surgery he’s about to die says the new
bald kid like I was a part of the
football game but this this is a new
game I said yeah
so yeah man you busted up subclavian
artery in your chest you bleed
internally I rushed you back take that
main vein out of your left leg plug it
into your chest in order to save your
life you don’t have much time next
morning I wake up from recovery he said
inky I got some good news and some bad
news
good news we saved your life and said
thank you bad news is you got nerve
damage in your right shoulder all right
cool so we got to sing you up to the
Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota
I said all right cool he said but the
problem is you know that dream of going
to the NFL and say yes sir
I’m close so that’s strong possibility
you probably can never play the game of
football another day in your life
I said no way I said uh I don’t I don’t
know if you know how hard I work for
this like I don’t know if you know I’ve
been working since I was seven years old
like I didn’t start out playing football
saying man
I just want to go to the NFL to make it
yeah I wanted to go to the NFL to take
care of my family give back to my
community but the way in which I started
playing a game I started playing in the
street and that would be bloody my
mother didn’t even sign me up to play
the first white guy ever met in my life
sign me up to play football a guy riding
down the street in a blue pickup truck
never forget it my god I love him to
death
pulling down the street on a blue pickup
truck pulls on the curb steps out of his
truck walks up in the middle of our game
I’m standing there bloody attacking
football in the street guy walks up tray
hurts never forget it my uncles on the
corner they’re drug dealers in prison
right now they take off running my uncle
Bobo serving 40 years in a federal
penitentiary he looks back he said iki
don’t talk to him he thinking of guys to
cop Kotra nicest guy in the world walks
up he said man would you kids like to
play football on grass I said man I
would love that he said he said going to
house get one of your guard against Iran
announced my uncle JJ had married into
the family I said hey UMP man it’s the
guy outside would you please come and
talk to him sure uncle comes outside
coach Trey said listen said I don’t even
supposed to be over so I brought a kid
home his mom asked me could I bring him
home I brought him home he said rolled
down the street I see these kids playing
football in the street got bloody he
said that you could bring him across
town I got a lead
y’all could sign him up think it would
be a great opportunity for uncle says
sir we greatly appreciate it hate to
tell you we don’t have the money and I’m
standing in front of him because I
really want to play he said I hate to
tell you but his mother says she
definitely doesn’t have too much he’s
that work out windy right now
I never forget that coach looked at my
uncle he said tell you what he said
y’all bring him to the park so his
address said not only will I sign that
kid up South Sound every kid in the
street I’ll play they brought us to the
park the next day he signed every last
one of us up and it changed the
trajectory of my life no the second
person I saw in the hospital after they
saved my life that coach that signed me
up to play ball and I was seven years
old I honor my mother sure but a
personal my mother called on Christmas
with me and my family got robbed they
put a nine-millimeter in a 45 in my face
when I was 15 years old that coaster saw
me up with a ball and I was 17 years old
so what I was telling the doctor was doc
I got to give some people a return on
their investment
like this can’t stop right now now I
never forget I said to him I said I’d
never cheat it I never cheated I was
taught you work for something the result
will be what you wanted to be like I’ve
never cheated like nobody had to worry
about me cutting corners like a coach to
give me a workout I’ll go do it if my
team a to try to cheat sometimes I’ll
complete my guys workout
I got never I’ve never I never believed
in it right because I knew every time I
cheated it was a possibility and an
opportunity for me to become weaker and
so I never believed in cheating I never
believed in the mentality behind cutting
corners and not facing a challenge
because I understood if it didn’t
challenge me it wouldn’t change me I
submitted sent me up to the mail huh my
career cameo by working too hard and I
go up in the Mayo Clinic and I’ll never
forget I walk in the room and his three
doctors and they come in and they say
hey Inc here’s the deal we’re gonna cut
to the chase
he said ah you have torn all the nerves
and you’ll break your flexors so what’s
that he said it’s the nerve roots that
go through your spine and controls your
shoulder your arm and your hand so it
goes into your spine like this you’ve
ripped them all out they can’t go back
in and say we hate to tell you but
football career side of you say your
shoulder your arm your hand never be the
same again you say here your surgery
options in we could take a muscle back
if your left leg plug it into you right
on possibility weak left leg weak right
arm the rest of your life we could take
a nerve out of your left arm
reroute it up to your chest down to you
right on possibility to weak arms to
rescue like we could take a nerve under
your left rib reroute it up to your
chest down to you right on possibility
breathing problem weak right on the rest
of your life by the way tell us what you
want to do at 8 o’clock in the morning
next morning I walked into the office
they said what option did you choose I
said no disrespect to you cut me where
you gotta cut me I guarantee if I don’t
die I’ll be fine
they say you gotta choose an option I
said no disrespect to you cut me where
you gotta cut me I guarantee you if I
don’t die I’ll be fine
and what I was telling them was doc you
gotta take my life before you take my
drive man I’m not a light switch person
like I don’t turn it on and turn it like
I could play you in checkers I’m gonna
try to destroy you I gotta play in a
game you know no pitching hold a little
dick I’m gonna try to destroy you that’s
just my mentality of just going all-in
and everything that I doing what I was
telling them you can cut me wherever you
got to cut me if you don’t kill me you
will not stop me because I know my
mentality and I know the way I’m wired I
don’t turn it on and turn it off but
that’s life would have it they cut me
six times out my left eye one time of
course the left side of my neck one time
across the right side twice to my right
ribs cut out my right pack bottom on my
arm pit bottom on my hand
350 staplers in my body banish me from
my neck to my knees and they come in my
room the next day they said inky we got
to get to know each other really well
you’ve been his hospital next 40 or 60
days on the third day we were leaving
the hospital and as we’re leaving and
the doors were opening you say you broke
a record how did you do it he said
nobody has ever gotten out of here and
under less than 40 days with a surgery
of that magnitude I said Oh doc I just
in fillers if I hadn’t right say what
are you talking about had to right I
said um I Justin feel as if I had the
right to stop like I Justin feel as if I
had to right not to show up and give
everything I got Justin feel as if I had
the right to not press forward like I
just felt as if the people that I
represent and the people that had
invested in me and built the gentlemen
that you see call inky it’s a lot of
people that go into this like when they
were out there telling me man I’m I what
you’ve been through my the place you got
into in life and I told him I said there
was a lot of people that helped me and I
take those spirits with me every day
like Maya Angelou has a quote that says
I come as one but I stand as 10,000
meaning I had me to bow to a lot of
people I have made vows to a lot of
people about what I would do and what I
represent and when I tell somebody
something I don’t take that lightly like
if I told you I’m gonna give you
everything I got you can bet your bottom
dollar I’m gonna give you everything I
got if we’re walking somewhere and we
end up in an alley and ten people come
in the alley and they trying to rob us
and I tell you hey brother we get home
we’re getting home and I’m not running
my word it means something in whatever I
got to go through and exactly and be a
part of in order to make it happen I’m
willing to go through I’m committed to
every single aspect of my life and I was
talking n’t it’s staying true to what
you said you would do long after the
move that you said it in his left
because we say things when the mood is
right right but when the environment in
the mood changes we back off but I have
made a vow to a lot of people not only
my teammates I made a vow to everybody
that had ever invested in me in my life
that I will finish what I started I will
complete my mission every single game by
completing my mission in life every
single day I mean I would empty my
bucket and give every aspect of my life
every single bit of inky johnson i may
be crazy i don’t know but i just
believed my five-year-old son of my six
year old daughter he deserved the best
version of me I may be crazy I don’t
know but I just believe my wife and I’ve
been with every since we were in the
fifth grade she deserves the best
version to me I may be crazy I don’t
know but my three little sisters I just
believed they deserved the best version
of their big brother
I may be crazy I don’t know but the
people I’m a service to on his face of
this planet they deserved the best
version of me I’m not gonna give them
any less see the thing I understand
about business I might not know more
more much about the furniture business
but I know a lot about the people’s
business and I know every single day the
people that come across our past whether
we’re doing business with them
whether we’re talking to him about any
aspect of life I know they’re coming
across my path for a reason and I’m
gonna try my best to leave them a little
bit different the only reason I kept
pressing forward the only reason I
didn’t stop was because everybody that I
met and everybody I came across I knew
they were looking at my perspective
about life and if I can keep pressing
forward they may encounter something
that they may face maybe want to stop
and the first person that will pop up in
their mind man I’m impressed for when it
ain’t kept going surely I can do and so
the next week I was back at practice
with my teammates my guys and I work
with my guys did he went through the
struggle with my guys that we cracked
jokes with my guys we got knocked out
with my guys that we went to war with my
guys and I would give everything for him
I was back at practice in the sandpit
with a done joy sling and I still have
my staples in my body I was back in
class the next week got my undergrad
degree in three years when my life
changed
night I never stopped I never missed a
beat and my life changed and people ask
me all the time how did you keep
pressing forward like the video that you
also I want to give you the backdrop to
how it happened
ESPN called me they did a story on me
this past summer but they called me one
day and I picked up the phone he said is
this inky johnson I said last time I
checked I’m inky johnson they said is
this the same guy that said if you could
change what happened to you you wouldn’t
I said absolutely
they said it’s our understanding the
game of football meant the world I said
at one point it did they said it’s our
understanding that your family was
banking on you making it to the NFL they
can have a better way of life I said
yeah that’s that’s correct and said
we’re coming to see you I said all right
cool come on I said but we don’t want to
see you in Atlanta we want to see you in
Neyland Stadium on the exact yard line
where your life changes the same time of
day the only thing that won’t be present
its Air Forces team all right cool and
so they take me to Neyland Stadium they
put me on the exact yard line with my
life changed they said now tell your
younger self why you wouldn’t stop your
injury if you could if you could be in
the NFL right now making millions of
dollars tell you young yourself why you
wouldn’t change that situation if you
could and let’s say the reason I
wouldn’t change it believe it or not has
nothing to do with me like on a personal
level you he thought I was gonna say
because of the man that I’ve become the
perspective that I’ve acquired my feet
that been fortified he thought I was
gonna say something like that I said no
it has nothing to do it has everything
to do with the lies that have been
affected by the result of the process
and the thing that I represent in the
world what my spirit represents when
somebody see me they think perseverance
well my spirit represents where somebody
see me they think don’t quit what my
spirit represents when somebody see me
they think SSSs that’s a quality
individual right there what my character
represents in the world and every single
day we’re putting something out like
that represent something when people see
that they thinks it’s a thought that
comes to the month when he said go
standing he gave me that I felt the
surge I’m ready when he gave me to go
stare I thought the certain type I felt
different gold-standard with me because
I think in what I do the line of
business
I’m gonna go standard because I don’t
compromise and every single day I’m
gonna give you my very best you can bet
your bottom dollar every single day I’m
gonna bring that gold standard to life
and I’m not just bringing it and one
aspect of life I’m bringing it every
single aspect of life I’m not gonna be
one of these people in the world that’s
a public success but they’re private
failure I mean they give everything they
got to one aspect of life but the other
areas they lack off no I’m gonna give
every single thing I got every aspect of
my life because I represent something
when people see me they think something
whether that’s character never givin up
never surrender and the thing that we
can never do is forget what we represent
because that’s how guys end up under
bridge and a cardboard box leap they
forget what they represent when life
hits him we’re a curse my only charge
for you never forget what you represent
like short
let’s enjoy what we got I was an
underdog I could play a little bit but I
was an underdog for the most part but as
I stay right here on this stage before
you tonight you know a lot of thoughts
come to mind you know at first and
foremost I think about my life and I
think about adversity and I think about
opposition but for the most part of my
life I’ve been on this quest to figure
out how can I work hard for something
and my performance is not based upon the
outcome how can I work and might my
effort and my motivation in my job is
not based upon what the product would be
but more so based upon me taking pride
in what I do and so I came up with this
thing called process / product and I
firmly believe the process saved my life
and what I mean by the process I’m
talking about the way I handle my
business on a daily basis and the way I
go about every single aspect of my life
I live by this thing called empty bucket
and when people hear it they think it’s
a cute slogan empty the bucket but what
they don’t understand and some unspoken
law empty the boat working it’s an
unspoken law of accountability and
responsibility to me on this earth in my
existence and everybody is connected to
me I may be crazy but I don’t know I
just believe that I supposed to give
everybody that is connected to me the
best version of me I just believe I
deserve to give my wife and my children
the best version of me I just believe
the people that I was doing his hurt I
deserve to give them the best version of
me
[Applause]
you see the thing about chasing the
product and what the product is the
product is money
the product is a house the product is a
car
the thing about chasing a product the
product can always changed and if your
performance is always based upon the
product what happened when the products
changed and you don’t take pride in what
you do but the thing about loving the
process everybody wants to prize but
nobody loves the process everybody wants
to be a champion but nobody’s willing to
put in the work that it takes to be a
champion everybody wants to hold up the
trophy and say man I did it but nobody’s
willing to put in the work that it takes
to do it I love the process I love the
thought of working for what I wallet and
I firmly believed you never supposed to
wish for it more than you’re willing to
work for it your expectations never
supposed to exceed your effort but a lot
of people they wish and they’re not
willing to work and the great thing
about life life has a funny way of
testing all of us and seeing how bad we
really want what it is that we say we
want because the thing that know about
people people can talk to talk and
people do it very well
but life is going to hit you with a
certain level of opposition life is
going to hit you with a certain level of
that versity and life is going to say to
you you said you wanted it now let’s see
how bad you really want it but the great
thing about it if you left the process
when opposition in that versi hitch you
will have a way of embracing it and
using it not only for yourself but you
will use it to make everybody that’s
connected to you stronger because your
vision has to be larger than yourself if
everything that you do is just about
doing for your personal gain
something’s gonna come up against you
that’s gonna be a lot tougher than you
and if you’re just about to the moment
you hit it you’re gonna quit and give up
every time
but I believe in given the back story
because I think the back story shakes in
most situations and circumstances and so
I have to give you the back story what
shaped and molded me into the man that I
am today I’m 29 years old my mother got
pregnant with me at 15 years old I grew
up on the east side of Atlanta about
five minutes away from the where that
Atlanta Braves play and a neighborhood
by the name of Kirkwood drugs gangs
violence you name it and I came up in a
two-bedroom home 14 people and I used to
sleep on the floor my grandmother Miss
Daisy Johnson
she used to come to us and she would say
one night out of the week you all get
the opportunity to sleep in the bed and
so when I got to sleep in the bed it
wasn’t like I got the bed to myself and
I like laying I got the bed to myself it
was five for my cousin’s in the bed and
so we slept three to the foot and three
at the head and so as a kid pretty quick
I had to make a decision of what I
wanted to do with my life
because in that same house I had eight
uncles all eight of which are still
going in and out of prison till this day
because they sold drugs and they were in
gangs and so I looked at it it’s kind of
like that quote that says learn from the
mistakes of other people because you
can’t make them or yourself
and so I saw them selling drugs but it
also saw the outcome and so I said I’m
not selling drugs I’m not joining a gang
because I see where that road leads to
either I’m gonna end up better in prison
I said so my best bet may be to go to
the NFL and so I went to my cousin by
the name of tomorrow said listen man I
want to go to the NFL I feel our family
deserves a better way of life
let’s work for it I said we’re gonna be
patient we’re gonna engage in consistent
action every night and so every night we
would go out and we were a slight for
the light board in Kirkwood no shoes
light for the light pool every night and
so one night we were getting ready to
racing down the street came a big blue
pickup truck and it poured over to the
side and out of it got a white guy first
white guy ever saw in my life
true story and my uncle Bobo who just
got sentenced to 40 years in prison he
was on one corner my other uncle Johnny
he was on the other corner my uncle Bobo
took off running he looked at me said
hey don’t talk to him saying to me that
guy has to be the police Coast ray
walked up to us nicest guy in the world
he said would you kids like to play
organized sports I step to the front I
said yes sir
he said go in the house and get your
guardian my uncle JJ was there ran in
the house I said oh there’s a guy
outside
he asked me like to play organized
sports I told him yes he said well I go
in the house to get my body and I’m
coming to get you will you please talk
to monk will say sure my uncle walked
outside coach Trey said would you like
to sign these kids up for organized
sports my uncle say yes sir
but I hate to tell you we don’t have the
money he said don’t worry about the
money you get them to the park and I’ll
take care that same guy still buys new
drawers and socks until his day on
Christmas and I’m 29 years old he
started when I was 7
[Applause]
but a weird thing happened one night
you see most nights after practice
everybody will leave to go home and I
always had to sit in the park because my
mother worked that witness and my mother
didn’t get off work till about ten
o’clock 10:30 motion nights and I’ll be
sitting there in the park and I loved it
I didn’t want anybody to take me home
because when I went home I was sleeping
on the floor with roaches and rats and
