One of the Greatest Speeches Ever Les Brown
what i’d like for you to do right now i
want you to think about your dream
because i’m in a room full of dreamers
think about your dream right now what
you think about it
and envision it now ladies and gentlemen
let me share something with you
i do not believe that any of us have
dreams
that were not given to us for the
purpose
of accomplishing those particular dreams
and i want to share something with you
that has changed my life i started out
as
was indicated by jack
it’s very humble beginnings i don’t know
what that dream is that you have
i don’t care how far fetched it might
appear to be
i don’t care how disappointing it might
have been
as you’ve been working toward that dream
but here’s what i know
that that dream that you’re holding in
your mind
that it’s possible let’s say that
together please
it’s possible see sometimes we can’t say
i can do that
but what we can say that it’s
possible that i can have my dream
as we run toward it as we work on it day
in
and day out no one ladies and gentlemen
could have convinced me when i started
out
just over six years ago working on my
dream and i want you to think about
whatever your dream is
because i was willing to take a chance
and most people won’t do that
most of the people that you talk to to
try and bring them into the business
these are not risk takers most people
have
done all that they’re ever going to do
they raise a family they earn a living
and then they die
but people who are running toward their
dreams life has a special kind of
meaning
and here’s what i will share with you
that in the process of working on your
dreams
you are going to incur incur a lot of
disappointment
a lot of failure a lot of pain
a lot of setbacks a lot of defeats
but in the process of doing that you
will discover some things about yourself
that you don’t know right now
what you will realize is that you have
greatness within you
what you’ll realize is that you’re more
powerful than you can
ever begin to imagine what you will
realize
is that you’re greater than your
circumstances that you don’t have to go
through life being a victim
as jack indicated i was born in miami
florida an area
called liberty city in an abandoned
building on a hard linoleum floor
with my twin brother we were six weeks
of age
we were adopted when i was in fifth
graders identified as emr
labeled educable mentally put
back from the fifth grade into the
fourth grade
and stayed in that category until i got
out of high school
i don’t have any college training but i
met a high school teacher who one day
changed my life i was waiting on another
student
and when he came in he said to me young
man go to the board and write what i’m
about to tell you
and i said i can’t do that sir he said
why not
i said i’m not one of your students he
said it doesn’t matter
follow my directions now i say i can’t
do that sir
he said why not i said because i’m
educable mentally
and he came from behind his desk and he
looked at me he said don’t ever say that
again
someone’s opinion of you does not have
to become your reality
that enabled me to begin to dream as
dexter has been doing for you
and ladies and gentlemen i started
working on my dream and most people
don’t work on their dreams why
for many years i didn’t one is because
of fear
the fear of failure what if things don’t
work out
and the fear of success what if they do
and i can’t handle it
the other thing is that most people
ladies and gentlemen they get
comfortable
they stop growing they stop working on
themselves they stop stretching
they stop pushing themselves and they
end up becoming very cynical about life
and they throw in the towel on
themselves
on their families and on their dreams
and the other thing is that most people
don’t feel worthy
what i’m doing now i could have been
doing years ago
but because i did not have a college
education
because i didn’t believe in myself
because i allowed other people’s opinion
of me
to control my destiny i didn’t act on my
ideas so i applaud you
for your dreaming for your running
towards your dream i applaud you for
believing
in yourself because that’s what life
is about stretching and challenging
looking for ways that you can begin to
improve yourself
and ladies and gentlemen as a result of
stretching out
of acting on my dream and i don’t know
what that dream is for you
i can tell you that it’s possible no one
could have convinced me
that after just over six years i will
have my own book entitled
live your dreams just over six years i
would have five specials on public
television
just over six years i’ve done
motivational speaking for
att procter gamble mcdonald’s
corporation xerox ibm
just over six years i will now have my
own talk show that will premiere
on monday labor day i’m saying to you
your dream
is possible
[Music]
[Applause]
but not only is it important that you
believe and begin to know that it’s
possible for you to live your dream as
you run toward it
but i’ve done something that i want to
share with you
called choosing your future in fact i’ve
developed a set of tapes talking about
how to begin to create your own reality
by choosing your future
and not only is it important for you to
know it’s possible for you to choose
your future
but it’s necessary that you work on
yourself that you develop yourself
it’s necessary to know that everybody
won’t see it
that everybody won’t join you that
everybody won’t have the vision
it’s necessary to know that that a lot
of people like to complain but they
don’t want to do anything about their
situation
that you are an uncommon breed
you know you have to know within
yourself
that i can do this even if no one else
sees it for me i must see it for myself
that’s necessary
it’s also ladies and gentlemen necessary
that you be
creative when you’re working on your
ideas that you
understand the importance of changing up
of readjusting your strategies many
