Motivational Speeches

When it comes to keeping things up to par and keeping everybody in the same page and motivated, speeches are among the things that do the job. O the history of the world, there have been hundreds or even more memorable motivational speeches given. Motivational speeches are given before and during halftime of an important basketball game, before a squad of tired soldiers is led to battle, or in front of a graduating class. Whatever the occasion, speeches help motivate if they are given the right way and you say the right things. 

Here are some of the best speeches ever given with the goal of motivating those fortunate enough to hear them: 

Steve Jobs’ Stanford University Commencement Address 

The man behind Apple, the late Steve Jobs, shared a piece of his brilliant mind with the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University. Suffice to say, his words have been immortalized after going viral immediately after giving his speech and for good reason. Nothing can perhaps be more appealing to the youth than to hear one of the most important people in history tell it as it is. Here are some of the most quotable quotes from his commencement address:

 “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”

 

 “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.”

 

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and everyone should be really excellent. Because this is our life.”

 

“I want to put a ding in the universe.” 

The Inch by Inch spiel in Any Given Sunday 

As mentioned, speeches are an integral part of any sport, may it be on the professional level or not. If you go through all the speeches given for each game and sport, you’ll reach the end of your life line before you even get to the halfway mark. The most memorable speeches in sports are perhaps those used in movies with sport themes. Al Pacino who played Tony D’Amato gave a good one in the movie Any Given Sunday. Here are some of his best lines:

 “In any fight, it is the guy who is willing to die, who is going to win that inch. And I know, if I'm gonna have any life anymore it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch, because that's what living is, the six inches in front of your face.” 

 

“We're in hell right now gentlemen. Believe me. And we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us, or we can fight our way back into the light. We can climb outta hell... one inch at a time.”

 

 “On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is - can you win or lose like a man?” 

Randy Pausch’s Achieving Your Childhood Dreams 

The late Randy Pausch was an American professor who taught at Carnegie Mellon University. He died from pancreatic cancer in 2008. His brilliance and experiences are enough reasons to consider his words and what they teach us. Below is perhaps the most memorable quote that came from his lecture series “The Last Lecture” particularly from his “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” speech he gave in 2007.

“Anything is possible, and that’s something we should not lose sight of. The inspiration and the permission to dream is huge.”