so any time I got in solitude the dream
any time I got in solitude to think
about what I wanted to do for my family
in my community I took advantage of it
and so most nights I’ll be sitting there
in the park and I’ll be looking up at
the lights and I’ll be envisioning
myself doing things in the NFL
envisioning myself doing things in my
community and just as the lights would
always go out my mother she would pull
up and she used to drive the old Buick
Regal hubcaps off the car seats torn up
the car was all beat up and she will
pull up and she will put the car in park
and I will always hop up I run over to
my mother I would give her a hug and a
kiss I would say mommy if you don’t mind
can you please sit back in your car I
have to do some extra drills I have to
go to the NFL she would never have to
work another day in your life and I knew
she was tired and every night my mother
would say sure and she was sit back in
that car those car lights we hit that
feeling here you got a seven-year-old
kid doing back cutting drills running
sprints running laps chasing his dream
to go to the NFL and just beyond those
car lights I could always connect with
my mother’s eyes and so it made me dig a
little bit deeper it made me push myself
a little bit further it made me work a
little bit harder I live by this thing
called the harder you work the harder it
is to surrender you see the reason
people quit they don’t take pride in
what they do the harder you work the
harder it is to surrender
nothing not just talking about business
I’m talking about winning simultaneously
in every aspect of life I’m not
concerned with a person that does well
in one aspect of their life and they can
hang their hat dance a man I made a lot
of money you made a lot of money you’re
a public success but your private salary
what good is it to make a lot of money
you want to go home to your family what
good is it to make a lot of money if you
don’t take care of your kids what good
is your public success with your private
value and so how did we win
simultaneously and take pride in
everything
and one night my mother couldn’t pick me
up and she thought go straight
she said coach I can’t make it tonight
can you please take inky home and so he
put me in about eight guys in the back
of his pickup truck and he said you
can’t drop your flatness and so when he
got to my house I got out on the
sidewalk and I’m standing in front of
125 one Street and I looked back at
coach tray and I said why why are you
doing this because where I came from
people didn’t just help you
it was I pat you on your back you got to
Pat me on my back you remember I did
that for you you got to do this for me
and I said why are you doing this and he
looked back at me and Sun Sun I want to
tell you something he said I don’t want
you to ever forget it he said son the
more you make sure that somebody else’s
life is okay God will always make sure
that your life is okay
and immediately I got
the light bulb went off
I stopped being this little selfish kid
I stopped being like my four-year-old
son and for the first time in my life I
stopped thinking everything was just
about inky johnson and i realized my
existence on this earth is a lot bigger
than me
I realized me my lineage in my family
when I step outside of my door in the
morning what I represent is a lot bigger
than me and so the thing I had to
understand every day I woke up and
everything that I was a part of I first
had to understand I was representing a
lot more than myself I first had to
start living my two words honor and
legacy and what I mean by honor and
legacy you honor the ones that paved the
way for you and you leave a legacy for
the ones that’s coming behind you we
just have it right now while we’re a
part of something right now somebody
else came to course and paved the way
and somebody will come after us and so
while we have it how can we do it in
such a way that we leave a legacy for
the ones that’s coming behind us and we
honor the ones that paved the way for us
and so everything I did I took a certain
level of pride in it
people thought I just wanted to be a
great football player but they didn’t
understand about Indy jobs was this I
could have watched cars I guarantee you
I would have been the best part washing
it was in the world because the thing
that understood I wasn’t just
representing myself it wasn’t just about
me everything that I did I stepped in my
mindset for me to wait now I was
operating with a spirit of collective
character meaning it didn’t matter what
I did individually if I didn’t represent
my mother in the right way and didn’t
matter if I didn’t represent my lineage
in the right way and fight it represent
my team in the right way who cares what
I did individually I didn’t care if we
won a game and I scored 40 points
individually who cared I shipped it from
me that way and so everything I started
to do I was thinking about my family I
was thinking about what my community and
I was thinking about my friends in a
different way and I will never forget I
got to high school and nobody in my
family had ever been to college they all
dropped out ending up in prison my high
school the name of her scrim High School
in Atlanta they used to call it crime
cottage to shoot teachers and my first
day I walked through the metal detector
and a cop was standing on the other end
of the metal detector and he said what
is your plan little man I said my plan
is to go to Division one
he said no you’ll probably go to
cellblock D one I said no you got the
wrong guy he said I heard that before
your uncle’s came through and said the
same thing I said no I’m telling you you
got the wrong guy you know the first
person I want to see when I got my
scholarship papers
but you know the most amazing thing
happened it wasn’t that I went to
college I had three little cousins
sleeping on that same floor that went to
college I saw friends in my community
come off the corner from selling jobs
and go to college I saw friends in my
community come out of gangs and go to
college all because I shifted my mindset
and it wasn’t about me
I brought generational curses in my
community because it wasn’t just about
me I didn’t care so much about me going
to college I wanted the ones coming
behind me to get it and I’ll never
forget I went on an airplane and my
first time riding the airplane I was a
senior going into a football game and I
wasn’t arrested on an airplane and as I
was washing my hands
there was a sign on the wall and I’ll
never forget it my first time on the
airplane I’m washing my hands that was a
sign on the wall and as I was walking
out in wrestling the sign said as common
courtesy to the person that’s coming
behind you can you wipe the sink I’ll
leave it better than your family and I
said as common courtesy to the
generation that is coming behind me in
life everything that I touch everything
that I’m a part of I vowed to God that I
will leave it better than I found it and
so now it wasn’t even about me
[Applause]
and I got my scholarship up to Tennessee
and they looked at me when I first said
campus 135 pound kids soaking wet in the
SVC
and the first reporter he asked me he
said inky johnson do you even think
you’re gonna play at the University of
Tennessee
he said year 135 pounds
I said not only am I gonna play I’m
gonna start I said you made a mistake I
said see what you don’t understand and
this is what most people do they base
judgment off for what they can see what
they don’t understand the moments that
make you who you are the moments that
they can’t see you see anybody can be on
their best behavior when somebody is
standing over their shoulder watching
them seeing if they’re gonna do what
they’re supposed to do but what they’re
reported in cuc he can see I came from
Krim high we could see I was 135 pounds
you can see i was 5-9 he can see all of
the stats he can see all of that but
what he never saw was when I was in the
park of my mother when I was seven years
old she was sitting in that Buick Regal
at 10:30 at night but he didn’t see was
every Saturday morning at 5:30 I was up
running two miles to a fire station and
two miles back home what you didn’t see
was every time I slept on that floor we
won’t stand rats with my cousin’s I got
up every morning went to school and
never made one excuse but he didn’t see
was on Christmas Eve when a guy when a
guy came through me and my cousin’s
window he stuck a nine-millimeter in a
45 and boom fireface and took all of our
Christmas gift and we had to stand on
the curb when our mother told us y’all
just be grateful he didn’t see that and
those were the moments that made me who
I am and so now his opinion didn’t
matter his opinion would never become my
reality and my freshman year playing
special teams sophomore season came
broke the starting lineup you know the
first person I went to see at media day
[Applause]
he quit he was so embarrassed and I’ll
never forget my sophomore season I
finally made it to the point in my life
where I felt as if everything in my life
was lining up spiritually I was getting
the sight life was in shape on track to
graduate in three years life was in
shape education I still remember the day
I was in the film room watching film and
I was watching the California bears him
my defensive backs coach Larry Slade
came in the room he said inky johnson I
got some good news for you and I dropped
the clicker and I said coach what is it
he said son you’re a projected top 30
Drive thing he said all you have to do
is play these next 10 football games
your automatic multi-millionaire I ran
out of the room I got on the phone I
called my mother my grandmother I said
listen I said after this season we were
never struggling I said we would never
miss another meal I said after this
season our lives are about to change
forever
and literally I know our lives are
really about to change first game we
come out play against California bears I
get an interception we shut him down we
get the victory second game we’re
playing against Air Force he gets late
in the game found ourselves in the
dogfight
quarterback drop back he released the
ball to the running back coming down my
sideline now poster tackle like I
approach any other tackle and the way
I’m approaching it
he then my knock you out are you gonna
knock me out of 165 pounds I can’t play
with anybody but at the point of contact
when I hit this guy something different
happen and never happened to me before
my life I hit him and it seemed as if
every breath in my body left my body
would completely member I fell to the
ground I blacked out I’ll never forgive
him my eyes open my teammates ran over
to me and my first guy that was over was
to rob me or the middle linebacker for
the Patriots one of my best friends and
he said hey get up let’s go I said I
can’t he said what do you mean you can’t
you’re on lockdown Corner we need you
let’s go I said I can’t move I said
there’s a shot going through my whole
body I can’t feel anything
when the scariest moments of my life in
the shock eventually left and they
stayed in my writer woman hand I
remember as I was lying running onto the
field up there my head up to the sky and
I said god I said surely nothing has
happened in this moment that could alter
my life I flipped my head back over to
the left they were bringing a spine
board out I flipped my head up to the
sky said God I said that’s precautionary
measures right they give me up on the
spine board they’re willing me off the
field and I looked at the doctor because
I couldn’t feel my right on they had
poked me with all type of needles and he
can you feel this can you feel I come
from the thing and I said doc can you
can you lift my right arm in hand he
said sure ain’t and he raised it up and
I lifted my left and I pumped the top
supporters I don’t believe in using the
word fans I think it’s arrogant earn Who
am I to call a person a fan he pay to
see you play their support and he was
bringing my arm down I looked at the
doctor I said oh yeah I said I’ll be
back never thinking that would be the
last game that I would ever play in my
life
they’d give me an amnesty n–‘s turned
up but not that still don’t pay any mind
they give me over to the hospital saying
we gotta take you back to us and
cat-scans they took me back they ran the
cat scans and they wrote me back into my
room and I’ll never forget it all in
about a 15 second timeframe I was lying
here in my bed and I could see over my
right shoulder and I looked at my father
and we caught eyes and my father he went
to take his step in and he looked at me
he said son I can’t do it and he walked
out my mother she came in she was
running she kissed me on my forehead she
said a friend she said think
everything’s gonna be okay and she ran
out and as soon as my mother stepped
outside of the room and doctor rushed in
from the opposite side he said hey get
in here we got rushed just got back to
emergency surgery he’s about to die
I said what I said my mom just told me
everything’s going to be okay like this
total obviously you’re talking about I’m
about to die
I said what happened he said something
what happened you have busted up to play
via an artery in your chest you’re
bleeding internally after rushing back
and take the main vein out of your left
leg and plug it into your chest and
order to save your life and when I woke
up from recovery the same doctors
standing over me set a key
good news and some bad news for you so
you got some bad news for him after
telling I was about to die I’m still
alive how bad can it get him he said the
good news is son we saved your life I
said thank you sir he said the bad news
is you have nerve damage in your right
shoulder sicko he said we got to sing
you up to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Minnesota I said cool he said what the
problem is Inc you probably can never
play the game of football again in your
life I said no way
you see ya ain’t you got some pretty bad
nerve damage I said no I said doc no
disrespect man but I’m eight games away
like doc no disrespect but this is about
to change my family’s life doc I’ve been
working for this ever since I was seven
years old doc there’s no way God not now
huh like let me make it to the NFL so I
can help my family first like a pea we
miss Mills and you’re talking about my
career can end right now like no way and
I snap out of it I said man I never
cheated I said there’s no way I’ve never
cheated I’ve never cheated myself I gave
everything I had to it and I respected
it I never cheated there’s no way that
my career could be over I said send me
up to the Mayo Clinic and after several
visits I’ll never forget this is when
reality set in it was me my mother my
father in the room and the doctors came
in they said inky johnson here’s to do
it said son you have torn all the nerves
and you’ll break your plexus and say you
break your flexors or the nerve roots
that go from your spine and they come
down and control your shoulder your arm
in your hand they say you have turned
them at all levels it cannot be
reblogged it says something we hate to
tell you what you’re on it would never
be the same again your hand it would
never be the same again son you can
never play the game of football again it
says son here your surgery options we
could take the muscle out of the back of
your left leg plug it into you right on
but there’s a possibility that you’ll be
left with the weak left leg of the weak
right on the rest of your life oh we can
take a nerve out of your left arm
reroute it up to your chest down into
your right oh but there’s a possibility
that you’ll be left with two weak arms
to rest of your life or we can take a
nerve right of your left rib reroute it
up to your chest down into your right on
but there’s a possibility that you’ll be
left with a breathing problem and a weak
right on the rest of your life by the
way tell us what you want to do in the
morning
and the next morning I walked into the
doctor’s office they said something what
option did you choose
I said no disrespect to you doctor I’m
not choosing an option my situation is
out of your hands it said cut with the
tube top I said no disrespect to you doc
cut me where you gotta cut me my
situation is out of your hands I’m not
choosing an option I said I know I will
come out of this situation okay and as I
stand right here on this stage thank you
[Music]
as I stand right on this stage before
you today they cut me six times down my
left eye they cut me two times across my
right rib they caught me two times
across my right PEC they cut me one time
across the left side of my neck one time
of course the right side of my neck they
cut me from the bottom of my armpit all
the way down to the bottom of my hand
and that they got through cutting on me
they said son you’re gonna be in this
hospital for the next 40 days I walked
out of the hospital on the third day
they said you broke a record how did you
do it and I said first and foremost the
thing I want y’all to understand I would
never let a circumstance or situation
define my life
[Applause]
but most importantly you know what I had
invested I had sweat
I had been working my whole life and
what I didn’t understand by being
determined to chase something by being
committed to it and what commitment is
commitment to staying true to what you
said you were going to do long after the
mood that you have set it in has left
you see people think commitment is
saying yes I’ll do it on the days when
they feel good but I’ve been committed
to everything that I ever started in my
life and I never stop and I’ll never
quit it and so by being committed to
everything that I started I finished it
if not the certain type of spirit it
built the certain type of mentality and
built the certain type of individual and
so now I couldn’t quit even if I wanted
to I couldn’t lay in the bed even if I
wanted to I couldn’t stop even if I
wanted to I had too much sweat equity in
my life and everything that I was doing
because I understood my existence wasn’t
about me I went from me to we long time
ago I understood the process is more
important than the product it wasn’t
about the outcome for me what my meeting
today inept or not it was
inconsequential in God’s plan for my
life but I was going to fall in love
with that process because I understood
by falling in love for that process it
was going to turn me into a machine
[Applause]
[Music]
you see a lot of people need things to
get motivated a lot of people need a
little extra money to get motivated a
lot of people need you know whatever the
case may be a little bonus to get
motivated I don’t need anything but
reffering my body and life and every day
I wake up I understand I got two
children depending on me understand I
got a wife depending on me understand I
got a world that needs me the reason I
go at life with the passion and the zeal
that I go at it with it’s because I
understand every day of my life and
somebody in the world that is depending
on me it may not be you and if it’s just
about you you’re in trouble because I’m
telling you you’re gonna hit something
and like that’s a lot toughening you and
it’s gonna test your Wilma’s gonna test
your heart if it’s just about doing it
just about the product and will crush
you every day I get up I understand it’s
somebody in a free world that’s looking
at me to see if I’m gonna keep going and
so I can’t quit and so I went back to
school the next week after they had just
saved my life I was back in class I had
to learn how to write all over again
have to learn how to walk all over again
I’d learn to tie my shoe all over again
have to learn how to bathe all over
again have to learn how to live life all
over getting never one time did I say
let me go home I need a break
yep one time that I’m going through the
training room I said I need some time
off can you all just give me a little
leave time I need to go back home I need
some time off my life just changed last
week and they came to me and they said
auntie go home we know how much the game
of football meant to you I said yeah you
know how much the game of football meant
to me but you don’t know how much life
bitch do you see the thing we have to
understand about everything that we’re a
part of first and foremost it’s a
blessing by God then when it’s a
blessing you can’t help but to give
everything you got to it my life got
sick I got spared my life
almost died the doctor came to me on the
field it was all one name he grabbed my
wrist he said son you don’t have a post
I don’t even know how you’re still
living and my last doctor’s visit they
came to me they said sorry inky johnson
you would never be able to use this on
my hand again in your life
I said no disrespect to you doc but I
will use this arm in his hand every day
for the rest of my life by the way that
I live my life every day I’m gonna
impact someone’s life every day I’m
going to empower someone every day I’m
going to inspire someone every day I’m
going to encourage someone the thing we
have to understand what business are we
in
you know protocol they called me in the
world they say Inc is a speaker Inc is a
motivational and so whatever the case
may be inking whatever whatever it is
but what they don’t understand I’m into
people’s business not a speaker I’m a
surfer anybody that has direct contact
with people on a daily basis that is an
