fans are out there excellent hey just to
be fair just to be fair I know we leave
in a living a two-team state so how many
Jets fans good luck with that
oh I’m sorry being me and I’m being mean
but uh you know all-in still can’t
really believe it happened because he I
was this close to saying no see I’ll
never forget the night I get the call
before Christmas Eve mr. Gonzales would
you please please speak to the New York
Giants and uh I honestly thought it was
a joke I thought it was a prank because
you know you want to what my full-time
job is ninth grade world history teacher
I’m not a professional football player
so when they called me up I thought what
could I possibly tell Eli Manning why
would Victor Cruz listen to me for one
second
am I gonna educate him on the
Renaissance Julius Caesar but I did say
yes and I’ll never forget walking into
walking into the team room and I
remember as I walked into the team room
I’m already nervous but as I walk into
the team room one of the first guys to
shake my hand he was on the team at the
time his name was Chris Conte now just
you know Chris Conte is almost about 6 9
320 pounds I have pretty big hands but I
remember when he shook my hand I felt
his fingers go down to here on my arm
and then I tried my best for the next 20
minutes and when I walked out of those
doors if you were standing right by the
exit and said how did you do you know
you you must have did great it’s the
Giants I would have told you I failed I
would have told you I blew it
see once again I believe the lie that
because I didn’t have a certain status
what I did really didn’t matter
I believed the lie that they were
probably just not on their cell phones
because you know they weren’t allowed
it’s a team rule they probably could
care less what I had to say I’m not
important I’m just a teacher
but see it’s amazing what happens
because our words and our actions always
have power whether we realize it or not
whether we have a million views on
YouTube or not and they start winning
and they win the next game and the next
game and I start getting calls from Fox
News in New York City to be on the show
called Fox & Friends in the morning and
then I get a call from the radio show
boomer and carton in the morning to be
on their radio show and explained all in
it then the ESPN comes down from
Connecticut tapes that whole entire
piece they say Michigan’s offset the
Giants beat the 49ers and the NFC
championship we will play that Super
Bowl Sunday in front of the world well
they play at Super Bowl Sunday now I
didn’t go to the Super Bowl I could have
but you know I’m a teacher and so I
wanted to make sure I was there for my
students on Monday and from watch the
Super Bowl I couldn’t make it also as a
teacher I was at a sick day so I
couldn’t take off anyway be honest but
I’ll never forget the day after the
Giants beat the Patriots in the Super
Bowl I’m walking to school and I turned
the corner to go into my building and
there is news fans lined up down the
block in front of my school I’m a little
nervous but I keep walking I’ll never
forget the principal waited at the door
for me said Mr Gonzales please follow me
I walk with him into the conference room
and I see reporters from CBS NBC ABC
even CNN espanol is there and I don’t
even speak Spanish it was amazing I did
interviews all morning long and the next
day I don’t walk to school I run to
school because I figure if that’s the
first day who’s going to interview me
today I’m a little bit of an Oprah fan I
thought she might be there to give me a
car something special I was hoping but
I’ll never forget I run to school on
Tuesday I look it’s nobody
that’s how Fame is it’s just that quick
and as I walk until the officer said mr.