times we can have a great idea
but if you’re not advancing it in the
right way
and things don’t happen you become
discouraged and think the idea doesn’t
work
no that’s not true it’s necessary that
we become creative i remember
when i was in new york walking down the
street and a guy
approached me and said hey mister can i
shine your shoes and i said no i’m in a
hurry i don’t have time
i kept walking someone else said hey man
your shoes look cloudy my shiny shoes i
said no i don’t have time i’m sorry i’m
busy
i was walking fast and many people
solicited me for my business and then
finally young man
stepped in front of me and he’s excuse
me and he started counting 97
98 99 100 he said sir i said yes he said
come here please i said what is it
he say today is my birthday and every
year just to thank god for another year
of life
the 100th person who passes my shoeshine
stand
i offer them a free shoe shine would you
give me the honors
i said why sure i got up on the
shoeshine stan george and
i sat there and he shined my shoes
diligently
and when i got down i looked at him they
were sparkling and i was walking away
and i said thank you and i stopped i
said excuse me but
how much do you usually charge he said
only two dollars
i said tell you what today’s your
birthday here’s five keep the change he
said thank you
as i was walking away looking in the
opposite direction of other people
coming he started counting again
97 98 daddy
it’s necessary that you be flexible
that you are always thinking of how can
i improve this
better this is a customer driven economy
it’s necessary for you to always explore
various ways in which
you can improve the quality of service
that you’re providing for the people
in your organization i remember
something a major company had talked
about the extra value
service they were providing for their
customers and the lady who had the news
conference summarized it this way
she said it’s not our intention to
satisfy our customers or to please our
customers
our intention is to amaze them
it’s necessary if you’re going to
compete today
that you look for ways to amaze your
customers
by being one of those individuals that
keep your commitments to keep your word
that’s relentless
it’s necessary as you work with the
people that you bring into all your
organization
that they see that you’re a good example
of a person to work with
because you model integrity and
determination and ambition and truth and
honesty
and the way in which you conduct
business the next step is
that is you that is you
that no one can do it for you but you
and even though you face disappointments
even though you will experience some
setbacks
it goes with the territory
you must understand that i remember i
was playing
a game with my nine-year-old son john
leslie
and i beat him ten straight games in a
game called connect four
and finally i said john listen i’m bored
i don’t want to play you anymore
and i got up i said i’m ready to go to
sleep now and repeat after me please
let’s say to this together it’s not over
until i win
john leslie said no you can’t go now dad
i said why he said it’s not over until i
win
that was his attitude we sat down and we
played several other games
and finally after the 11th game john
leslie won and he got up and he yawned
and he said i’m ready to go to sleep now
and i’m saying to you
what if all of us took that attitude
after we face a rejection and a no or we
have a meeting and no one shows up
or somebody say you can count on me and
they don’t come through
what if we have that kind of attitude
the cause repossessed
nobody believes in you you’ve lost again
and again and again
the lights are cut off but you’re still
looking at your dream
reviewing it every day and say to
yourself it’s not
over until i win
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
life will yield to you now here’s the
next step repeat after me please
it’s possible i can live my dream
it’s necessary i work on myself
surround myself with winners
become creative it’s me
i’ve got to make it happen it’s not over
until i win
the next thing that’s important to know
yes it’s possible that you can choose
your future and direct the course of
your life
as you run towards your dream it’s
necessary that you have goals that you
write those goals down that you plan
that you think constantly of how you can
begin to improve what it is that you’re
doing
if it’s your presentations if it’s your
recruiting skills whatever that is
it’s also necessary that you look for
ways to
always find a way to pull it out when
everybody else thinks that you are
defeated
that you’ve got to take personal
responsibility to know
that in order to become successful
you’ve got to make it your
personal business to do it but the next
thing ladies and gentlemen i want to
share with you
that some of you already know that it’s
hard
it’s not easy it’s hard changing your
life
it was hard when just over three years
ago
in the penobscot building in detroit
michigan
where i was operating my business and i
fell on some hard times
and i was sleeping in my office
it was hard coming into the lobby and
the security said excuse me mr brown can
we see you for a moment
and i said yes and i walked up to the
counter and he gave me an envelope
and he said would you mind reading it
here and i opened the envelope
and the envelope was from management
that says this
is an office tower it’s not a hotel
please do not sleep in your office
and i said excuse me sir i said i just
worked long hours
in creating my business i’m an
entrepreneur
and right now things are bad for me but
they’re not going to be
this way always
and i just asked for the opportunity to
continue to operate
like i’m doing i’m not trying to make
this my home
and it was hard coming through the lobby
and sometimes they would laugh there’s a
guy talking about becoming successful
and look at him he’s bathing in the
bathroom upstairs