opportunity to change someone’s life
I don’t ever pass up an opportunity to
be of encouragement to other people
don’t ever pass up an opportunity to
inspire someone you’ll never pass up an
opportunity to empower someone who never
pass up an opportunity to show someone
love because the thing about it my like
you could see this
you can see my arm my wound is visible
but it’s a lot of people in this room
that are wounded and you can’t see it
listen turn and so the opportunities
that we pass up to be a blessing to
other people we can save their life
which is one encounter when we talk
about me too we when we talk about
process over product when we talk about
sweat equity when we talk about better
together do we really understand what
that means because sometimes the thing
about life life always comes along when
we make up our mind and try to distract
us but truth be told we all know that
we’re stronger together and that’s in
every aspect of life whether it be
sports whether it be business whether it
be a marriage whether it be a family
we’re always stronger together it’s kind
of like the Planet of the Apes movie
when Caesar and his guys that were going
crazy they were going bananas and Caesar
stood back on the hill and cz was trying
to calm him down everyone calm down they
won’t listen to him and the way he got
their attention was phenomenal the way
he got the attention he picked up a
piece of straw one silly piece of straw
seems to picked up one silly piece of
straw and he handled it up in front of
him he picked up one straw and he broke
it and then he picked up two hands full
of Stroh’s anyways and what he was
telling them along we can do nothing
together strong
unstop
[Music]
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[Music]
you
you as a kid man I was a visionary but
sometimes being a visionaries pain
because I could always see what I wanted
to go in my life I can always see what I
wanted to become but I always had to
come back and deal with the reality of
light and the raw reality of life is
distant matter what I did on the
football field no matter what I did on
the basketball court every night I came
back to 125 Ward Street
I was sleeping on that forward motion
grass and so sometimes it was faint so
just finding out my mother will pull
into that partnership Japanese folk
regal hubcaps out the car seats on tour
enough carbs don’t beat up but we loved
it all right my mother put that car in
parking our Hufflepuff it over to my
mother I would do the biggest hum and
the biggest kiss that I could get now
I’m sick mommy you don’t Mikey please
sit back in your car and to lay your
colleagues I have to do some extra
drills I have to go to the NFL she would
never have to work another day in life
and I knew my mother was time but every
night my mother is a shorty she would
get back in that Buick Regal or his car
lights we hit that feel he had a
seven-year-old kid from back peddling
drugs running stretch for the lab
chasing his dream to the NFL that’s why
anytime a cat see me speak about the
game of football I can’t hold the
passion because it’s real to me you
shall I was really in the park with my
mother when I was seven years old
there was nobody out there but meme up
on them and God and I was right there
chasing the dream my mother was sitting
in a big regal and she had a car light
so that’s why anytime I play the game
any time I stepped in between the lines
I gave everything I had it had nothing
to do when inky just had nothing to do
with the people who stands and
everything to do my mother when I was
seven years old she was sitting that
fall those car light so she made a
sacrifice
[Applause]
someone to honor sacrifices I believe in
that but a person make a sacrifice for
your personal happy to that you see we
live with this younger generation I tell
the younger generation in living this
Burger King’s inside we’re gonna have a
new way right and so they’ve got the
million dollar dream with the minimum
wage I hope for anyone in the world but
the thing about it is when you look at
everything with it Colossians 3:23
mindset and so what I mean by Colossians
3:23 myosin you can look at every aspect
of life whether it’s your work well
there’s your family whether it’s job
whatever it may be if you look at
everything with the Colossians 3:23
mindset it makes everything have a
purpose that’s greater than yourself and
what Colossians 3:23 is is that do
everything it’s a component for the Lord
and not for manage so now and I know
everything is different morning for the
Lord and not the man you don’t laugh
anymore because people can say things to
you that you can do things to you that
can hurt you
but if my purpose is greater than you
[Music]
[Music]
because you have a purpose that’s prayer
any individual you can a purpose as an
individual the way you live your life
totally change the way to do things will
totally change your perspective
we’re totally change the way you go
about your business and life will
totally change that Colossians 3:23 is a
cold thing because now everything doing
wrong things you look at it totally
different and what you can change that
changes your life you see a lot of
people that can’t see things right we
can’t see things clearly so sometimes
they could be in the midst of a search
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
because that was something that them
cause and every individual possessed all
they have to do is activate and I’ll
never forget strange relationship coming
up with what I mean by strange
relationship I was a kid I was growing
up and I host my up who’s living in a
two-bedroom home so it’s about a de una
eat up in another prison you know
they’re going in lieutenant Gordon for a
tea coming out back to prison and so I
my uncle and he showed me he showed me
lessons about farm work by the oldest
one only one making an honest living and
taking care of his family so I had my
father and he told me he said man he’s
really good as my father my birth
certificate until this day so there’s a
man your father he’s really good at
sports I said can you take me to meet my
asshole protected can you take me I want
to meet him he took me to meet him I
said man we suck sports when we started
chopping up for a little bit
what can you do this for me every Friday
night after game and can you take me to
your house to spend the night and can we
get up the next morning and you work me
out into the break be back home Saturday
can you do that
Stella gotcha he would pick me up on a
Friday night and Saturday mornings throw
up at 4:30 was going to bounce a mouse
to his fire station and my father at the
time my father didn’t believe in God
before that been mad at God his whole
life because my father lost his mother
when he was 14 years old the cancer the
shot never forget a bit my Posse would
be out of our mouths to this fire
station and so one morning we got up and
we got a bed around 4 o’clock and back
then I was a little younger didn’t have
to stretch as much so I can get out my
legs out and we could take off now I
can’t do that
we get out there we’ll get ready and one
morning he said God says something I
need you to pour that nother person
outside and he would always said and so
I would always give him a head nod and
we will get ready to work because I love
the process I’m looking thought of
getting up in the morning chasing our
goals and chase my dreams their minds
I’m responsible for not placing anybody
else and if I want something I’m gonna
work so he says son I won’t you fool
that person outside be dead so I gave my
hand out I said yes sir
and he didn’t get this out you get
really funny he said son I want you to
pull that other person outside to do
that said yes sir
there’s no get pacing son I need you to
pull that other person outside you get
so at this point I’m frustrated I step
back I said what other person I said
it’s nobody outside with me and you is
please black nobody knows that I’m
sitting on the person say man if you
don’t
[Music]
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individual inside
[Applause]
[Music]
there’s no benefit for them
what’s in it for me what have you done
for me it’s a made up with this deep
everything and then just watching
what’s up what’s up you doing I said
yeah but I’m good good
you said I just want to tell you
something you said that because of
because of your attitude towards your
situation because of how you handled
your situation because I saw you on the
news you said man yeah I got a paralyzed
right on the man but you know what God
still somebody has it a lot was to me he
said man like my god I’m really tough
you he said I’m a father I got kids they
got a wife he said like I got her so
tough I was about to walk out on my wife
and my kids he said when I saw that
interview that made me stand in fire he
said now here my wife my kids never
addressed
that’s one of my greatest moments in
life but when my father told me that it
took my mind said to another number so
now is that couldn’t high school and
some of you all may know about from high
school something told me that but at the
time when I was like um high school
dropout rate inside in the graduation
rate the neighborhood scrim high schools
used to go the clown behind that lever
people weren’t just going to college in
an either we had a lot of great athletes
that came through there some guys do
that corner from the streets some guys
some other things happen we had
something go you know it was a great
program you know all things consider
themselves a career but I wanted a
scholarship you know what’s this kid and
I’ll never forget our town police
officer one day no matter what you play
I said my plan is to go d1
he said d1 what’s that I said Division
one college football going to vision
warning said uh I had three attacks in
the heart so you might end up that cell
block D one I said no you got the wrong
and my freshman year played that carrom
high school for sport athlete at the end
of my freshman year my mother and father
came to me they had to suite their
understand that sweet they’re sweet
they’re they said Inc listen we have got
a sweet deal for you
coaches across town took high school
they approached us he said now all you
have to do is play your next three years
at top of high school coaches guarantee
your scholarship to the University of
Georgia all you gotta do is do what you
love football scholarship to the
University of Georgia nobody in our
family has ever been accomplished sir
mom and dad I really appreciate the
offer but I think I’m vain given credit
they said any chance of that happening
man is C yeah but I think I can do car
lights all right I said pops this why we
gotta fit for third row Saturday
mornings every amount amounts to that
behind a station when you would trip
though I would look back after you say
son Keith Jana there’s nobody working
right now but me you are my controller
whether that was true or not
I believe it
[Music]
but I couldn’t blame them because they
really have my best interests at heart
they wanted me to go to college and so I
got over to tuck high school in the
first football game I’ll never forget it
I passed I’m cutting up a Red Bull about
ten yards I got caught at the bottom of
the pile and so the guys can’t fold on
top of me and I love the game of
football I love you see when those guys
are stifling feelings it man you see
that girl in the stands when you see all
the people understand
I was step out on the field I’m saying
man I love the way this grassman it’s
like you were walking into your office
[Music]
let’s go let’s go
that was so smart to move anybody out of
the way and so before I knew it
one of the guys is where my anger that’s
it man no and you twisted you taught a
little bit away yeah in a wheelchair get
out of little chat with no questions
after the season I went back to my era
so will you please transfer me back
decree Mike
father nope nope you stand until the
high school now all you have to do is
play your next two years you have a
scholarship to the University of Georgia
I said home would you please transfer me
back my father wasn’t in the church at
the time my mother was and so I went to
my past I go to st. Matthews Baptist
Church look small church on the east
side of Atlanta so I went to my pastor
said man listen I said man you gotta
meet with my mother I have to get back
to Karachi let me stop you right there
he said I know we want to get back to
you little whore you said we’re gonna
get back to your little homeboys you
know is that beside let me tell you
something if I was going to everybody in
your family like that $400 nobody to
give it to me he said oh yeah that’s
screwed now your next two years
yeah guaranteed your scholarship to the
University Georgia all you have to do is
do what you love and now you want to go
back to a place where the dropout rate
is higher than the bass fishing right
they ain’t gonna go back to a place
where you don’t need to have water
bottles you drink instead of meeting
this was the only thing I are gonna meet
him and my mother they talked a lot but
this was the only thing I heard we said
Ruby listen he said if it’s in God’s
planners that’s your plan if it is in
God’s plans not your plans for Enki to
go to college ekoo go to college you
can’t make that happen
she transfer me back to colonise from
the first football game my junior year
break McCloud
out for the season and so now at this
point I was dead cat in the hood I was
born a corner drug does and I said man I
thought do you want to change where the
people think about this neighborhood I
would say I’m gonna put her on the back
I’m gonna be the change situation so now
that when I was coming out of high
school junior year was here kind of
Scouts come in who chew that I’m going
to take you through scholarship by June
yeah scholarship ball and so now we’re
gonna be hanging out in the hood cat
come on let us take this right to the
same cat that said you want to change
your family situation I’ll say yeah
let’s get this right aren’t you the same
cat I said you want to fight through my
school in the math I’ll say yeah they’re
taking privacy that’s right
aren’t you the same guy they said you
want to change the way that we thought
about cook what I would say yeah see
your future’s not looking so bright and
say maybe you’ll graduate – in apologies
for selling dope like uncle’s going
getting out of question they got really
discouraged I write that book that says
people too weak to follow that home
dream to always find a way to discover
to borrow doors they’re too weak to do
it they don’t use nothing to do with you
you see what my grandmother told me
something when I was on watch me 39
pounds and she wear 5x white t-shirt
schools
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he’s no blame and so now the word of God
and so now in court they’ll call them
culture cut by me see your daddy apart
your daddy this is that your mother
this man however bite my tongue and so I
got mad and some people would talk about
me so I got mad – my brother he has this
feature like real peace in the middle of
the storm and so that’s how I do
anything
Meza my huge opportunity in the service
of my kids for Ricardo said Inc what’s
up school I said when people are talking
about me people talking trash to me
people are bothering me people are
Messerly say what it is I said some
people are talking about you in a bad
night’s fight t-shirts to 130-pound some
people just talking trash who said so
let me tell you something she said this
is what I want you to do I want you to
use this few chief I am also never let
someone’s opinion
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so maybe the man this amazing comes to
grow my food aircraft and at the time I
let’s push the country and certainly did
home would someday I’ll play any
basketball next time
and so forth on the part of the house my
auntie cookie said you go to practice
until the air the follow me she said
David for you he’s a coach on the line
he said ain’t what’s up man and so so
coach how do you new football coach he
said yeah we said I hoped for a great
athlete I said hold it sir why don’t you
come to practice
I said I’ll coach Mary my dream change
I’m going to the NBA
[Laughter]
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that right I said yes sir you say you
know what he’s saying kind of it you can
do it man he said you play basketball I
say yes I say yes so you got it right
down
you said well well yeah it’s fun to
build a research woman he said
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sitting on what uniform every NFL roster
make you tell me how many five-mile
cornerback you see you give me a call
back in the morning I sprinted to the
library computer for every NBA roster
twice and I ran back on that day at the
a coach calling for me say what did you
think I said I would be at practice
tomorrow
long story short I went out a make it
past first game that was a plus at a
really strong senior season but after my
senior season I was still two problems I
wasn’t qualified to get into college
that I hadn’t asked me to do graduation
I think it doesn’t work that way and I
will never forget that a scout from
Georgia Tech he set up a meeting with me
my mother my father and so I’ll never
forget I thought it was that moment
right
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scouts down to get my transcript to the
qualifications that it took you to tell
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my father
should you stop that meeting no way that
you make it to college so you just
wasted my time
I look down summer for this a truck
saw my father’s head job I looked at my
mother my father I said I guarantee I
guarantee your hard work would not go in
vain I guarantee you let me show you how
God owes the next week extra ice cream
the same day of the week me and all the
seniors are sending the big class
remember sitting in the back anymore my
head football coach you said everybody
be quiet
he said do you guys know I said no and
they went back to talk now we’re sending
the back of the one who sent my friend
Liza job tamo is like I said man it’s
Philip over here football cookie
University tennessee volunteers are
saying hold I said man Phillip Fulmer
subordinates on that saying don’t you
talk about what I hope your scholarship
can you get out in protecting my head
coach’s office we took the see coach
filiform we dead scream I think I want
your scholarship to the University of
Tennessee
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and I got a little that’s the code
don’t know my situation that’s of course
I say you know my situation right I got
one team in position to graduate high
school I like to mold test at that
moment I said coach you know my
situation right
he said yeah her situation I believe in
you said I see you in the Sun I said
coach jumped on you said in County but
they can understand how this process
work he said so of course you taking a
bishop it’s not nice to see the city
hanging out with the coaches and the
players and then you make a decision if
you come as a coach I don’t think you
understand
I said but I’ll take a billion I took a
business I got up Italian that Saturday
because I had a basketball game at
Friday night I’ll never forget I got up
and they took me Calhoun’s off the river
you came out my hopes with Jayson Swain
into telling us when we come out of
restaurant you like ain’t there by now
the big night man there’s a sorority
party has barbecue
there’s a basketball game which one do
you want to go to it’s a man if you
don’t mind getting back to my hotel I’m
staying at the Marriott you offer summon
him he said what he said man don’t know
if you ever been to a college sorority
bought it but they get pretty wild and
some barbecue and it’s a basketball game
if you like and as I’m getting out of
the car he say hold on
it’s a matter of you’re sick I said nah
I’m not sick
you see what’s waiting and nobody
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[Applause]
I got up and everyone hit one more than
Curtis and won’t believe it I went the
coach from the pool but I still do this
until this day when I see that man
because I’m forever grateful because he
broke a generational curse in my family
I extended my head into him and I shook
his hand I gave him a hug and I said
thank you
I said not only to change in my life but
the change in County’s other’s lives
back in turquoise that you know nothing
about I said because from when we didn’t
see this happen in the other day so when
I got back to Catherine’s and I told you
guys I told the captain I was born in
college and so now everybody’s
responsible
why did you go back to Croatia why did
you take the role that child why do you
go back with a dropout rate beside you
guys way straight yeah eat you rot why
didn’t you see it tell us who we know I
said man you got a mrs. Apollo I said
because the thing that happened I got a
chance try to everybody worked when I
was in high school it was to an all-star
game now I never forget I wanted to
wrestle and as I was leaving out of the
restroom that was the sign of the one
that signs and that’s kind of courtesy
to the person that’s coming behind you
keep you by your sink
you see having that slip on that poll
about Julian cousins that stuff on the
same for me and every night in mr.