Gonzales there was a message left for
you they wanted you to call them back
and I call it back and what’s to tell me
that there’s a victory parade in New
York City and that I should join them
and as I walk into New York City that
day I start seeing t-shirts the first
couple of shirts I saw us but well
that’s a coincidence and then us also
more and then I saw more and then I saw
a couple of hundred and before I know it
there were t-shirts all over New York
City made by the Giants I had two words
on the front and the two words were all
in and I said you know that’s that’s
pretty great and I went back to my
school on Wednesday and I showed my
class in first period they loved it by
third period they could care less and
freshmen and I remember I put the shirt
on my desk and I’ll never forget the
phone rang and I picked up the phone and
a voice said are you mr. Gonzalez and I
said yes this is the same students also
talked to the Giants and they won the
Super Bowl I said yes sir at this point
in time the phone call starts getting
very very aggressive repeating words I
would never say up here and I finally
interrupt the caller and say why are you
so angry why you are you yelling through
the phone he said wamba i’m the head
football coach of the high school you
work at you know you coulda told us
about all and we could watch some
football games too I said coach I had no
idea was even gonna work he said well we
start preseason conditioning I would
love for you to talk to my team in a
couple of weeks and as I walked down to
the weight room in the beautiful city
that I get the pleasure of teaching in
Union City all the guys are wearing
shirt and as you can imagine there’s two
words on every shirt the two words are
all in and I said you know what that’s
great and I love helping my students but
I said it’s done well two weeks later
another phone call mr. Gonzales yes to
sing one to talk to the Giants yes we
would you mind helping our team I said
yes but I’m a teacher they said don’t
worry we’ll work it out your school will
give you two days off I said Shorin
before I know what I’m flying out to
Chicago and there’s a team in the NBA
and they’re called the the Portland
Trailblazers and they decide they would
like to be all in as well except they
haven’t won a championship yet so let’s
not talk about them anymore oh not a
magic word and then I get a call from
from Ireland and I remember pick up the
phone they said well mr. Gonzales we saw
that piece and we play football of your
briefs we’ll play something called a
Gaelic football and I didn’t know too
much about it but it’s an amazing sport
they play they’re just breathtaking and
well they actually got a chance to win
and this is a Dublin Gaelic football
team and they were all in and and then I
got a call and they said well mr.
Gonzales where you were you’re from you
play American football but here we play
real football so it was from London and
it turns out to be a team over there
that plays real football and they’re
called the Arsenal soccer club and you
know amazing experience actually playing
Manchester United right now I hope they
win but and it gets corporate then
corporations start calling up like PNC
Bank and DSW shoes and an anheuser-busch
and help us our clients be all in and
our our employees and I’ll never forget
I get the call to go down
consoling as I go down to Arkansas I
wasn’t sure exactly who it might be but
it turns out to be a company you
probably heard of them to their the name
is Walmart and I thought it was just
going to be speaking to cashiers or
registers or things of that nature but
it’s actually their shareholders meeting
and I remember walking to the
shareholders meeting very nervous and
you know it’s quite nerve-wracking when
you speak right after Daymond John or
the running back Marshall Faulk and then
next up is Tom Cruise and once again you
say I’m just a ninth grade world history
teacher right not have to say without a
doubt probably one of the biggest honors
it is the biggest honor a lot of my
students they like to play a video game
maybe you’ve seen it’s become quite
popular it’s called call of duty and in
the video game you interact in the life
of a soldier complete different missions
it’s one thing to play a video game it’s
another thing entirely getting the honor
and the privilege to work with our Armed
Forces
at first it was a privilege to speak
with cadets from the West Point Military
Academy and then speak with some of our
Air Force and then this past summer
going down to Fort Dix and get to work
with our United States Army and honestly
who better to represent being all in
than our armed forces men and women who
are all in for us every single day and
honestly they always deserve a round of
applause for what they do it’s amazing
absolutely amazing their sacrifice for
us if I can be honest some people just
don’t get it
I had a chance to speak for a
corporation not too long ago and I’ll
never forget after the talk an
individual came up to me afterwards and
they said mr. Gonzales thank you for
speaking that was pretty good but I
think you’re wasting your time I was a
little taken back by the comment he said
Michigan’s odds please don’t take any
offense see I work in the marketing
department for our company here and well
this all end thing it’s a great slogan
you know what a slogan is right mr.
