When Opportunity Knocks – Motivational Video Speech
Six months ago, a conversation started between me (Coach Jimmy) and Dave Ward of Charge The Summit as we attended a Bo Eason event. We had a vision to create an event to empower dudes to step up as leaders, fathers, husbands, and business men.
We Made It Happen
Last week, we saw that conversation turn into a reality as over 430 men got together in Dallas, TX for the first ever #TrainingCampLive event.
This was my closing speech to those guys. But this isn’t just a message for men. This can be applied to anyone with a dream.
Opportunity is Knocking …. Will you be Ready?
Last Thursday, I got a message. “Hey. What are your plans on Sunday?” Well, my brother’s getting re-married on Saturday, nothing. No, not football season. Nothing. “Cool. Got an opportunity for you.” Awesome. What are we doing on Sunday? “You want to run a half marathon?”
Let me back up the story.
Growing up, I was very rotund, healthy fellow. In elementary school, we used to have to run the mile. We’d go out back, and I grew up in West Texas. Lubbock. Like nothing. No green or anything. We’re on a dirt track. And there was this big gigantic track that haunted me all throughout elementary school because I knew that at least once a year, we had to run this track. There were these popsicle sticks and you had four popsicle sticks and you had to hand one off every time you got around the track to make a mile.
And every year, I really psyched myself up. This is going to be the year that I’m going to run this mile. I’m not going to come in last. I’m going to do a really good job at this. Because every I had to run that mile, I’d start with a lot of excitement. I would start feeling like I was invincible because everyone around me was on the start line. We were all even. We were all sitting together excited.
And then the race starts.
And my belief system begins fading quickly.
Because all those cool people that line up on that line weren’t going to hold my hand skipping along together. Everybody took off and ran their own race. Guess who got left behind?
I was trying. I was one-hundred pounds overweight. Not only do I start, but my support system leaves me. Then girls start lapping me. It’s amazing how life and business come back. I hated that mile and that day I said that I would hate long distance running for the rest of my life. Never knowing that fitness was going to become a very big part of that.
Thank God for this business, thank God for these programs. Thank God for the opportunity to be in DVDs like Insanity. To have relationships with people like Tony Horton. That Carl Daikeler came along and offered this to all of us. But you know what I still hate? Even after all of that? Running.
That’s why you don’t have the running DVD. That would suck! Nobody buys that!
Get the Motivation You Need 5 Days of Fire
But sometimes opportunity knocks and it’s not encased in something appealing, but something in your gut says, “I’m supposed to say yes…” It was my brother’s wedding! I’m going to eat a bunch of stuff and I’m probably going to get drunk the night before! “I need to say yes. There’s an opportunity here.” But all these people there have been training for months, weeks. You’re not a runner.
“You better step up or step out.”
It’s real easy. I could have just said no. Nobody knew. It was a ticket that was being gifted to me. So I said, “Okay, sure. When do I have to be there?”
“Well, it’s really early. We have to show up around 6am.”
I didn’t bat an eye.
It’s been well-documented throughout the day – my schedule. My alarm goes off at 4:45 every morning. Wait. Jimmy, you make multiple six-figures in this business, you work at home. Why do you wake up at 4:45 every morning?
Aren’t you the person that’s had so much success, you’ve been in these DVDs, it’s just on cruise-control for you, right? I wake up at 4:45 every morning, I immediately grab my phone and put something in that’s feeding my brain and my spirit. I walk downstairs, drink my water, and get in the mindset for my workout that morning. Every day.
You know who’s not in my kitchen? Any of you. My Facebook fans. People on YouTube. Prospects. My family usually isn’t there, yet. But I get up. Bo talks about this. It’s my relationship with practice when nobody’s watching. I get told all the time “Jimmy, you’re really good on stage. You must be a natural at it.”
Do you realize that the first time that I auditioned for anything that I was one hundred pounds overweight, jumped onstage, with script in hand and literally had a physical twitch that made my leg do this when I had to be on stage? You don’t know my hours. You don’t know my hidden hours. Where are yours? Because opportunity is knocking gentlemen.
We have the greatest business in the world with the greatest product.
The ladies saw that and took off with it and congratulations. I don’t want to slow them down at all. But damn it, if anyone’s going to out work me. And it doesn’t happen when it’s fun, when it’s the party at Summit.You know when it happens, tomorrow morning at 4am when fucking opportunity knocks.
I’m not saying that you have to carry my schedule, but you have to commit to something. You have to stand for something. You have to create a standard. Good enough isn’t good enough anymore guys. I don’t want to be embarrassed in this network. I don’t want to be embarrassed in this business and all these dudes that said yes to me decided to take time away from their families, their businesses, and invest in you. It’s your turn. It’s the next generation because you’ve heard from these gentlemen. Nobody’s kicking their feet up, nobody’s putting this sucker on cruise control.
I was able to say yes and able to finish this fucking marathon, thank you very much, because I was doing it when nobody was watching and when opportunity knocked, I said yes. Same thing happened when I auditioned for Insanity. Same thing happened when I to be in PiYo. Same thing with the coaching opportunity. I’ve heard it said again and again and again and Dave quoted it a lot.
When opportunity knocks, it is too late to prepare.
So guess what? Welcome back to elementary school with me. You’re at starting line with a bunch of your peers and we’re all excited. What are you going to do? We’re not going to the House of Blues, we’re gonna live it up. Probably have too many cocktails, it’ll be awesome. You’re going to jump on a plane and go home. This isn’t going to be there.
You gotta decide now what that is. And I look out in the audience and I see some people that I’ve heard big stories about or from. “I’m gonna..” “Jimmy this time I’m really..” But you know what, Chris Reid hasn’t told his story enough.
People haven’t heard that Robert Hudgens sat across from his father-in-law and asked for a loan enough.
Lee Lawhorne, one of the bravest, strongest, badass dudes I know, he hasn’t shared his story enough about his battle with cancer.
Why do I call out these guys on the front row? Because they’ve done some amazing things and Josh talked about it. Chicken scratch guys. And the other thing that I realize about this business, don’t use these guys’ timeline as your success timeline. Come pass us. Come lap us. I dare you. And so, when we leave here, set your standard because Monday morning, will you answer the call?
Thank you for being here with me. We’ll see you at the House of Blues.
Get the Motivation You Need 5 Days of Fire