rats I’m talking about every
night away and that first football that
I ever caught along the Jersey
now we’re toast at the wall up in the
air now
you have his basketball good man you say
it’s going to be trouble the one beside
will have his baseball can’t wait
elementary school trouble man and so
first thing I knew personally in my
spirit I couldn’t be thrown across town
took high school to the University
Georgia
great story first-generation college
student but I still had to come back in
the curve board and the thing I knew if
I came back in the car through high
school I’d ask for cutting off some men
watch you guys do what you have to do in
order to make it the costips to eat you
understand we don’t have to save
opportunity so I wanted to any
justification Brainiac uses I don’t
believe in excuses I don’t believe in
your product your product is going
through gods of what has happened to you
regards at the hand that life is don’t
you every day you wake up one final
things that we possess is people is the
ability to have a choice and every day
we wake up we have a choice if that
attitude that ruler grace to our life
and a perspective that we will see
lightfoot and as a result of me going
back to high school and going to college
cousins
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see every day you wake up to words to
come to mind other legacies are the ones
that pay the way for you leave a legacy
for the ones that’s coming behind you
every decision should just be about
cheapest because if you go through life
you live itself is life
what’s gonna happen is that adversity is
gonna come murphy’s is all it’s gonna
come and if you haven’t been living like
the way that you’re supposed to look
like the moment that you eat adversity
thing that adversity always does
every time adversity will introduce you
to who you really are as a person and
for some people at mercy introduce
different to the first method for
something by Percy introduced different
to a person that they never knew and
they’re sitting there instead of saying
why me why me instead of saying try me
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mercy to a certain of magnitude God has
to trust you with that Emerson
thank you God adjusted me with this
situation because you wouldn’t take me
from something that’s too heavy didn’t
trust you use it in the right way it’s
gone through something it does not trust
you handle in the right way to use it in
the right way to be a blessing to other
people that’s what life is about
that’s what frees me something
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first John Smith made it was such a big
deal right she still sit on the same pew
at church ever since I was in the war
and when I was going to college right
Nick found that I got a scholarship
people passed a month wax I told you
church they gotta say it was the type of
kid
they sort of got his deal to where you
know everybody come around mr. buckles
over there so we got the hack so they
just we got the gloves right they said I
was about to three rows up everybody get
up they walked by the mother to me
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[Laughter]
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big deal and so on I gotta because I was
feeling good about myself and I’ll never
forget the first media day a father who
came out that article a Christian know
struck me to the SCC face piece and
nobody had made it to the SCC design
shower
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right sure it was coming directly to me
you see I was there kept an eye from see
cameras who go out and we were super
football football
[Laughter]
sure love this cake empty Johnson I said
yes sir what you got a great shoe
respect it sir what you got
he said maybe even think you’ve got a
play at the University of Tennessee I
say you made a mistake so that we start
at the University of Tennessee Senate me
tell you something I say you could
measure the height of a man you can
measure the weight of a man I see you
can’t measure
and immediately everybody got dressed
they went home and I went to the
football complex and I’ll put up my
pleats in my workout pool and I was
sitting there and a friend to our meal
came in you know to pitch black and
football complex he say what you’re
doing man let’s go through the door man
his dog I said no I’m not going to work
I said man his dog go to work anymore
manage job I said no I’m gonna work see
baby say you team in a cat probably
never played looking football in his
life I said no listen I’ll just go to
work really I got into perfecting my
craft a vision everybody ever believed
in me now I was working out our towel I
looked up at the clock it was 1:30 in
the morning then a custodian came out to
the Turk tour he said son what do you
feel going out of it aren’t you supposed
to feel when you don’t sleep I said sir
no disrespect to Happy’s dream that I’m
chasing and I have to make chicken shape
of my life have a family depending on me
that whether you show cooler thrill like
feeling towards my family say there goes
our meal ticket mean a pinky time so
maybe we don’t need and so every night I
believe study 1 at 10:30 hours run over
to the mo football facility last doing
left front of course enter into the
locker cartoons about 11:30 12:00 every
night lately
except on Friday nights and be standing
round plastic am ready for the game on
Saturday first in your cable a little
special teams Southport season came
guess we’re having Jack broke that start
line I look for that reporter every
stone south those seasons so the summer
heavy to my tune
[Music]
I’m never forget we went out our first
game we played against California bears
and my team family executed all phases
of the game offense defense special
teams we ran out and got the victory I
got an interception a couple of big hits
couple fast break ups everything went
great
second we played against the University
of airforce these guys believe it’s
close to your schedule coach agreed to
put on the schedule at the last minute
by ourselves in the dome behind fourth
quarter rolls around and of course they
came out they scored the other side kick
the ball gets to who me I jumped forward
I missed it again later for Steve
Blakely out in force recover now they
got the ball court the onedrive I mean
the stadium major upset over a madam +3
you’re going 101 defense federal right
back call quarters coming thread a break
say guys get back in
I said listen remember just default on
Air Force team that beginning said let
me it said I’m gonna hit him break his
spirit make it fun I will recover the
fumble
got caught inside yeah coming down my
side but I shifted immediately to the
[Music]
and I posted the way that I always
approach anything in my life
and when I first attack I was so small
criticize anybody up I couldn’t come in
there with like EBV company or knock
your block off looking at me katasonov
would just go for it and go for the
gusto whatever happens happens
but at the point of contact when I hit
this guy something different happened
never happened to me before in my life
I hit this guy as soon as affecting
breath for my bodies left my body went
completely to the ground my blackout my
eyes doing for my team murder when I
said you know let’s go man this is I
care so what do you mean kid man you
always get up get out let’s go it’s how
no man but this time I can ascertain was
just shocked going through my whole body
I can’t feel anything when the scariest
moment of my life a shot convinced to do
that but he stayed in my right arm and I
remember as I was lying there I said my
head to the left what sort of doctor to
the trainer’s running order to feel I
feel my head up to the sky see God says
surely nothing is happening is romantic
or to my life bringing spoke to God so
they have to do that right it’s the best
precautionary
they give me up on the spinal cord and
William your field would get to about
midfield
I looked at the doctor couldn’t do my
regular hair just a doctor a banana
[Music]
I said doc you can bring him down and as
he was bringing her on him and hand down
I’d never forget I looked down and I
said okay since I’ve I’ve never think it
helped me Louis gave you know Steve
there will be two the hamlets my father
Sweeney I looked up I said pop did I get
it yes and I think you got the word
father got me an analyst he ruled me
over to you to medical he took me back
the ransom cats Jansen he brought me
back into my room and all in a 15-second
time frame I never forget it
I saw my father he stepped in and he
looked at me she was in and he walked
out my mother she came into the room she
said a quick prayer by my bedside she
walked down she walked out the doctor
walked in and said hey did any of you
got a let’s just got back surgeries
about the doc I said what so what
happened and it started what happened
getting busted up some clicking an
artery in your chest you bleeding
internally we have to rush you back take
the main main now that you’ve left leg
and plug it into the chest in order to
save your life when I open my eyes when
you cover me from that surgery the same
doctor standing over me said son got
some good news and some bad news for you
so you got some bad news for me tell me
how about the guy back
I’m stayin a all right he said yeah he
said the good news is we saved you life
he said the bad engines you have nerve
damage to the right shoulder we don’t
know how much so we got to sit you up to
the mayor see teens know specials I was
like I go he’s not the son he’s probably
never played the game of football again
[Music]
you see I respected the doctor I
respected his expertise and I have been
through adversity
jessa nothing against it don’t I
[Music]
nothing that ever stopped me I remember
the little among them who saved her for
a bulldog and I never forget it that
night we sit in the living room my mom
she was sitting there she said ain’t
take this glass in the kitchen and you
know it’s dark and it’s late I took the
glass and I put it in the kitchen but I
ran back in with my mom and I heard it
drop and she said go get it she said why
don’t get the glass so I don’t need the
glass I talked about I never forget it I
watch my uncle they took my grandfather
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boom
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you have told all the nerves if you
break your plexus you break your plexus
or the nerve roots that go he is fine
and controls your army so you have two
of them at all levels they can’t be
blood they can’t be put together it says
something we need to tell you about your
arm I would never be the same again it’s
in your hand that would never be the
same with you they said sorry
you can never play the game of football
again we understand probably the college
you have been a force for athletes your
whole life you can never play basketball
again you never baseball again yeah I’ve
never been because
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[Applause]
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two years old
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would you do what would you say oh but
she looked at me she said something to
worry about it said God is in control
look down at my wrists and everyone is
withered black bracelet I played at the
game in it did have been worked out I
never took it off until I was a grad
assistant coach / Lane Kiffin staff and
out the game I gave it to a little boy
like that night in Rochester Minnesota
my conviction that bracelet rim manaphy
sounds just like everybody she’s got
faith yeah big faith McDonald right
little fake little power faith in fear
can reside in the same man he loses
everyone thank you to suffer some things
hopefully that evidence of things not
seen
I’m gonna be placed in a situation that
requirement using my face when I was
placing the situations that require me
to use my faith I was not forcing God
can I be real with you a faith that has
not been tested as a faith that cannot
be trusted
the next morning I got up I went to the
doctor’s office they said son what
option you choose and I said no
disrespect to you doc I’m not choosing
not you my situation is out of hand they
said what do you mean a situation that
my hands we’re some of the best doctors
in the world with the reason that you
came up here I said no this stretchy my
situation is that me hands I’m not
choosing not you do what I have to do I
know I will come out it’s okay if I stay
around here before you to say I think I
came out okay
I think I feel super when I came out of
that hospital and I like a change
sheesh I’ve been right here down there
oh now come on Louise my bike over here
350 staples in my body never had to go
to people that I didn’t know and
publicly say hey man can you help me tie
my shoe never had to get babies my
mother man now I can either break my
name all over again
what that did something man that process
did something left I’ll check what the
process did you see me and my roommate
trapped in the cycle here prior to our
engineering and the most amazing thing
happened you see from the outside
looking in everybody said man that
camcorder through but what they didn’t
know caster died in a circle it’s why
it’s so important
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sighs there’s a you come in a dream have
grown over last week upset yeah there’s
a unit on a sec consider it pure joy my
brothers and sisters when you face
trials of many can because detecting of
a fake bullet produced perseverance in
order to become
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[Applause]
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a losing that hospitals how many
Earthlings worse I’m gonna have
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everybody to think I understand about
life you can’t control them
that is how we respond
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when adversity opens that fixed
we psychological contract
[Music]
this is what I like I stumbled a little
bit and I came back again it’s greater
is He that is in me he that is in the
world
they caught me two times across my right
PEC they cut me one time across the left
side of my neck one time of course the
right side of my neck they cut me from
the bottom of my armpit all the way down
to the bottom of my hand and that they
got through cutting on me they said son
you’re gonna be in this hospital for the
next 40 days I walked out of the
hospital on the third day they said you
broke the record how did you do it and I
said first and foremost the thing I want
y’all to understand I would never let a
circumstance or situation if I my life
[Music]
my mother got pregnant with me at 15
years old I grew up on the east side of
Atlanta about five minutes away from the
weather Atlanta Braves flick and the
neighborhood by the name of Kirkwood
drugs gangs violence you name it and I
came up in the two-bedroom home 14
people and I used to sleep on the floor
my grandmother Miss Daisy Johnson
she used to come to us and she was safe
one night out of the week you all get
the opportunity to sleep in the bed and
so when I got the sleeping the bat it
wasn’t like I got the bed to myself and
I like man I got the bed to myself it
was fire all my cousins in the bed and
so we slept three to the foot and three
at the head and so as a kid pretty quick
I had to make a decision of what I
wanted to do with my life because in
that same house I had eight uncles all
eight of which they’re still going in
and out of prison to this day because
they sold drugs and they were engaged
and so I looked at it it’s kind of like
that quote that says learn from the
mistakes of other people because you
can’t make them or yourself and so I saw
them selling drugs but it also saw the
outcome and so I said I’m not selling
drugs I’m not joining a gang because I
see where that road leads to either I’m
gonna end up better in prison I said to
my best bet may be to go to the NFL and
so I went to my cousin by the name of
tomorrow said listen man I want to go to
the NFL
I felt our family deserves a better way
of life let’s work for I said we’re
gonna be patient we’re gonna engage in
consistent action every night and so
every night you go out a new race light
for the light board and Kirkwood
no shoes like more delightful every
night and so one night we were getting
ready and racing down the street came a
big green pickup truck and they pulled
over to the side and out of it got a
white guy first white guy ever saw in my
life
true story and my uncle Bobo just got
sentenced to 40 years in prison he was
on one killed my other uncle Johnny he
was on the other corner my uncle Bobo
took off running and looked at me said
eight don’t talk to him saying to me
that guy has to be the police Coast ray
walked up to us nicest guy in the world
he said would you kids like to play
organized sports I step to the front I
said yes sir
he said go in the house and get your
guardian my uncle JJ was there an in
house I said oh there’s a guy outside he
asked me like play organized sports I
told him yes he said well I go in the
house to get my body and I’m coming to
get you
will you please talk to uncle say sure
my uncle walked outside coach Trey said
would you like to sign these kids up for
organized sports my uncle said yes sir
but I hate to tell you we don’t have the
money he said don’t worry about the
money you get him to the park and I’ll
take care of it that same guy still buys
me drawers and socks until his day on
Christmas and I’m 29 years old he
started when I was 7
you see most nights after practice
everybody will need to go home and I
always had to sit in the park because my
mother worked that way and my mother
didn’t get off work till about ten
o’clock 10:30 motion nights and I’ll be
sitting there in the park and I loved it
I didn’t want anybody to take me home
because when I went home I was sleeping
on the floor work votes in the racks and
so any time I got in solitude to dream
any time I got in solitude to think
about what I wanted to do for my family
my community I took advantage of it and
solo strikes I’ll be sitting there in
the park and I’ll be looking up at the
light and I would be envisioning myself
doing things in the NFL in vision of
myself doing things for my community and
just ask the right
always go out my mother she would pull
up and she used to drive an old beard
Greek hubcaps off the car seat torn up
the car was all beat up and she will
pull up and she will put the car in park
now always hop up I went over to my
mother I will give her a hug and a kiss
I would say mommy if you don’t mind can
you please sit back in the car I have to
do some extra drills I have to go to the
NFL sure but never have to work another
day in your life and I knew she was done
and every night my mother would say sure
and she was sit back in that car those
claw lights we hit that filter here you
got a seven-year-old kid doing back
pellet drills but his friends running
laps chasing his dream to go to the NFL
and just beyond those claw lights I
could always connect with my mother’s
eyes and so it made me dig a little bit
deeper it made me push myself a little
bit further they made me work a little
bit harder
I’ll never I just think on the harder
you work the harder it is to surrender
you see the reason people quit they
don’t take pride in what they do the
harder you work the harder it is to
surrender and one night my mother
couldn’t pick me up and she’d go go
straight
she said coach I can’t make you tonight
can you please take inky on and so he
put me in about eight guys in the back
of his pickup truck and he said he can’t
drop your flash and so when he got to my
house I got out on the sidewalk and I’m
standing in front of 125 one Street and
I looked back at coach tray and I said
why why are you doing this because where
I came from people didn’t just help you
it was I pat you on your back you got to
Pat me on my back you remember I did
that for you you got to do this for me
and I said why are you doing this and he
looked back at me and Sun Sun I want to
tell you something and he said I don’t
want you to ever forget it he said son
the more you make sure that somebody
else’s life is okay God will always make
sure that your life is okay
you
and I will never forget I got the high
school
and nobody in my family had ever been to
college they all dropped out ending up
in prison my high school the name of his
criminal in Atlanta they used to call it
crime high range to shoot teachers and
my first day I walked through the metal
detector and a cop was standing on the
other end of the metal detector and he
said what is your plan little man I said
my plan is to go to Division one
he said no you’ll probably go to
cellblock D one I said no you got the
wrong guy
he said I heard that before your uncle’s
came through and said the same thing I
said no I’m telling you you got the
wrong guy you know the first person I
went to see when I got my scholarship
paper but you know the most amazing
thing happened it wasn’t that I went to
college I had three little cousins
sleeping on that same floor that went to
college I saw friends in my community
come off the corner from selling drugs
and go to college I saw friends in my
community come out of gangs and go to
college all because I shifted my mindset
and it wasn’t about me
I brought generational curses in my
community because it wasn’t just about
me I didn’t care so much about me going
to college I wanted the ones coming
behind me to get
and I got my scholarship up to Tennessee
and they looked at me when I first said
campus 135 pound kids soaking wet in the
SEC and the first reporter he asked me
he said inky johnson do you even think
you’re gonna play at the university of
tennessee he said your 135 pounds I said
not only am I gonna play I’m gonna start
I said you made a mistake I said see
what you don’t understand and this is
what most people do they based judgment
off of what they can see what they don’t
understand the moments that make you who
you are the moments that they can’t see
you see anybody can be on their best
behavior when somebody is standing over
their shoulder watching them seeing if
they’re gonna do what they’re supposed
to do but what they’re reported in cuc
he can see I came from cream hi we can
see I was 135 pounds you can see i was
5-9 he can see all of the stats he can
see all of that but what he never saw
was when I was in the park of my mother
when I was seven years old she was
sitting in that period we were at 10:30
at night but he didn’t see was every
Saturday morning at 5:30 I was up
running two miles to a fire station and
two miles back what he didn’t say was
every time I said well that boy with
Wilson ranch with my cousin’s I got up
every morning went to school and never
made one excuse but he didn’t see was on
Christmas Eve when a cop when a guy came
through me and my cousin’s window he
stuck a nine-millimeter in a 45 and
bonfire face and took all of our
Christmas gift and we had to stand on
the curb and I mother told us y’all just
be great
he didn’t see that and those were the
moments that made me who I am and so now
his opinion then matter and the opinion
would never become my reality and my
freshman year playing special teams some
would see the game broke star lineup you
know the first person I went to see at
media day and I’ll never forget my
sophomore season I finally made it to
the point in my life where I felt as if
everything in my life was lining up
spiritually I was getting the psyche
life was in shape on track to graduate
in three years life was insane education
I still remember the day I was in the
film room watching film and I was
watching a California bears him my
defensive back coach Larry Slade came in
the room he said inky johnson I got some
good news for you and I dropped the
clicker I said coach what is it he said
son you’re a projected top 30 driving
he said all you have the newest ladies
next 10 football games your automatic
multi-millionaire I ran out of the room
I got on the phone I called my mother my
grandmother I said listen I said after
this season we were never struggling I
said we would never miss another meal
I said after this season our lives about
the change forever
and little didn’t – our lives are really
about to change
[Music]
you
the first game we come out play against
California bears I get an interception
we shut them down we get the victory
second game we’re playing against Air
Force he gets late in the game found
ourselves in the dogfight
quarterback drop back he released the
ball to the running back coming down my
sideline now close to tackle like I
approach any other tackle and the way
I’m approaching it he’s done my knock
you out are you gonna knock me out of
165 pounds I can’t play with anybody but