Gonzales
it’s like those things after the
commercial it’s Nike has a slogan just
do it McDonald’s has a slogan I’m loving
it it’s a great slogan and well the
reason I say you’re making a mistake is
you still like being a teacher
working with students no offense but
there’s really not a lot of profit in
that is there I was a little taken back
by the comment so I said honestly for me
sir all-in is not a slogan it’s a
lifestyle
it’s something I try to live out every
single day he said well that’s nice but
I’m just telling you what it is it’s a
it’s a slogan and it’s at the end of
commercials for adidas adidas has been
using all-in on did you did you get a
copyright for that are you getting any
royalties I stopped him there and I said
I’ll tell you what all it means to me I
began to tell him about a young woman
who was sitting in the doctor’s office
most the time we have to be at the
doctor’s we really don’t want to be
there but she’s excited to be at the
doctors and as her name is called cheap
rigorous runs past the nurse in t
examination room sits upon the table and
lays back she’s so excited to be at the
doctor’s because because she’s going to
get to see her child again she’s
pregnant
and as she see the images flick around
the screen and she hears the heartbeat
it’s emotional it’s beautiful the nurse
the doctor there everything is great
except the doctor walks out of the room
and the nurse follows she doesn’t mind
because they printed out pictures she’s
excited to show her mother except the
nurse comes back in the room with a
small card on her hand handed to the
woman on the table and walks out now the
woman is curious so she opens a card and
begins to read him it says we’re sorry
to inform you but you’ve contracted the
measles nothing’s wrong with getting the
measles get some small bumps on your
body a fever a flu a couple of weeks
it’s gone
but if you get the measles while you’re
pregnant we believe it will have very
dangerous effects on the child inside
also on the card it said we don’t see
certain limbs of the body developing
properly we don’t see a properly
developed arm or leg on the bottom the
card it simply said it’s in our opinion
that you consider termination of this
pregnancy you try again later with your
husband for another child as you can
imagine the woman is crushed search had
been absolutely ecstatic – completely
distraught in a matter of moments the
nurse walks back in the room and said
miss I know this is very difficult but
what would you choose to do woman sits
up off the table and she says thank you
for your opinion thank you for your
advice truly I choose to be committed to
this child well he lives for two more
weeks or lives for 20 years I choose to
stick with him whether he has one arm or
no arm one leg and her legs
that is my choice see guys I’m so
thankful for that woman could see that
woman is my mother and I was a child
inside of her and the doctors that day
see that’s what all that means to me
it’s not a t-shirt it’s not a wristband
it’s not a slogan at the end of
commercial see what all it means to me
is when you when you keep going when
other people tell you to quit and when
you don’t stop when other people tell
you you are wasting your time there’s a
lot of people that told my mother I was
just going to be a waste of her time I
am so glad she didn’t listen see the
fact of the matter is all in his
personal some people just take it as a
way to score a couple extra goals and
win a championship and that’s great for
some people it’s just a increasing the
profit margin by ten percent in the
first quarter and that’s happened for
some companies that’s great too but for
me the greatest thing is when people
make it a lifestyle when it’s not just
another event because we go from event
to event to event and yet we feel more
see when I talk to the Giants at night
people think I talked about football I
never talked about football I walked in
the room and I asked him one question
towards the end of our talk I said what
does it mean to be committed some guys
said this and some guy said that so I
said you know guys let’s use an analogy
maybe you can understand you’re playing
the game of poker if you take all your
chips and you push them in the middle of
the table what does that mean
player on the team at the time named
Justin Tuck was there I remember he
smiled he was sitting in the back room
he said well if you push all your chips
in middle table the means are all in
you’re ready to when you’re done going
halfway I said okay but what happened if
everyone shows their cards but then you
pull your chips back and you tell
everyone you were just kidding I
remember he smiled even wider and said
well if you’re playing poker at my house
that’s how you get punched in the face I
said Justin you’re right so if we would
never do it in a game of poker why do we
do with our lives why do we say we’re
going to be committed to something when
things get tough when on the unexpected
happens we back away and say it’s not
for me so I gave him a chip that night
and I gave him a marker I said guys
there’s nothing special about this chip