on the 21st floor he sleeps on the floor
him and two other dreamers up there look
at him
it was hard ladies and gentlemen coming
to speak to people
and i was facing financial difficulties
in my own life
i was behind on my bills and my dreams
and i’m saying to them
you can live your dream it was hard
ladies and gentlemen
it was very difficult to pick myself up
each day believing
that i could do it there were times that
i doubted myself
i said god why why is this happening to
me
i’m just trying to take care of my
children and my mother i’m not trying to
steal a rod from anybody
how did this have to happen to me
it was very hard and here’s what i want
to say to you
for those of you that have experienced
some hardships
don’t give up on your dream no one could
have convinced me by holding on
by continuing to push forward by
continuing to run toward my dream
that one day i would have my own
talk show it’s a long shot ladies and
gentlemen from liberty city an abandoned
building on a floor
never knowing my mother or father it’s a
long shot
being here with you today in this dome
in atlanta it’s a long shot
no college training labeled educable
mentally but i kept
running toward my dream
[Music]
it’s very important as you hold on to
that dream
there are moments when you’re going to
doubt yourself
their rough times are going to come but
they have not come to stay
they have come to pass it’s very
important for you to know that
don’t say i’m having a bad day say i’m
having a character building day
it’s not going to be easy it was hard
laying on the floor of the pronounced
penobscot building
looking out of the window daydreaming
saying les
can you do this can you make this happen
i used to listen to tapes day in and day
out
about see you at the top my my great
friend zig
and and and dennis waitland different
other motivational speakers and dr
norman vincent peale
and dex is saying don’t let nobody steal
your dream
i used to ask myself can i do this and
something said within me
you’re the one you’re the one
and let me tell you something ladies and
gentlemen
while you’re here and before you go back
home to your respective cities
and communities write down at least five
reasons
on why you deserve your dream and why
you won’t give up
what’s going to make you unstoppable why
you must be unreasonable because logical
practical thinking says
you can’t do it today but if you want to
produce
unreasonable results in your life like
living your dreaming taking charge of
your destiny you’ve got to be
an unreasonable person you’ve got to be
an uncommon person
so write down the reasons of why you’re
here
[Music]
my first major goal was to buy my mother
a home
and let me tell you something ladies and
gentlemen what what will reasons do less
nietzsche said if you know the why for
doing you can endure almost
anyhow what do you mean by that if you
know why you’re doing something
when the hard times come and they’re
going to come when the disappointments
and the rejections come and they’re
gonna come by the truckloads
your reasons will be your rod and staff
to comfort you
to pick you up once again i got a saying
on one of my tapes if life
knocks you down try and land on your
back because if you can look up
you can get up let your reasons get you
back up
[Applause]
[Music]
so yes it’s possible for you to live
your dream
it’s necessary that you associate with
winners
that you work your system that you are
relentless that you never give up
it’s you you’ve got to take personal
responsibility you’ve got to make it
your personal business
to make it happen and you’ve got to
resolve within yourself
that i can do this that it’s hard
but you’ve got to say i’m the one
i’m the one to make this happen i’m the
one to become successful in this
business
as you work to help other people to
become successful that feeds
your success but you know it’s going to
be hard
but find out what will make it worth it
for you so ladies and gentlemen
if you want to make your dream become
reality the people that are running at
their dreams know
that it’s possible that you can live
your dream that it’s necessary that
you’re relentless that you have a plan
of action that you are creative
the people that are living their dream
of finding winners to attach themselves
to
the people that are living their dreams
of a people
that know that it’s if it’s going to
happen it’s up to them
and they’re resolving within themselves
it’s not over
until i win the people that are running
out to their dream
know they’re gonna have hard times they
keep on running because they’re saying
within themselves
i’m the one i’m the one no matter how
bad it is or how bad it gets
i’m going to make it the people that are
running after their dreams
are the people that are hungry shake
somebody’s head on your right and left
and say you got to be
hungry and as you run towards your dream
i want to dedicate this to you that i
love very much i want to thank
dexter and all of you it’s something
that i’m known by
it’s on our tapes called choosing your
future they said simply this
that if you want a thing bad enough to
go out and fight for it
to work day and night for it to give up
your time your peace
and your sleep for it if all that you
dream and scheme is about it
and life seems useless and worthless
without it
and if you gladly sweat for it and
fretboard and plan for it
and lose all your terror of the
opposition for it
and if you simply go after that thing
that you want with all of your capacity
strength and sagacity faith hope and
confidence
and stern pertinacity if neither cold
poverty
famish or golf sickness or pain or body
and brain
can keep you away from the thing that
you want if darker and grim
you besiege and besetted with the help
of god you’ll get it
this is mrs amy brown’s baby boy leslie
calvin brown saying
it’s been a plum pleasing pleasure as
well as a privilege
thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
you