at the point of contact when I hit this
guy something different happening had
never happened to me before in my life I
hit him and it seemed as if every breath
of my body left my body went completely
limp I fell to the ground I blacked out
I’ll never forget with my eyes open my
teammates ran over to me my first guy
that was over was drive me or the middle
linebacker for the Patriots one of my
best friends and he said ain’t get up
let’s go
I said I can’t he said what do you mean
you can’t you’re out lock down the
corner we need you let’s go
I said I can’t move I said there’s a
shot going through my whole body I can’t
feel anything man when the scariest
moments of my life in his shock
eventually left and they stayed in my
right arm in hand I remember as I was
lying there I flipped my head to the
left and I could see the doctors and the
trainer’s running onto the field and I
felt my head up to the sky and I said
God I said surely nothing has happened
in this moment that can alter my life I
flipped my head back over to the left
they were bringing his fireboard up I
flipped my head up to the sky said God I
said that’s precautionary measures right
they get me up on his farm boy they’re
willing me off the field and I looked at
the doctor because I couldn’t feel my
right on they had poked me with all type
of needles and he can you feel this can
you feel like coming full of thing
and I said doc can you can you lift my
right arm in hand he said sure ain’t can
he raised it up and I I lifted my left
and I pumped the Trump supporters as he
was bringing my arm down I looked at the
doctor I said oh game I said I’ll be
back never thinking that would be the
last game that I would ever play in my
life
they give me an analyst things turned up
but not that sterile opinion in Iman
they give me over to the hospital
say inky we’re gonna take you back to us
some cat stands they took me back they
ran the cat scans and they wrote me back
into my room and I’ll never forget it
all in about a 15-second timeframe I was
lying there in my bed and I could see
over my right shoulder and I looked at
my father and we caught eyes and my
father he went to take a step in and he
looked at me and said son I can’t do it
and he walked out my mother she came in
she was running she kissed me on the
forehead she said a friend she saying
everything is gonna be okay if she ran
out and as soon as my mother stepped
outside of the room the doctor rushed
him from the opposite side he said hey
get in here we gotta rush just got back
to emergency surgery he’s about to die I
said what I said my mom just told me
everything that’s going to be okay like
this total opposite you talking about
I’m about to die I said what happened he
said so what happened you have busted up
to play me an artery in your chest
you’re bleeding internally have to rush
you back and take the main vein out of
your left leg and plug it into your
chest and orally save your life and when
I woke up from recovery the same doctor
was standing over me say inky as some
good news and some bad news for ya so
you got some bad news for him after
telling I about to die I’m still alive
how bad can it get him to do it he said
a good news is son you saved your life I
said thank you sir he said the bad news
is you have nerve damage in your right
shoulder Saku he said we gotta sing up
to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Minnesota I said cool
he said what the problem is you probably
can never play the game of football
again in your life
I said no way you said yeah ain’t you
got some pretty bad nerve damage I said
no I said God no disrespect man but uh
I’m eight games away like doc no
disrespect but this is about to change
my family’s life doc I’ve been working
for this ever since I was seven years
old doc there’s no way God not now ah
like let me make it to the NFL so I can
help my family first like that me we
miss Mel and you’re talking about my
three at the end right now like no way
and I snapped out of it I said man I
never cheated I said there’s no way I’ve
never cheated I’ve never cheated myself
I gave everything I had to it and I
respected it I never cheated there’s no
way that my career could be over I said
send me up to the Mayo Clinic and after
several visits I’ll never forget this is
when reality set in it was me my mother
my father in the room and the doctors
came in they said inky johnson here’s
the deal
he said sudden you have torn all the
nerves and you’ll break your plexus and
say your brachial plexus or the nerve
roots that go from your spine and they
come down and they control your shoulder
your arm in your hand they say you have
torn them at all levels
it cannot be rebuffed it says something
we hate to tell you but you’re on it
would never be the same again your hand
the same against Sun you can never play
the game of football
[Music]
and the next morning I walked into the
doctor’s office they said something what
option did you choose
I said no disrespect to you doctor I’m
not choosing an option my situation is
out here it said cut with the tube top
I said no disrespect to you doc cut me
where you got to cut me my situation is
out of your hands
and so I went back to school the next
week after they had just saved my life I
was back in class I had to learn how to
write all over again how to walk again
eyes were on top of shoot all over again
and learn how to bathe all over again I
didn’t know how to live life all over
getting never one time did I say let me
go home I need a great time go to the
training room I said I need some time
off can you all just give me a world
leave time I need to go back home I need
some time off my life just changed last
week and they came to me and they say
Enki go home we know how much the game
of football meant to you I said yeah you
know how much the game of football meant
to me but you don’t know how much like
me you see the thing we have to
understand about everything that we’re a
part of first and foremost it’s a
blessing by God and when it’s a blessing
you can’t help but to give everything
you got to it I’m like God saying I got
spared my life almost died the doctor
came to no avail
there was all one meaning grab my
recipes that son you don’t have a pulse
I don’t even know why you still left
and my last doctor visit they came to
and he said sorry inky johnson you would
never be able to use this on my hand
again in your life
I said no disrespect to you doc but I
used it all in his hand every day for
the rest of my life by the way that I
live my life every day I’m gonna impact
someone’s life every day I’m gonna
empower someone’s every day I’m gonna
inspire someone every day I’m gonna
encourage them
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
I live by this thing called empty bucket
and when people hear it they think is a
cute slogan empty the bucket but what
they don’t understand it’s the unspoken
law empty the boat bucket it’s an
unspoken law of accountability and
responsibility to me on this earth from
my existence and everybody is connected
to me I may be crazy but I don’t know I
just believed that I supposed to give
everybody that is connected to me the
best version of me I just believe I
deserve to give my wife and my children
the best version of me I just believe
the people that it was service during
his hurt I deserve to give them the best
version of me everybody wants to prize
but nobody loves to process everybody
wants to be a champion but nobody’s
willing to put in the work that it takes
to be a champion everybody wants to hold
up the trophy and say man I get it but
nobody’s willing to put in the work that
it takes to do it
I love the process I love the thought of
working for what I wallet and I firmly
believed you never supposed to wish for
it more than you’re willing to work for
it your expectations never supposed to
exceed your effort but a lot of people
they wish and they’re not willing to
work and the great thing about life life
has a funny way of testing all of us and
seeing how bad we really want what it is
that we say we want because the thing I
know about people people can talk to
talk
and people do it very well but life is
going to hit you with a certain level of
opposition life is going to hit you with
a certain level of that bursty and life
is going to say to you you said you
wanted it now let’s see how bad you
really want it but the great thing about
it if you love the process when
opposition in that verse he hits you
will have a way of embracing it and
using it not only for yourself but you
will use it to make everybody that’s
connected to you stronger because your
vision has to be larger than yourself if
everything that you do is just about
doing for your personal gain something’s
gonna come up against you that’s gonna
be a lot tougher than you and if it’s
just about to the moment you hit it
you’re gonna quit and give up every time
you know protic are they called me in
the world they say Inc is a speaker Inc
is a motivational and whatever the case
may be inking whatever whatever it is
but what they don’t understand I’m into
people’s business not a speaker I’m a
server
anybody that has direct contact with
people on a daily basis that is an
opportunity to change someone’s life
don’t ever pass up an opportunity to be
of encouragement to other people don’t
ever pass up an opportunity to inspire
someone who never pass up an opportunity
to empower someone who never pass up an
opportunity to show someone love because
the thing about it my room like you can
see this you can see my arm my wound is
visible
but it’s a lot of people in this room
that are wounded
and you can’t see listen turn
and so the opportunities that we pass up
to be a blessing to other people we can
save their life with just one encounter
when we talk about me too we when we
talk about process over product when we
talk about sweat equity when we talk
about better together do we really
understand what that means because
sometimes the thing about life life
always comes along when we make about
mine and try to distract us but truth be
told we all know that we’re stronger
together
I have been working my whole life and
what I didn’t understand my being
determined to chase something my being
committed to it and what commitment is
commitment to staying true to what you
said you were going to do long after the
move that you have set it in it’s left
you see people think commitment is
saying yes I’ll do it on the days when
they felt good but I’ve been committed
to everything that I ever started in my
life and I never stopped and I never
quit it and so by being committed to
everything that I started I finished it
if not the certain type of spirit it
built the certain type of mentality and
built the certain type of individual and
so now I couldn’t quit even if I wanted
to I couldn’t lay in the bed even if I
wanted to I couldn’t stop even if I
wanted to I had to watch what equity in
my life and everything because I
understood my existence wasn’t about me
I went for me to win a long time ago I
understood the process is more important
than the product it wasn’t about the
outcome for me once I made it to the NFL
or not that was inconsequential in God’s
plan for my life but I was going to fall
in love with that process because I
understood by falling in love with that
process it was going to turn me into a
machine I asked him I said if there were
some younger people in an exact business
that you started and he asked your
advice on what should they do to build
something similar to what you all have
built here you know what advice would
you give them and he said well I would
tell them you know do things the right
way
know treat people right and he said I
would tell him work you know work your
tails off right and I said um you know
in my head I said man we live in a world
to where I don’t know if if people
appreciate what things produce and my
whole life the only advantage that I’ve
ever had as a person I’ve never been the
most talented never been the biggest the
fastest the strongest even though I was
a four sport athlete my whole life you
know at the top of every sport that I’ve
ever played I was never the most
talented I was never the fastest God
never the strongest guy I’ve always been
a small guy my whole life and I wish
that God will show up and they knew that
I was the guy that played football they
knew behind the jersey I was probably
number three number 29 in college but
when I was show up on the scene I would
always get the reaction this is the guy
because I was small I didn’t even look
the part but the only thing I’ve always
had my only advantage was I wasn’t
afraid of hard work but most importantly
I knew what I represented and so by
knowing what I represented my commitment
my dedication and my perfection to my
craft and what I represented it was
always on another level and so now when
guys did ten Sprint’s I did 30 because I
knew I was working for something greater
than myself and what I represented was
always greater than myself and for
example two weeks ago I was with the kid
downtown Atlanta and I took him downtown
and me and my wife we have a foundation
it’s where we worked with homeless
shelters we’ve adopted three right and
we worked with kids teenagers right we
take them we put them in uncomfortable
situations and we challenge their
perspective in a thought process about
life so it was this 15 year old kid he
had been acting up in school
giving his mom problems you haven’t seen
his father since he was born basically
and I take him downtown Atlanta and I
take him right under a bridge and so now
you got Turner Phil you got what the
Falcons played with the Hawks play you
got the world of coca-cola you got a
jail you got these successful companies
you got people going to work you know
got the briefcases doing their thing you
got light happening and then you got
under a bridge got a gentleman a grown
man
sound asleep cardboard box sleeping as
if a person would be in a bad sleep and
I looked at the kid and I said do you
think he planned to be there I said do
you think when he got of age at a
certain point in his life do you think
he said man you know one day I’ll
probably be sleeping under bridge on a
cardboard box the kid said no I said
what do you think huh kiss said I don’t
know what do you think happening so I
think life happened he said what do you
mean life I said I think at a certain
point in his life he was excited he was
Jack he enjoyed something he was a part
of something special something had a
legacy attached to it whether it was his
family whether it was a dream a goal of
aspiration I think at a certain point
every day he got up something he
represented he got excited about it he
was driven he was committed he was
dedicated about a huge stoked about it
he was jacked about it but I think at a
certain point life made him forget what
he represented and life stole his joy
his peace his happiness life symptom of
that Drive life took that dedication
that commitment so much so to the guy
that was once driven to the guy that was
once happy and excited about what he was
a part of and what he represented and
the legacy that was attached to it that
same guy ended up sleeping under a
bridge the only advantage I’ve ever had
everything I encountered and everything
I ever hit in my life I understood what
I represented and life will never take
that away from me and so on September 9
2006 when I’m eight games away from
being a projected first-round draft pick
and my life changed overnight something
I had been working for since I was 7
years old in a park with my mother
watching us sit in an old beat-up Buick
Regal when she had me at 16 years old
and she took me back to a two back room
14 people sleeping on the floor with
roaches and rats and
Mills when I was a kid it was times when
I went to practice I hadn’t even eaten
and guys would be out there complaining
and the only thing I was working on was
my work ethic and my drive and my dream
and my goal to get to where I was trying
to get to and I knew if I would have
stopped and that moment I would never
get to where I was trying to get to I
would really miss mills and I’m working
toward this dream and this goal and I
finally get to the point I can smell it
I could taste it I can see it and I’m a
part of something I’m a part of
something like a southern motion but it
was University of Tennessee I’m a part
of a game – I got my guys why do we go
and we work every single day we show up
five o’clock in the morning we’re
working towards something we got an
element of collective character we got
an element of responsibility
accountability we got an element man
when I tell you I got your back I got
your back when I tell you I care about
you I care about you when I tell you I
love you I love you I was a part of
something and I get to the point to
where I’m going projected first-round
draft pick and I go out and I make a
tackle and this is the thing that people
don’t even know people know my life
change behind the game of football
but people don’t understand the play and
how would happen people don’t know that
wasn’t even my god people don’t know I
had my guy already I could have easily
faded down the sideline running with my
guys to quarterback was dropping back to
release the ball but as I’m running and
checking my guy I see my teammate
getting beat my guy who I told him the
tunnel hey man if you get beat I got you
back and I knew my teammate probably
would have caught the guy if you were to
cross the ball because my teammate he
wouldn’t want to be a first-round tim
pick multi-million dollar guy went on a
play for the Patriots so I knew he was a
pretty talented guy and he probably
would have cost the guy and talked with
him but I told him hey man if you get
beat I got your back and it just so
happened to play unfolded with a little
bit over two minutes left in the game to
where my guy now he was getting beat and
I’m fading off for my god but I see the
quarterback he was releasing the ball to
the guy that was beating my teammate and
I said man I got to go I got to have his
back and I go up and I roll up and I go
to hit this guy to indicate it’s tackled
probably put
the game if I to hit him and caught him
the right way if I hit him and caught
him how I really wanted to catch him it
probably would have ended the game and I
would’ve made him fumble because I knew
the game of football like you guys know
the furniture business I knew it in and
out like a god take two steps off the
line of scrimmage I could tell you which
way he was going but God would cut
inside I could tell you it’s only about
three things he can do out of this
formation like I knew it in and out and
so I knew if I had caught him in the
right location at the right time how to
pop that ball out but it didn’t work
like that I hit him and as soon as I hit
him it seemed as if every breath and my
body left I’ve lost control of my body
never happened to me before
body went completely left seemed as if
every breath of my body left him I’m
falling to the ground like man what’s
happening in a blackout as soon as I hit
the ground a blackout never happened to
me before my blackout I come back to my
teammates run over to me hey ain’t you
know man that’s rock let’s go cuz I
can’t I said what do you mean you can’t
you always get up get up that’s wrong I
can’t move
so there’s a shot going for my neck to
my toe I can’t feel any shock you’ve
instantly left and it stayed in my right
arm in hand I remember as I was lying
there they bringing the spine board out
it put me up on the spine board as
they’re willing me off the field I
looked up to this guy said surely
nothing that’s happened in this moment
that can alter my life this is what I
love to do and get me over to the
ambulance they said man we’re gonna take
you to the hospital run some cat scans
will bring you back into your room will
tell you herself I said all right cool
they take me in the room it run
cat-scans they bring me back into
another room and when they put me into
the room in my hospital bed my mother
comes in she kisses me she prays for me
now she’s going to walk out doctors rush
in from the opposite side as my mother
is walking out and when my mother told
me son you’ll be all right it was a
certain element of peace attached to her
because I have been with my mother my
whole life me and my father our
relationship was pretty much a business
relationship early years he wasn’t there
when I started playing sports he came
along in the picture but I needed him to
get out of my situation right and so we
had a business relationship but when my
mother said something to me have been
rocking with my mother since I was 16 I
had miss mills with my mother since I
was just you were 16 I mean and so when
she said it would be okay I was like all
right cool and then she’s going to walk
out doctors running in and say hey guys
get in here we got a rushing back to
surgery he’s about to die says the new
bald kid like I was a part of the
football game but this this is a new
game I said yeah
so yeah man you busted up subclavian
artery in your chest you bleed
internally I rushed you back take that
main vein out of your left leg plug it
into your chest in order to save your
life you don’t have much time next
morning I wake up from recovery he said
inky I got some good news and some bad
news
good news we saved your life and said
thank you bad news is you got nerve
damage in your right shoulder all right
cool so we got to sing you up to the
Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota
I said all right cool he said but the
problem is you know that dream of going
to the NFL and say yes sir
I’m close so that’s strong possibility
you probably can never play the game of
football another day in your life
I said no way I said uh I don’t I don’t
know if you know how hard I work for
this like I don’t know if you know I’ve
been working since I was seven years old
like I didn’t start out playing football
saying man
I just want to go to the NFL to make it
yeah I wanted to go to the NFL to take
care of my family give back to my
community but the way in which I started
playing a game I started playing in the
street and that would be bloody my
mother didn’t even sign me up to play
the first white guy ever met in my life
sign me up to play football a guy riding
down the street in a blue pickup truck
never forget it my god I love him to
death
pulling down the street on a blue pickup
truck pulls on the curb steps out of his
truck walks up in the middle of our game
I’m standing there bloody attacking
football in the street guy walks up tray
hurts never forget it my uncles on the
corner they’re drug dealers in prison
right now they take off running my uncle
Bobo serving 40 years in a federal
penitentiary he looks back he said iki
don’t talk to him he thinking of guys to
cop Kotra nicest guy in the world walks
up he said man would you kids like to
play football on grass I said man I
would love that he said he said going to
house get one of your guard against Iran
announced my uncle JJ had married into
the family I said hey UMP man it’s the
guy outside would you please come and
talk to him sure uncle comes outside
coach Trey said listen said I don’t even
supposed to be over so I brought a kid
home his mom asked me could I bring him
home I brought him home he said rolled
down the street I see these kids playing
football in the street got bloody he
said that you could bring him across
town I got a lead
y’all could sign him up think it would
be a great opportunity for uncle says
sir we greatly appreciate it hate to
tell you we don’t have the money and I’m
standing in front of him because I
really want to play he said I hate to
tell you but his mother says she
definitely doesn’t have too much he’s
that work out windy right now
I never forget that coach looked at my
uncle he said tell you what he said
y’all bring him to the park so his
address said not only will I sign that
kid up South Sound every kid in the
street I’ll play they brought us to the
park the next day he signed every last
one of us up and it changed the
trajectory of my life no the second
person I saw in the hospital after they
saved my life that coach that signed me
up to play ball and I was seven years
old I honor my mother sure but a
personal my mother called on Christmas
with me and my family got robbed they
put a nine-millimeter in a 45 in my face
when I was 15 years old that coaster saw
me up with a ball and I was 17 years old
so what I was telling the doctor was doc
I got to give some people a return on
their investment
like this can’t stop right now now I
never forget I said to him I said I’d
never cheat it I never cheated I was
taught you work for something the result
will be what you wanted to be like I’ve
never cheated like nobody had to worry
about me cutting corners like a coach to