in fact it it’s from Walmart I take this
chip and if you mean business you take
this marker and you sign it you put it
someplace you’re going to see it every
single day when you see it you ask
yourself the question am I really giving
my best or am I just going halfway some
guys took the chip and they put it in
their locker and they said they they
would see it before they hit the field
they said help them play better I guess
other guys took a little more personally
and they said they took that chip and
they were all in for the game of
football but they said they wanted to be
more committed at home so they put in
the middle their kitchen table to be a
more committed husband and father one of
the guys in the video even in trouble he
played for the Chicago Bears last year I
remember he sent me the Twitter picture
he got the words all in tattooed on his
chest
I said intro no one said to do that
but he actually sent me one of the best
replies ever received he said for me
John Paul if if all-in is just about
well if it was just about a t-shirt well
I can put a t-shirt on and take it off
whenever it looks good
but if I’m really committed I’m
committed even when things don’t look
good when they look ugly
they look difficult I want to be
reminded of that every time I look in
the mirror what commitment truly is it’s
not something I can take off and put in
the trash that’s what it’s all about
it’s about being committed inside of
here not when the lights are on not when
the crowd is cheering but what do we do
or no one’s watching that’s a lifestyle
see the one question you might have in
your mind is John Paul that’s great but
I still have one question why the Giants
call you up in the first place they
wanted a better motivational speaker
Tony Robbins has an office in New York
they wanted a better 9th grade teacher
I’m sure they could have found one
Giants called me out because I went to
jail nope let’s correct that I was not
personally in jail ok saw some faces but
see when I came back from playing
basketball in the NBA Summer League I
want it to be personal I wanted to make
a difference in people’s lives and well
I wanted to be a teacher but I didn’t
know you need this thing called the
teacher certificate my college failed to
tell me that so I had to go back to
college and get one and as I was getting
my teacher certificate I went to the
only place ever opened their doors so I
could help kids juvenile jails I went to
juvenile jails throughout my state and I
started tutoring and after tutoring then
they found out I was a basketball player
so they asked if I would coach their
basketball program I said sure and they
said Hall this is great it’ll be like
the movie the Gridiron Gang and you kind
of look like the rock so this is perfect
and I said I’ll give it a try and they
said well we’re going to buy jerseys for
the kids
what do you want on the jerseys these
kids you know these kids made some
pretty bad and they’ve made their
mistakes and you got to have a tough
name I said first of all I don’t believe
you’re a mistake you could make a
mistake but you’re not born a mistake
and I said if you’ll let me coach the
team I only want two words on our
and these are the jerseys that that we
wear in jail to this day and this is the
word on the front see I believe this is
the best thing you can play for and live
for there’s a movie I enjoy a lot you
may have seen it’s called the Shawshank
Redemption there’s a quote at the end of
that movie that says hope is a good
thing maybe the best of things and a
good thing never dies it’s true see the
greatest thing is when you give somebody
hope because they see you live a life of
commitment and they are all in this is
our reverse side and we have to change
colors you give somebody hope they
you don’t personally have to go to
juvenile jails and wear these jerseys
and play with us on on Wednesdays I
personally believe we all have the
opportunity to wear this type of Jersey
every single day see when we walk into
our homes
do we give hope or do we take it away
because the power of the tongue has the
ability to do both do we give others on
our team in our school the ability that
they can be greater than us a future but
see like I said before I hung up the
phone I asked the Giants why did you
call me and they said Willie you
wouldn’t believe it but we didn’t hear
about you from YouTube and we didn’t
hear about you because you’re a teacher
we heard about you because you went and
you worked with kids in jail and we
thought it’d be great for the guys to
know about that
see I didn’t get to talk to Eli Manning
and Victor Cruz because I sent in my
resume 20 times I guess I got to do it
because I decided I wanted to be all in
for the least of these and then I got to
do it for the greatest if you question
what should I be all in for don’t start
at the top everybody wants to get to the
top start at the bottom be committed to
the ones no one wants to be committed
for and pretty soon I think you’ll be up
here telling your story god bless you
guys thank you for your time [Applause]
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