give me a workout I’ll go do it if my
team a to try to cheat sometimes I’ll
complete my guys workout
I got never I’ve never I never believed
in it right because I knew every time I
cheated it was a possibility and an
opportunity for me to become weaker and
so I never believed in cheating I never
believed in the mentality behind cutting
corners and not facing a challenge
because I understood if it didn’t
challenge me it wouldn’t change me I
submitted sent me up to the mail huh my
career cameo by working too hard and I
go up in the Mayo Clinic and I’ll never
forget I walk in the room and his three
doctors and they come in and they say
hey Inc here’s the deal we’re gonna cut
to the chase
he said ah you have torn all the nerves
and you’ll break your flexors so what’s
that he said it’s the nerve roots that
go through your spine and controls your
shoulder your arm and your hand so it
goes into your spine like this you’ve
ripped them all out they can’t go back
in and say we hate to tell you but
football career side of you say your
shoulder your arm your hand never be the
same again you say here your surgery
options in we could take a muscle back
if your left leg plug it into you right
on possibility weak left leg weak right
arm the rest of your life we could take
a nerve out of your left arm
reroute it up to your chest down to you
right on possibility to weak arms to
rescue like we could take a nerve under
your left rib reroute it up to your
chest down to you right on possibility
breathing problem weak right on the rest
of your life by the way tell us what you
want to do at 8 o’clock in the morning
next morning I walked into the office
they said what option did you choose I
said no disrespect to you cut me where
you gotta cut me I guarantee if I don’t
die I’ll be fine
they say you gotta choose an option I
said no disrespect to you cut me where
you gotta cut me I guarantee you if I
don’t die I’ll be fine
and what I was telling them was doc you
gotta take my life before you take my
drive man I’m not a light switch person
like I don’t turn it on and turn it like
I could play you in checkers I’m gonna
try to destroy you I gotta play in a
game you know no pitching hold a little
dick I’m gonna try to destroy you that’s
just my mentality of just going all-in
and everything that I doing what I was
telling them you can cut me wherever you
got to cut me if you don’t kill me you
will not stop me because I know my
mentality and I know the way I’m wired I
don’t turn it on and turn it off but
that’s life would have it they cut me
six times out my left eye one time of
course the left side of my neck one time
across the right side twice to my right
ribs cut out my right pack bottom on my
arm pit bottom on my hand
350 staplers in my body banish me from
my neck to my knees and they come in my
room the next day they said inky we got
to get to know each other really well
you’ve been his hospital next 40 or 60
days on the third day we were leaving
the hospital and as we’re leaving and
the doors were opening you say you broke
a record how did you do it he said
nobody has ever gotten out of here and
under less than 40 days with a surgery
of that magnitude I said Oh doc I just
in fillers if I hadn’t right say what
are you talking about had to right I
said um I Justin feel as if I had the
right to stop like I Justin feel as if I
had to right not to show up and give
everything I got Justin feel as if I had
the right to not press forward like I
just felt as if the people that I
represent and the people that had
invested in me and built the gentlemen
that you see call inky it’s a lot of
people that go into this like when they
were out there telling me man I’m I what
you’ve been through my the place you got
into in life and I told him I said there
was a lot of people that helped me and I
take those spirits with me every day
like Maya Angelou has a quote that says
I come as one but I stand as 10,000
meaning I had me to bow to a lot of
people I have made vows to a lot of
people about what I would do and what I
represent and when I tell somebody
something I don’t take that lightly like
if I told you I’m gonna give you
everything I got you can bet your bottom
dollar I’m gonna give you everything I
got if we’re walking somewhere and we
end up in an alley and ten people come
in the alley and they trying to rob us
and I tell you hey brother we get home
we’re getting home and I’m not running
my word it means something in whatever I
got to go through and exactly and be a
part of in order to make it happen I’m
willing to go through I’m committed to
every single aspect of my life and I was
talking n’t it’s staying true to what
you said you would do long after the
move that you said it in his left
because we say things when the mood is
right right but when the environment in
the mood changes we back off but I have
made a vow to a lot of people not only
my teammates I made a vow to everybody
that had ever invested in me in my life
that I will finish what I started I will
complete my mission every single game by
completing my mission in life every
single day I mean I would empty my
bucket and give every aspect of my life
every single bit of inky johnson i may
be crazy i don’t know but i just
believed my five-year-old son of my six
year old daughter he deserved the best
version of me I may be crazy I don’t
know but I just believe my wife and I’ve
been with every since we were in the
fifth grade she deserves the best
version to me I may be crazy I don’t
know but my three little sisters I just
believed they deserved the best version
of their big brother
I may be crazy I don’t know but the
people I’m a service to on his face of
this planet they deserved the best
version of me I’m not gonna give them
any less see the thing I understand
about business I might not know more
more much about the furniture business
but I know a lot about the people’s
business and I know every single day the
people that come across our past whether
we’re doing business with them
whether we’re talking to him about any
aspect of life I know they’re coming
across my path for a reason and I’m
gonna try my best to leave them a little
bit different the only reason I kept
pressing forward the only reason I
didn’t stop was because everybody that I
met and everybody I came across I knew
they were looking at my perspective
about life and if I can keep pressing
forward they may encounter something
that they may face maybe want to stop
and the first person that will pop up in
their mind man I’m impressed for when it
ain’t kept going surely I can do and so
the next week I was back at practice
with my teammates my guys and I work
with my guys did he went through the
struggle with my guys that we cracked
jokes with my guys we got knocked out
with my guys that we went to war with my
guys and I would give everything for him
I was back at practice in the sandpit
with a done joy sling and I still have
my staples in my body I was back in
class the next week got my undergrad
degree in three years when my life
changed
night I never stopped I never missed a
beat and my life changed and people ask
me all the time how did you keep
pressing forward like the video that you
also I want to give you the backdrop to
how it happened
ESPN called me they did a story on me
this past summer but they called me one
day and I picked up the phone he said is
this inky johnson I said last time I
checked I’m inky johnson they said is
this the same guy that said if you could
change what happened to you you wouldn’t
I said absolutely
they said it’s our understanding the
game of football meant the world I said
at one point it did they said it’s our
understanding that your family was
banking on you making it to the NFL they
can have a better way of life I said
yeah that’s that’s correct and said
we’re coming to see you I said all right
cool come on I said but we don’t want to
see you in Atlanta we want to see you in
Neyland Stadium on the exact yard line
where your life changes the same time of
day the only thing that won’t be present
its Air Forces team all right cool and
so they take me to Neyland Stadium they
put me on the exact yard line with my
life changed they said now tell your
younger self why you wouldn’t stop your
injury if you could if you could be in
the NFL right now making millions of
dollars tell you young yourself why you
wouldn’t change that situation if you
could and let’s say the reason I
wouldn’t change it believe it or not has
nothing to do with me like on a personal
level you he thought I was gonna say
because of the man that I’ve become the
perspective that I’ve acquired my feet
that been fortified he thought I was
gonna say something like that I said no
it has nothing to do it has everything
to do with the lies that have been
affected by the result of the process
and the thing that I represent in the
world what my spirit represents when
somebody see me they think perseverance
well my spirit represents where somebody
see me they think don’t quit what my
spirit represents when somebody see me
they think SSSs that’s a quality
individual right there what my character
represents in the world and every single
day we’re putting something out like
that represent something when people see
that they thinks it’s a thought that
comes to the month when he said go
standing he gave me that I felt the
surge I’m ready when he gave me to go
stare I thought the certain type I felt
different gold-standard with me because
I think in what I do the line of
business
I’m gonna go standard because I don’t
compromise and every single day I’m
gonna give you my very best you can bet
your bottom dollar every single day I’m
gonna bring that gold standard to life
and I’m not just bringing it and one
aspect of life I’m bringing it every
single aspect of life I’m not gonna be
one of these people in the world that’s
a public success but they’re private
failure I mean they give everything they
got to one aspect of life but the other
areas they lack off no I’m gonna give
every single thing I got every aspect of
my life because I represent something
when people see me they think something
whether that’s character never givin up
never surrender and the thing that we
can never do is forget what we represent
because that’s how guys end up under
bridge and a cardboard box leap they
forget what they represent when life
hits him we’re a curse my only charge
for you never forget what you represent
like short
let’s enjoy what we got I was an
underdog I could play a little bit but I
was an underdog for the most part but as
I stay right here on this stage before
you tonight you know a lot of thoughts
come to mind you know at first and
foremost I think about my life and I
think about adversity and I think about
opposition but for the most part of my
life I’ve been on this quest to figure
out how can I work hard for something
and my performance is not based upon the
outcome how can I work and might my
effort and my motivation in my job is
not based upon what the product would be
but more so based upon me taking pride
in what I do and so I came up with this
thing called process / product and I
firmly believe the process saved my life
and what I mean by the process I’m
talking about the way I handle my
business on a daily basis and the way I
go about every single aspect of my life
I live by this thing called empty bucket
and when people hear it they think it’s
a cute slogan empty the bucket but what
they don’t understand and some unspoken
law empty the boat working it’s an
unspoken law of accountability and
responsibility to me on this earth in my
existence and everybody is connected to
me I may be crazy but I don’t know I
just believe that I supposed to give
everybody that is connected to me the
best version of me I just believe I
deserve to give my wife and my children
the best version of me I just believe
the people that I was doing his hurt I
deserve to give them the best version of
me
[Applause]
you see the thing about chasing the
product and what the product is the
product is money
the product is a house the product is a
car
the thing about chasing a product the
product can always changed and if your
performance is always based upon the
product what happened when the products
changed and you don’t take pride in what
you do but the thing about loving the
process everybody wants to prize but
nobody loves the process everybody wants
to be a champion but nobody’s willing to
put in the work that it takes to be a
champion everybody wants to hold up the
trophy and say man I did it but nobody’s
willing to put in the work that it takes
to do it I love the process I love the
thought of working for what I wallet and
I firmly believed you never supposed to
wish for it more than you’re willing to
work for it your expectations never
supposed to exceed your effort but a lot
of people they wish and they’re not
willing to work and the great thing
about life life has a funny way of
testing all of us and seeing how bad we
really want what it is that we say we
want because the thing that know about
people people can talk to talk and
people do it very well
but life is going to hit you with a
certain level of opposition life is
going to hit you with a certain level of
that versity and life is going to say to
you you said you wanted it now let’s see
how bad you really want it but the great
thing about it if you left the process
when opposition in that versi hitch you
will have a way of embracing it and
using it not only for yourself but you
will use it to make everybody that’s
connected to you stronger because your
vision has to be larger than yourself if
everything that you do is just about
doing for your personal gain
something’s gonna come up against you
that’s gonna be a lot tougher than you
and if you’re just about to the moment
you hit it you’re gonna quit and give up
every time
but I believe in given the back story
because I think the back story shakes in
most situations and circumstances and so
I have to give you the back story what
shaped and molded me into the man that I
am today I’m 29 years old my mother got
pregnant with me at 15 years old I grew
up on the east side of Atlanta about
five minutes away from the where that
Atlanta Braves play and a neighborhood
by the name of Kirkwood drugs gangs
violence you name it and I came up in a
two-bedroom home 14 people and I used to
sleep on the floor my grandmother Miss
Daisy Johnson
she used to come to us and she would say
one night out of the week you all get
the opportunity to sleep in the bed and
so when I got to sleep in the bed it
wasn’t like I got the bed to myself and
I like laying I got the bed to myself it
was five for my cousin’s in the bed and
so we slept three to the foot and three
at the head and so as a kid pretty quick
I had to make a decision of what I
wanted to do with my life
because in that same house I had eight
uncles all eight of which are still
going in and out of prison till this day
because they sold drugs and they were in
gangs and so I looked at it it’s kind of
like that quote that says learn from the
mistakes of other people because you
can’t make them or yourself
and so I saw them selling drugs but it
also saw the outcome and so I said I’m
not selling drugs I’m not joining a gang
because I see where that road leads to
either I’m gonna end up better in prison
I said so my best bet may be to go to
the NFL and so I went to my cousin by
the name of tomorrow said listen man I
want to go to the NFL I feel our family
deserves a better way of life
let’s work for it I said we’re gonna be
patient we’re gonna engage in consistent
action every night and so every night we
would go out and we were a slight for
the light board in Kirkwood no shoes
light for the light pool every night and
so one night we were getting ready to
racing down the street came a big blue
pickup truck and it poured over to the
side and out of it got a white guy first
white guy ever saw in my life
true story and my uncle Bobo who just
got sentenced to 40 years in prison he
was on one corner my other uncle Johnny
he was on the other corner my uncle Bobo
took off running he looked at me said
hey don’t talk to him saying to me that
guy has to be the police Coast ray
walked up to us nicest guy in the world
he said would you kids like to play
organized sports I step to the front I
said yes sir
he said go in the house and get your
guardian my uncle JJ was there ran in
the house I said oh there’s a guy
outside
he asked me like to play organized
sports I told him yes he said well I go
in the house to get my body and I’m
coming to get you will you please talk
to monk will say sure my uncle walked
outside coach Trey said would you like
to sign these kids up for organized
sports my uncle say yes sir
but I hate to tell you we don’t have the
money he said don’t worry about the
money you get them to the park and I’ll
take care that same guy still buys new
drawers and socks until his day on
Christmas and I’m 29 years old he
started when I was 7
[Applause]
but a weird thing happened one night
you see most nights after practice
everybody will leave to go home and I
always had to sit in the park because my
mother worked that witness and my mother
didn’t get off work till about ten
o’clock 10:30 motion nights and I’ll be
sitting there in the park and I loved it
I didn’t want anybody to take me home
because when I went home I was sleeping
on the floor with roaches and rats and
so any time I got in solitude the dream
any time I got in solitude to think
about what I wanted to do for my family
in my community I took advantage of it
and so most nights I’ll be sitting there
in the park and I’ll be looking up at
the lights and I’ll be envisioning
myself doing things in the NFL
envisioning myself doing things in my
community and just as the lights would
always go out my mother she would pull
up and she used to drive the old Buick
Regal hubcaps off the car seats torn up
the car was all beat up and she will
pull up and she will put the car in park
and I will always hop up I run over to
my mother I would give her a hug and a
kiss I would say mommy if you don’t mind
can you please sit back in your car I
have to do some extra drills I have to
go to the NFL she would never have to
work another day in your life and I knew
she was tired and every night my mother
would say sure and she was sit back in
that car those car lights we hit that
feeling here you got a seven-year-old
kid doing back cutting drills running
sprints running laps chasing his dream
to go to the NFL and just beyond those
car lights I could always connect with
my mother’s eyes and so it made me dig a
little bit deeper it made me push myself
a little bit further it made me work a
little bit harder I live by this thing
called the harder you work the harder it
is to surrender you see the reason
people quit they don’t take pride in
what they do the harder you work the
harder it is to surrender
nothing not just talking about business
I’m talking about winning simultaneously
in every aspect of life I’m not
concerned with a person that does well
in one aspect of their life and they can
hang their hat dance a man I made a lot
of money you made a lot of money you’re
a public success but your private salary
what good is it to make a lot of money
you want to go home to your family what
good is it to make a lot of money if you
don’t take care of your kids what good
is your public success with your private
value and so how did we win
simultaneously and take pride in
everything
and one night my mother couldn’t pick me
up and she thought go straight
she said coach I can’t make it tonight
can you please take inky home and so he
put me in about eight guys in the back
of his pickup truck and he said you
can’t drop your flatness and so when he
got to my house I got out on the
sidewalk and I’m standing in front of
125 one Street and I looked back at
coach tray and I said why why are you
doing this because where I came from
people didn’t just help you
it was I pat you on your back you got to
Pat me on my back you remember I did
that for you you got to do this for me
and I said why are you doing this and he
looked back at me and Sun Sun I want to
tell you something he said I don’t want
you to ever forget it he said son the
more you make sure that somebody else’s
life is okay God will always make sure
that your life is okay
and immediately I got
the light bulb went off
I stopped being this little selfish kid
I stopped being like my four-year-old
son and for the first time in my life I
stopped thinking everything was just
about inky johnson and i realized my
existence on this earth is a lot bigger
than me
I realized me my lineage in my family
when I step outside of my door in the
morning what I represent is a lot bigger
than me and so the thing I had to
understand every day I woke up and
everything that I was a part of I first
had to understand I was representing a
lot more than myself I first had to
start living my two words honor and
legacy and what I mean by honor and
legacy you honor the ones that paved the
way for you and you leave a legacy for
the ones that’s coming behind you we
just have it right now while we’re a
part of something right now somebody
else came to course and paved the way
and somebody will come after us and so
while we have it how can we do it in
such a way that we leave a legacy for
the ones that’s coming behind us and we
honor the ones that paved the way for us
and so everything I did I took a certain
level of pride in it
people thought I just wanted to be a
great football player but they didn’t
understand about Indy jobs was this I
could have watched cars I guarantee you
I would have been the best part washing
it was in the world because the thing
that understood I wasn’t just
representing myself it wasn’t just about
me everything that I did I stepped in my
mindset for me to wait now I was
operating with a spirit of collective
character meaning it didn’t matter what
I did individually if I didn’t represent
my mother in the right way and didn’t
matter if I didn’t represent my lineage
in the right way and fight it represent
my team in the right way who cares what
I did individually I didn’t care if we
won a game and I scored 40 points
individually who cared I shipped it from
me that way and so everything I started
to do I was thinking about my family I
was thinking about what my community and
I was thinking about my friends in a
different way and I will never forget I
got to high school and nobody in my
family had ever been to college they all
dropped out ending up in prison my high
school the name of her scrim High School
in Atlanta they used to call it crime
cottage to shoot teachers and my first
day I walked through the metal detector
and a cop was standing on the other end
of the metal detector and he said what
is your plan little man I said my plan
is to go to Division one
he said no you’ll probably go to
cellblock D one I said no you got the
wrong guy he said I heard that before
your uncle’s came through and said the
same thing I said no I’m telling you you
got the wrong guy you know the first
person I want to see when I got my
scholarship papers
but you know the most amazing thing
happened it wasn’t that I went to
college I had three little cousins
sleeping on that same floor that went to
college I saw friends in my community
come off the corner from selling jobs
and go to college I saw friends in my
community come out of gangs and go to
college all because I shifted my mindset
and it wasn’t about me
I brought generational curses in my
community because it wasn’t just about
me I didn’t care so much about me going
to college I wanted the ones coming
behind me to get it and I’ll never
forget I went on an airplane and my
first time riding the airplane I was a
senior going into a football game and I
wasn’t arrested on an airplane and as I
was washing my hands
there was a sign on the wall and I’ll
never forget it my first time on the
airplane I’m washing my hands that was a
sign on the wall and as I was walking
out in wrestling the sign said as common
courtesy to the person that’s coming
behind you can you wipe the sink I’ll
leave it better than your family and I
said as common courtesy to the
generation that is coming behind me in
life everything that I touch everything
that I’m a part of I vowed to God that I
will leave it better than I found it and
so now it wasn’t even about me
[Applause]
and I got my scholarship up to Tennessee
and they looked at me when I first said
campus 135 pound kids soaking wet in the
SVC
and the first reporter he asked me he
said inky johnson do you even think
you’re gonna play at the University of
Tennessee
he said year 135 pounds
I said not only am I gonna play I’m
gonna start I said you made a mistake I
said see what you don’t understand and
this is what most people do they base
judgment off for what they can see what
they don’t understand the moments that
make you who you are the moments that
they can’t see you see anybody can be on
their best behavior when somebody is
standing over their shoulder watching
them seeing if they’re gonna do what
they’re supposed to do but what they’re
reported in cuc he can see I came from
Krim high we could see I was 135 pounds
you can see i was 5-9 he can see all of
the stats he can see all of that but
what he never saw was when I was in the
park of my mother when I was seven years
old she was sitting in that Buick Regal
at 10:30 at night but he didn’t see was
every Saturday morning at 5:30 I was up
running two miles to a fire station and
two miles back home what you didn’t see
was every time I slept on that floor we
won’t stand rats with my cousin’s I got
up every morning went to school and
never made one excuse but he didn’t see
was on Christmas Eve when a guy when a
guy came through me and my cousin’s
window he stuck a nine-millimeter in a
45 and boom fireface and took all of our
Christmas gift and we had to stand on
the curb when our mother told us y’all
just be grateful he didn’t see that and
those were the moments that made me who
I am and so now his opinion didn’t
matter his opinion would never become my
reality and my freshman year playing
special teams sophomore season came
broke the starting lineup you know the
first person I went to see at media day
[Applause]
he quit he was so embarrassed and I’ll
never forget my sophomore season I
finally made it to the point in my life
where I felt as if everything in my life
was lining up spiritually I was getting
the sight life was in shape on track to
graduate in three years life was in
shape education I still remember the day
I was in the film room watching film and
I was watching the California bears him
my defensive backs coach Larry Slade
came in the room he said inky johnson I
got some good news for you and I dropped
the clicker and I said coach what is it
he said son you’re a projected top 30
Drive thing he said all you have to do
is play these next 10 football games
your automatic multi-millionaire I ran
out of the room I got on the phone I
called my mother my grandmother I said
listen I said after this season we were
never struggling I said we would never
miss another meal I said after this
season our lives are about to change
forever
and literally I know our lives are
really about to change first game we
come out play against California bears I
get an interception we shut him down we
get the victory second game we’re
playing against Air Force he gets late
in the game found ourselves in the
dogfight
quarterback drop back he released the
ball to the running back coming down my
sideline now poster tackle like I
approach any other tackle and the way
I’m approaching it
he then my knock you out are you gonna
knock me out of 165 pounds I can’t play
with anybody but at the point of contact
when I hit this guy something different
happen and never happened to me before
my life I hit him and it seemed as if
every breath in my body left my body
would completely member I fell to the
ground I blacked out I’ll never forgive
him my eyes open my teammates ran over
to me and my first guy that was over was
to rob me or the middle linebacker for
the Patriots one of my best friends and
he said hey get up let’s go I said I
can’t he said what do you mean you can’t
you’re on lockdown Corner we need you
let’s go I said I can’t move I said
there’s a shot going through my whole
body I can’t feel anything
when the scariest moments of my life in
the shock eventually left and they
stayed in my writer woman hand I
remember as I was lying running onto the
field up there my head up to the sky and
I said god I said surely nothing has
happened in this moment that could alter
my life I flipped my head back over to
the left they were bringing a spine
board out I flipped my head up to the
sky said God I said that’s precautionary
measures right they give me up on the
spine board they’re willing me off the
field and I looked at the doctor because
I couldn’t feel my right on they had
poked me with all type of needles and he
can you feel this can you feel I come
from the thing and I said doc can you
can you lift my right arm in hand he
said sure ain’t and he raised it up and
I lifted my left and I pumped the top
supporters I don’t believe in using the
word fans I think it’s arrogant earn Who
am I to call a person a fan he pay to
see you play their support and he was
bringing my arm down I looked at the
doctor I said oh yeah I said I’ll be
back never thinking that would be the
last game that I would ever play in my
life
they’d give me an amnesty n–‘s turned
up but not that still don’t pay any mind
they give me over to the hospital saying
we gotta take you back to us and
cat-scans they took me back they ran the
cat scans and they wrote me back into my
room and I’ll never forget it all in
about a 15 second timeframe I was lying
here in my bed and I could see over my
right shoulder and I looked at my father
and we caught eyes and my father he went
to take his step in and he looked at me
he said son I can’t do it and he walked
out my mother she came in she was
running she kissed me on my forehead she
said a friend she said think
everything’s gonna be okay and she ran
out and as soon as my mother stepped
outside of the room and doctor rushed in
from the opposite side he said hey get
in here we got rushed just got back to
emergency surgery he’s about to die
I said what I said my mom just told me
everything’s going to be okay like this
total obviously you’re talking about I’m
about to die
I said what happened he said something
what happened you have busted up to play
via an artery in your chest you’re
bleeding internally after rushing back
and take the main vein out of your left
leg and plug it into your chest and
order to save your life and when I woke
up from recovery the same doctors
standing over me set a key
good news and some bad news for you so
you got some bad news for him after
telling I was about to die I’m still
alive how bad can it get him he said the
good news is son we saved your life I
said thank you sir he said the bad news
is you have nerve damage in your right
shoulder sicko he said we got to sing
you up to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester
Minnesota I said cool he said what the
problem is Inc you probably can never
play the game of football again in your
life I said no way
you see ya ain’t you got some pretty bad
nerve damage I said no I said doc no
disrespect man but I’m eight games away
like doc no disrespect but this is about
to change my family’s life doc I’ve been
working for this ever since I was seven
years old doc there’s no way God not now
huh like let me make it to the NFL so I
can help my family first like a pea we
miss Mills and you’re talking about my
career can end right now like no way and
I snap out of it I said man I never
cheated I said there’s no way I’ve never
cheated I’ve never cheated myself I gave
everything I had to it and I respected
it I never cheated there’s no way that
my career could be over I said send me
up to the Mayo Clinic and after several
visits I’ll never forget this is when
reality set in it was me my mother my
father in the room and the doctors came
in they said inky johnson here’s to do
it said son you have torn all the nerves
and you’ll break your plexus and say you
break your flexors or the nerve roots
that go from your spine and they come
down and control your shoulder your arm
in your hand they say you have turned
them at all levels it cannot be
reblogged it says something we hate to
tell you what you’re on it would never
be the same again your hand it would
never be the same again son you can
never play the game of football again it
says son here your surgery options we
could take the muscle out of the back of
your left leg plug it into you right on
but there’s a possibility that you’ll be
left with the weak left leg of the weak
right on the rest of your life oh we can
take a nerve out of your left arm
reroute it up to your chest down into
your right oh but there’s a possibility
that you’ll be left with two weak arms
to rest of your life or we can take a
nerve right of your left rib reroute it
up to your chest down into your right on
but there’s a possibility that you’ll be
left with a breathing problem and a weak
right on the rest of your life by the
way tell us what you want to do in the
morning
and the next morning I walked into the
doctor’s office they said something what
option did you choose
I said no disrespect to you doctor I’m
not choosing an option my situation is
out of your hands it said cut with the
tube top I said no disrespect to you doc
cut me where you gotta cut me my
situation is out of your hands I’m not
choosing an option I said I know I will
come out of this situation okay and as I
stand right here on this stage thank you
[Music]
as I stand right on this stage before
you today they cut me six times down my
left eye they cut me two times across my
right rib they caught me two times
across my right PEC they cut me one time
across the left side of my neck one time
of course the right side of my neck they
cut me from the bottom of my armpit all
the way down to the bottom of my hand
and that they got through cutting on me
they said son you’re gonna be in this
hospital for the next 40 days I walked
out of the hospital on the third day
they said you broke a record how did you
do it and I said first and foremost the
thing I want y’all to understand I would
never let a circumstance or situation
define my life
[Applause]
but most importantly you know what I had
invested I had sweat
I had been working my whole life and
what I didn’t understand by being
determined to chase something by being
committed to it and what commitment is
commitment to staying true to what you
said you were going to do long after the
mood that you have set it in has left
you see people think commitment is
saying yes I’ll do it on the days when
they feel good but I’ve been committed
to everything that I ever started in my
life and I never stop and I’ll never
quit it and so by being committed to
everything that I started I finished it
if not the certain type of spirit it
built the certain type of mentality and
built the certain type of individual and
so now I couldn’t quit even if I wanted
to I couldn’t lay in the bed even if I
wanted to I couldn’t stop even if I
wanted to I had too much sweat equity in
my life and everything that I was doing
because I understood my existence wasn’t
about me I went from me to we long time
ago I understood the process is more
important than the product it wasn’t
about the outcome for me what my meeting
today inept or not it was
inconsequential in God’s plan for my
life but I was going to fall in love
with that process because I understood
by falling in love for that process it
was going to turn me into a machine
[Applause]
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you see a lot of people need things to
get motivated a lot of people need a
little extra money to get motivated a
lot of people need you know whatever the
case may be a little bonus to get
motivated I don’t need anything but
reffering my body and life and every day
I wake up I understand I got two
children depending on me understand I
got a wife depending on me understand I
got a world that needs me the reason I
go at life with the passion and the zeal
that I go at it with it’s because I
understand every day of my life and
somebody in the world that is depending
on me it may not be you and if it’s just
about you you’re in trouble because I’m
telling you you’re gonna hit something
and like that’s a lot toughening you and
it’s gonna test your Wilma’s gonna test
your heart if it’s just about doing it
just about the product and will crush
you every day I get up I understand it’s
somebody in a free world that’s looking
at me to see if I’m gonna keep going and
so I can’t quit and so I went back to
school the next week after they had just
saved my life I was back in class I had
to learn how to write all over again
have to learn how to walk all over again
I’d learn to tie my shoe all over again
have to learn how to bathe all over
again have to learn how to live life all
over getting never one time did I say
let me go home I need a break
yep one time that I’m going through the
training room I said I need some time
off can you all just give me a little
leave time I need to go back home I need
some time off my life just changed last
week and they came to me and they said
auntie go home we know how much the game
of football meant to you I said yeah you
know how much the game of football meant
to me but you don’t know how much life
bitch do you see the thing we have to
understand about everything that we’re a
part of first and foremost it’s a
blessing by God then when it’s a
blessing you can’t help but to give
everything you got to it my life got
sick I got spared my life
almost died the doctor came to me on the
field it was all one name he grabbed my
wrist he said son you don’t have a post
I don’t even know how you’re still
living and my last doctor’s visit they
came to me they said sorry inky johnson
you would never be able to use this on
my hand again in your life
I said no disrespect to you doc but I
will use this arm in his hand every day
for the rest of my life by the way that
I live my life every day I’m gonna
impact someone’s life every day I’m
going to empower someone every day I’m
going to inspire someone every day I’m
going to encourage someone the thing we
have to understand what business are we
in
you know protocol they called me in the
world they say Inc is a speaker Inc is a
motivational and so whatever the case
may be inking whatever whatever it is
but what they don’t understand I’m into
people’s business not a speaker I’m a
surfer anybody that has direct contact
with people on a daily basis that is an
opportunity to change someone’s life
I don’t ever pass up an opportunity to
be of encouragement to other people
don’t ever pass up an opportunity to
inspire someone you’ll never pass up an
opportunity to empower someone who never
pass up an opportunity to show someone
love because the thing about it my like
you could see this
you can see my arm my wound is visible
but it’s a lot of people in this room
that are wounded and you can’t see it
listen turn and so the opportunities
that we pass up to be a blessing to
other people we can save their life
which is one encounter when we talk
about me too we when we talk about
process over product when we talk about
sweat equity when we talk about better
together do we really understand what
that means because sometimes the thing
about life life always comes along when
we make up our mind and try to distract
us but truth be told we all know that
we’re stronger together and that’s in
every aspect of life whether it be
sports whether it be business whether it
be a marriage whether it be a family
we’re always stronger together it’s kind
of like the Planet of the Apes movie
when Caesar and his guys that were going
crazy they were going bananas and Caesar
stood back on the hill and cz was trying
to calm him down everyone calm down they
won’t listen to him and the way he got
their attention was phenomenal the way
he got the attention he picked up a
piece of straw one silly piece of straw
seems to picked up one silly piece of
straw and he handled it up in front of
him he picked up one straw and he broke
it and then he picked up two hands full
of Stroh’s anyways and what he was
telling them along we can do nothing
together strong
unstop
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you
you as a kid man I was a visionary but
sometimes being a visionaries pain
because I could always see what I wanted
to go in my life I can always see what I
wanted to become but I always had to
come back and deal with the reality of
light and the raw reality of life is
distant matter what I did on the
football field no matter what I did on
the basketball court every night I came
back to 125 Ward Street
I was sleeping on that forward motion
grass and so sometimes it was faint so
just finding out my mother will pull
into that partnership Japanese folk
regal hubcaps out the car seats on tour
enough carbs don’t beat up but we loved
it all right my mother put that car in
parking our Hufflepuff it over to my
mother I would do the biggest hum and
the biggest kiss that I could get now
I’m sick mommy you don’t Mikey please
sit back in your car and to lay your
colleagues I have to do some extra
drills I have to go to the NFL she would
never have to work another day in life
and I knew my mother was time but every
night my mother is a shorty she would
get back in that Buick Regal or his car
lights we hit that feel he had a
seven-year-old kid from back peddling
drugs running stretch for the lab
chasing his dream to the NFL that’s why
anytime a cat see me speak about the
game of football I can’t hold the
passion because it’s real to me you
shall I was really in the park with my
mother when I was seven years old
there was nobody out there but meme up
on them and God and I was right there
chasing the dream my mother was sitting
in a big regal and she had a car light
so that’s why anytime I play the game
any time I stepped in between the lines
I gave everything I had it had nothing
to do when inky just had nothing to do
with the people who stands and
everything to do my mother when I was
seven years old she was sitting that
fall those car light so she made a
sacrifice
[Applause]
someone to honor sacrifices I believe in
that but a person make a sacrifice for
your personal happy to that you see we
live with this younger generation I tell
the younger generation in living this
Burger King’s inside we’re gonna have a
new way right and so they’ve got the
million dollar dream with the minimum
wage I hope for anyone in the world but
the thing about it is when you look at
everything with it Colossians 3:23
mindset and so what I mean by Colossians
3:23 myosin you can look at every aspect
of life whether it’s your work well
there’s your family whether it’s job
whatever it may be if you look at
everything with the Colossians 3:23
mindset it makes everything have a
purpose that’s greater than yourself and
what Colossians 3:23 is is that do
everything it’s a component for the Lord
and not for manage so now and I know
everything is different morning for the
Lord and not the man you don’t laugh
anymore because people can say things to
you that you can do things to you that
can hurt you
but if my purpose is greater than you
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because you have a purpose that’s prayer
any individual you can a purpose as an
individual the way you live your life
totally change the way to do things will
totally change your perspective
we’re totally change the way you go
about your business and life will
totally change that Colossians 3:23 is a
cold thing because now everything doing
wrong things you look at it totally
different and what you can change that
changes your life you see a lot of
people that can’t see things right we
can’t see things clearly so sometimes
they could be in the midst of a search
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because that was something that them
cause and every individual possessed all
they have to do is activate and I’ll
never forget strange relationship coming
up with what I mean by strange
relationship I was a kid I was growing
up and I host my up who’s living in a
two-bedroom home so it’s about a de una
eat up in another prison you know
they’re going in lieutenant Gordon for a
tea coming out back to prison and so I
my uncle and he showed me he showed me
lessons about farm work by the oldest
one only one making an honest living and
taking care of his family so I had my
father and he told me he said man he’s
really good as my father my birth
certificate until this day so there’s a
man your father he’s really good at
sports I said can you take me to meet my
asshole protected can you take me I want
to meet him he took me to meet him I
said man we suck sports when we started
chopping up for a little bit
what can you do this for me every Friday
night after game and can you take me to
your house to spend the night and can we
get up the next morning and you work me
out into the break be back home Saturday
can you do that
Stella gotcha he would pick me up on a
Friday night and Saturday mornings throw
up at 4:30 was going to bounce a mouse
to his fire station and my father at the
time my father didn’t believe in God
before that been mad at God his whole
life because my father lost his mother
when he was 14 years old the cancer the
shot never forget a bit my Posse would
be out of our mouths to this fire
station and so one morning we got up and
we got a bed around 4 o’clock and back
then I was a little younger didn’t have
to stretch as much so I can get out my
legs out and we could take off now I
can’t do that
we get out there we’ll get ready and one
morning he said God says something I
need you to pour that nother person
outside and he would always said and so
I would always give him a head nod and
we will get ready to work because I love
the process I’m looking thought of
getting up in the morning chasing our
goals and chase my dreams their minds
I’m responsible for not placing anybody
else and if I want something I’m gonna
work so he says son I won’t you fool
that person outside be dead so I gave my
hand out I said yes sir
and he didn’t get this out you get
really funny he said son I want you to
pull that other person outside to do
that said yes sir
there’s no get pacing son I need you to
pull that other person outside you get
so at this point I’m frustrated I step
back I said what other person I said
it’s nobody outside with me and you is
please black nobody knows that I’m
sitting on the person say man if you
don’t
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individual inside
[Applause]
[Music]
there’s no benefit for them
what’s in it for me what have you done
for me it’s a made up with this deep
everything and then just watching
what’s up what’s up you doing I said
yeah but I’m good good
you said I just want to tell you
something you said that because of
because of your attitude towards your
situation because of how you handled
your situation because I saw you on the
news you said man yeah I got a paralyzed
right on the man but you know what God
still somebody has it a lot was to me he
said man like my god I’m really tough
you he said I’m a father I got kids they
got a wife he said like I got her so
tough I was about to walk out on my wife
and my kids he said when I saw that
interview that made me stand in fire he
said now here my wife my kids never
addressed
that’s one of my greatest moments in
life but when my father told me that it
took my mind said to another number so
now is that couldn’t high school and
some of you all may know about from high
school something told me that but at the
time when I was like um high school
dropout rate inside in the graduation
rate the neighborhood scrim high schools
used to go the clown behind that lever
people weren’t just going to college in
an either we had a lot of great athletes
that came through there some guys do
that corner from the streets some guys
some other things happen we had
something go you know it was a great
program you know all things consider
themselves a career but I wanted a
scholarship you know what’s this kid and
I’ll never forget our town police
officer one day no matter what you play
I said my plan is to go d1
he said d1 what’s that I said Division
one college football going to vision
warning said uh I had three attacks in
the heart so you might end up that cell
block D one I said no you got the wrong
and my freshman year played that carrom
high school for sport athlete at the end
of my freshman year my mother and father
came to me they had to suite their
understand that sweet they’re sweet
they’re they said Inc listen we have got
a sweet deal for you
coaches across town took high school
they approached us he said now all you
have to do is play your next three years
at top of high school coaches guarantee
your scholarship to the University of
Georgia all you gotta do is do what you
love football scholarship to the
University of Georgia nobody in our
family has ever been accomplished sir
mom and dad I really appreciate the
offer but I think I’m vain given credit
they said any chance of that happening
man is C yeah but I think I can do car
lights all right I said pops this why we
gotta fit for third row Saturday
mornings every amount amounts to that
behind a station when you would trip
though I would look back after you say
son Keith Jana there’s nobody working
right now but me you are my controller
whether that was true or not
I believe it
[Music]
but I couldn’t blame them because they
really have my best interests at heart
they wanted me to go to college and so I
got over to tuck high school in the
first football game I’ll never forget it
I passed I’m cutting up a Red Bull about
ten yards I got caught at the bottom of
the pile and so the guys can’t fold on
top of me and I love the game of
football I love you see when those guys
are stifling feelings it man you see
that girl in the stands when you see all
the people understand
I was step out on the field I’m saying
man I love the way this grassman it’s
like you were walking into your office
[Music]
let’s go let’s go
that was so smart to move anybody out of
the way and so before I knew it
one of the guys is where my anger that’s
it man no and you twisted you taught a
little bit away yeah in a wheelchair get
out of little chat with no questions
after the season I went back to my era
so will you please transfer me back
decree Mike
father nope nope you stand until the
high school now all you have to do is
play your next two years you have a
scholarship to the University of Georgia
I said home would you please transfer me
back my father wasn’t in the church at
the time my mother was and so I went to
my past I go to st. Matthews Baptist
Church look small church on the east
side of Atlanta so I went to my pastor
said man listen I said man you gotta
meet with my mother I have to get back
to Karachi let me stop you right there
he said I know we want to get back to
you little whore you said we’re gonna
get back to your little homeboys you
know is that beside let me tell you
something if I was going to everybody in
your family like that $400 nobody to
give it to me he said oh yeah that’s
screwed now your next two years
yeah guaranteed your scholarship to the
University Georgia all you have to do is
do what you love and now you want to go
back to a place where the dropout rate
is higher than the bass fishing right
they ain’t gonna go back to a place
where you don’t need to have water
bottles you drink instead of meeting
this was the only thing I are gonna meet
him and my mother they talked a lot but
this was the only thing I heard we said
Ruby listen he said if it’s in God’s
planners that’s your plan if it is in
God’s plans not your plans for Enki to
go to college ekoo go to college you
can’t make that happen
she transfer me back to colonise from
the first football game my junior year
break McCloud
out for the season and so now at this
point I was dead cat in the hood I was
born a corner drug does and I said man I
thought do you want to change where the
people think about this neighborhood I
would say I’m gonna put her on the back
I’m gonna be the change situation so now
that when I was coming out of high
school junior year was here kind of
Scouts come in who chew that I’m going
to take you through scholarship by June
yeah scholarship ball and so now we’re
gonna be hanging out in the hood cat
come on let us take this right to the
same cat that said you want to change
your family situation I’ll say yeah
let’s get this right aren’t you the same
cat I said you want to fight through my
school in the math I’ll say yeah they’re
taking privacy that’s right
aren’t you the same guy they said you
want to change the way that we thought
about cook what I would say yeah see
your future’s not looking so bright and
say maybe you’ll graduate – in apologies
for selling dope like uncle’s going
getting out of question they got really
discouraged I write that book that says
people too weak to follow that home
dream to always find a way to discover
to borrow doors they’re too weak to do
it they don’t use nothing to do with you
you see what my grandmother told me
something when I was on watch me 39
pounds and she wear 5x white t-shirt
schools
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he’s no blame and so now the word of God
and so now in court they’ll call them
culture cut by me see your daddy apart
your daddy this is that your mother
this man however bite my tongue and so I
got mad and some people would talk about
me so I got mad – my brother he has this
feature like real peace in the middle of
the storm and so that’s how I do
anything
Meza my huge opportunity in the service
of my kids for Ricardo said Inc what’s
up school I said when people are talking
about me people talking trash to me
people are bothering me people are
Messerly say what it is I said some
people are talking about you in a bad
night’s fight t-shirts to 130-pound some
people just talking trash who said so
let me tell you something she said this
is what I want you to do I want you to
use this few chief I am also never let
someone’s opinion
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so maybe the man this amazing comes to
grow my food aircraft and at the time I
let’s push the country and certainly did
home would someday I’ll play any
basketball next time
and so forth on the part of the house my
auntie cookie said you go to practice
until the air the follow me she said
David for you he’s a coach on the line
he said ain’t what’s up man and so so
coach how do you new football coach he
said yeah we said I hoped for a great
athlete I said hold it sir why don’t you
come to practice
I said I’ll coach Mary my dream change
I’m going to the NBA
[Laughter]
[Music]
that right I said yes sir you say you
know what he’s saying kind of it you can
do it man he said you play basketball I
say yes I say yes so you got it right
down
you said well well yeah it’s fun to
build a research woman he said
[Music]
sitting on what uniform every NFL roster
make you tell me how many five-mile
cornerback you see you give me a call
back in the morning I sprinted to the
library computer for every NBA roster
twice and I ran back on that day at the
a coach calling for me say what did you
think I said I would be at practice
tomorrow
long story short I went out a make it
past first game that was a plus at a
really strong senior season but after my
senior season I was still two problems I
wasn’t qualified to get into college
that I hadn’t asked me to do graduation
I think it doesn’t work that way and I
will never forget that a scout from
Georgia Tech he set up a meeting with me
my mother my father and so I’ll never
forget I thought it was that moment
right
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scouts down to get my transcript to the
qualifications that it took you to tell
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my father
should you stop that meeting no way that
you make it to college so you just
wasted my time
I look down summer for this a truck
saw my father’s head job I looked at my
mother my father I said I guarantee I
guarantee your hard work would not go in
vain I guarantee you let me show you how
God owes the next week extra ice cream
the same day of the week me and all the
seniors are sending the big class
remember sitting in the back anymore my
head football coach you said everybody
be quiet
he said do you guys know I said no and
they went back to talk now we’re sending
the back of the one who sent my friend
Liza job tamo is like I said man it’s
Philip over here football cookie
University tennessee volunteers are
saying hold I said man Phillip Fulmer
subordinates on that saying don’t you
talk about what I hope your scholarship
can you get out in protecting my head
coach’s office we took the see coach
filiform we dead scream I think I want
your scholarship to the University of
Tennessee
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and I got a little that’s the code
don’t know my situation that’s of course
I say you know my situation right I got
one team in position to graduate high
school I like to mold test at that
moment I said coach you know my
situation right
he said yeah her situation I believe in
you said I see you in the Sun I said
coach jumped on you said in County but
they can understand how this process
work he said so of course you taking a
bishop it’s not nice to see the city
hanging out with the coaches and the
players and then you make a decision if
you come as a coach I don’t think you
understand
I said but I’ll take a billion I took a
business I got up Italian that Saturday
because I had a basketball game at
Friday night I’ll never forget I got up
and they took me Calhoun’s off the river
you came out my hopes with Jayson Swain
into telling us when we come out of
restaurant you like ain’t there by now
the big night man there’s a sorority
party has barbecue
there’s a basketball game which one do
you want to go to it’s a man if you
don’t mind getting back to my hotel I’m
staying at the Marriott you offer summon
him he said what he said man don’t know
if you ever been to a college sorority
bought it but they get pretty wild and
some barbecue and it’s a basketball game
if you like and as I’m getting out of
the car he say hold on
it’s a matter of you’re sick I said nah
I’m not sick
you see what’s waiting and nobody
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[Applause]
I got up and everyone hit one more than
Curtis and won’t believe it I went the
coach from the pool but I still do this
until this day when I see that man
because I’m forever grateful because he
broke a generational curse in my family
I extended my head into him and I shook
his hand I gave him a hug and I said
thank you
I said not only to change in my life but
the change in County’s other’s lives
back in turquoise that you know nothing
about I said because from when we didn’t
see this happen in the other day so when
I got back to Catherine’s and I told you
guys I told the captain I was born in
college and so now everybody’s
responsible
why did you go back to Croatia why did
you take the role that child why do you
go back with a dropout rate beside you
guys way straight yeah eat you rot why
didn’t you see it tell us who we know I
said man you got a mrs. Apollo I said
because the thing that happened I got a
chance try to everybody worked when I
was in high school it was to an all-star
game now I never forget I wanted to
wrestle and as I was leaving out of the
restroom that was the sign of the one
that signs and that’s kind of courtesy
to the person that’s coming behind you
keep you by your sink
you see having that slip on that poll
about Julian cousins that stuff on the
same for me and every night in mr.
rats I’m talking about every
night away and that first football that
I ever caught along the Jersey
now we’re toast at the wall up in the
air now
you have his basketball good man you say
it’s going to be trouble the one beside
will have his baseball can’t wait
elementary school trouble man and so
first thing I knew personally in my
spirit I couldn’t be thrown across town
took high school to the University
Georgia
great story first-generation college
student but I still had to come back in
the curve board and the thing I knew if
I came back in the car through high
school I’d ask for cutting off some men
watch you guys do what you have to do in
order to make it the costips to eat you
understand we don’t have to save
opportunity so I wanted to any
justification Brainiac uses I don’t
believe in excuses I don’t believe in
your product your product is going
through gods of what has happened to you
regards at the hand that life is don’t
you every day you wake up one final
things that we possess is people is the
ability to have a choice and every day
we wake up we have a choice if that
attitude that ruler grace to our life
and a perspective that we will see
lightfoot and as a result of me going
back to high school and going to college
cousins
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see every day you wake up to words to
come to mind other legacies are the ones
that pay the way for you leave a legacy
for the ones that’s coming behind you
every decision should just be about
cheapest because if you go through life
you live itself is life
what’s gonna happen is that adversity is
gonna come murphy’s is all it’s gonna
come and if you haven’t been living like
the way that you’re supposed to look
like the moment that you eat adversity
thing that adversity always does
every time adversity will introduce you
to who you really are as a person and
for some people at mercy introduce
different to the first method for
something by Percy introduced different
to a person that they never knew and
they’re sitting there instead of saying
why me why me instead of saying try me
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mercy to a certain of magnitude God has
to trust you with that Emerson
thank you God adjusted me with this
situation because you wouldn’t take me
from something that’s too heavy didn’t
trust you use it in the right way it’s
gone through something it does not trust
you handle in the right way to use it in
the right way to be a blessing to other
people that’s what life is about
that’s what frees me something
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first John Smith made it was such a big
deal right she still sit on the same pew
at church ever since I was in the war
and when I was going to college right
Nick found that I got a scholarship
people passed a month wax I told you
church they gotta say it was the type of
kid
they sort of got his deal to where you
know everybody come around mr. buckles
over there so we got the hack so they
just we got the gloves right they said I
was about to three rows up everybody get
up they walked by the mother to me
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[Laughter]
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big deal and so on I gotta because I was
feeling good about myself and I’ll never
forget the first media day a father who
came out that article a Christian know
struck me to the SCC face piece and
nobody had made it to the SCC design
shower
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right sure it was coming directly to me
you see I was there kept an eye from see
cameras who go out and we were super
football football
[Laughter]
sure love this cake empty Johnson I said
yes sir what you got a great shoe
respect it sir what you got
he said maybe even think you’ve got a
play at the University of Tennessee I
say you made a mistake so that we start
at the University of Tennessee Senate me
tell you something I say you could
measure the height of a man you can
measure the weight of a man I see you
can’t measure
and immediately everybody got dressed
they went home and I went to the
football complex and I’ll put up my
pleats in my workout pool and I was
sitting there and a friend to our meal
came in you know to pitch black and
football complex he say what you’re
doing man let’s go through the door man
his dog I said no I’m not going to work
I said man his dog go to work anymore
manage job I said no I’m gonna work see
baby say you team in a cat probably
never played looking football in his
life I said no listen I’ll just go to
work really I got into perfecting my
craft a vision everybody ever believed
in me now I was working out our towel I
looked up at the clock it was 1:30 in
the morning then a custodian came out to
the Turk tour he said son what do you
feel going out of it aren’t you supposed
to feel when you don’t sleep I said sir
no disrespect to Happy’s dream that I’m
chasing and I have to make chicken shape
of my life have a family depending on me
that whether you show cooler thrill like
feeling towards my family say there goes
our meal ticket mean a pinky time so
maybe we don’t need and so every night I
believe study 1 at 10:30 hours run over
to the mo football facility last doing
left front of course enter into the
locker cartoons about 11:30 12:00 every
night lately
except on Friday nights and be standing
round plastic am ready for the game on
Saturday first in your cable a little
special teams Southport season came
guess we’re having Jack broke that start
line I look for that reporter every
stone south those seasons so the summer
heavy to my tune
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I’m never forget we went out our first
game we played against California bears
and my team family executed all phases
of the game offense defense special
teams we ran out and got the victory I
got an interception a couple of big hits
couple fast break ups everything went
great
second we played against the University
of airforce these guys believe it’s
close to your schedule coach agreed to
put on the schedule at the last minute
by ourselves in the dome behind fourth
quarter rolls around and of course they
came out they scored the other side kick
the ball gets to who me I jumped forward
I missed it again later for Steve
Blakely out in force recover now they
got the ball court the onedrive I mean
the stadium major upset over a madam +3
you’re going 101 defense federal right
back call quarters coming thread a break
say guys get back in
I said listen remember just default on
Air Force team that beginning said let
me it said I’m gonna hit him break his
spirit make it fun I will recover the
fumble
got caught inside yeah coming down my
side but I shifted immediately to the
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and I posted the way that I always
approach anything in my life
and when I first attack I was so small
criticize anybody up I couldn’t come in
there with like EBV company or knock
your block off looking at me katasonov
would just go for it and go for the
gusto whatever happens happens
but at the point of contact when I hit
this guy something different happened
never happened to me before in my life
I hit this guy as soon as affecting
breath for my bodies left my body went
completely to the ground my blackout my
eyes doing for my team murder when I
said you know let’s go man this is I
care so what do you mean kid man you
always get up get out let’s go it’s how
no man but this time I can ascertain was
just shocked going through my whole body
I can’t feel anything when the scariest
moment of my life a shot convinced to do
that but he stayed in my right arm and I
remember as I was lying there I said my
head to the left what sort of doctor to
the trainer’s running order to feel I
feel my head up to the sky see God says
surely nothing is happening is romantic
or to my life bringing spoke to God so
they have to do that right it’s the best
precautionary
they give me up on the spinal cord and
William your field would get to about
midfield
I looked at the doctor couldn’t do my
regular hair just a doctor a banana
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I said doc you can bring him down and as
he was bringing her on him and hand down
I’d never forget I looked down and I
said okay since I’ve I’ve never think it
helped me Louis gave you know Steve
there will be two the hamlets my father
Sweeney I looked up I said pop did I get
it yes and I think you got the word
father got me an analyst he ruled me
over to you to medical he took me back
the ransom cats Jansen he brought me
back into my room and all in a 15-second
time frame I never forget it
I saw my father he stepped in and he
looked at me she was in and he walked
out my mother she came into the room she
said a quick prayer by my bedside she
walked down she walked out the doctor
walked in and said hey did any of you
got a let’s just got back surgeries
about the doc I said what so what
happened and it started what happened
getting busted up some clicking an
artery in your chest you bleeding
internally we have to rush you back take
the main main now that you’ve left leg
and plug it into the chest in order to
save your life when I open my eyes when
you cover me from that surgery the same
doctor standing over me said son got
some good news and some bad news for you
so you got some bad news for me tell me
how about the guy back
I’m stayin a all right he said yeah he
said the good news is we saved you life
he said the bad engines you have nerve
damage to the right shoulder we don’t
know how much so we got to sit you up to
the mayor see teens know specials I was
like I go he’s not the son he’s probably
never played the game of football again
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you see I respected the doctor I
respected his expertise and I have been
through adversity
jessa nothing against it don’t I
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nothing that ever stopped me I remember
the little among them who saved her for
a bulldog and I never forget it that
night we sit in the living room my mom
she was sitting there she said ain’t
take this glass in the kitchen and you
know it’s dark and it’s late I took the
glass and I put it in the kitchen but I
ran back in with my mom and I heard it
drop and she said go get it she said why
don’t get the glass so I don’t need the
glass I talked about I never forget it I
watch my uncle they took my grandfather
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boom
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you have told all the nerves if you
break your plexus you break your plexus
or the nerve roots that go he is fine
and controls your army so you have two
of them at all levels they can’t be
blood they can’t be put together it says
something we need to tell you about your
arm I would never be the same again it’s
in your hand that would never be the
same with you they said sorry
you can never play the game of football
again we understand probably the college
you have been a force for athletes your
whole life you can never play basketball
again you never baseball again yeah I’ve
never been because
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[Applause]
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two years old
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would you do what would you say oh but
she looked at me she said something to
worry about it said God is in control
look down at my wrists and everyone is
withered black bracelet I played at the
game in it did have been worked out I
never took it off until I was a grad
assistant coach / Lane Kiffin staff and
out the game I gave it to a little boy
like that night in Rochester Minnesota
my conviction that bracelet rim manaphy
sounds just like everybody she’s got
faith yeah big faith McDonald right
little fake little power faith in fear
can reside in the same man he loses
everyone thank you to suffer some things
hopefully that evidence of things not
seen
I’m gonna be placed in a situation that
requirement using my face when I was
placing the situations that require me
to use my faith I was not forcing God
can I be real with you a faith that has
not been tested as a faith that cannot
be trusted
the next morning I got up I went to the
doctor’s office they said son what
option you choose and I said no
disrespect to you doc I’m not choosing
not you my situation is out of hand they
said what do you mean a situation that
my hands we’re some of the best doctors
in the world with the reason that you
came up here I said no this stretchy my
situation is that me hands I’m not
choosing not you do what I have to do I
know I will come out it’s okay if I stay
around here before you to say I think I
came out okay
I think I feel super when I came out of
that hospital and I like a change
sheesh I’ve been right here down there
oh now come on Louise my bike over here
350 staples in my body never had to go
to people that I didn’t know and
publicly say hey man can you help me tie
my shoe never had to get babies my
mother man now I can either break my
name all over again
what that did something man that process
did something left I’ll check what the
process did you see me and my roommate
trapped in the cycle here prior to our
engineering and the most amazing thing
happened you see from the outside
looking in everybody said man that
camcorder through but what they didn’t
know caster died in a circle it’s why
it’s so important
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sighs there’s a you come in a dream have
grown over last week upset yeah there’s
a unit on a sec consider it pure joy my
brothers and sisters when you face
trials of many can because detecting of
a fake bullet produced perseverance in
order to become
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[Applause]
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a losing that hospitals how many
Earthlings worse I’m gonna have
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everybody to think I understand about
life you can’t control them
that is how we respond
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when adversity opens that fixed
we psychological contract
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this is what I like I stumbled a little
bit and I came back again it’s greater
is He that is in me he that is in the
world
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