Will Smith dying on a treadmill story
My little brother sent this video to me a few months ago and still it pops in my head from time to time. One of the best motivational speeches I've ever heard for a couple of reasons. For starters I am a Christian and I believe that "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Phi 4:13 Which is to say that Jesus gives me strength for a variety of tasks. Lead people to Christ. Love my family unconditionally. Put in a honest hard days work. The lists goes on. However, when I look at this passage I see the word "can", not "will", or "must" but "can". Now I'm not here to get into an exegetical study of this verse, nor am I going to debate whether or not the word "can" was in the original Greek...I'm sure it wasn't but it's in all my Bible's so whatever. When I hear Will Smith talk, especially the part about dying on a treadmill (which by the way starts around 4:22 on the video) I'm inspired because he is making a choice. He is choosing to not be outworked, to not conform to what others may have told him all his life, to not quit when life gets hard. He basically has changed the word "can" to "will" (no pun intended on his name). Now I'm not saying change the word "can" in the Bible...that would be blasphemy but I do like the way the verse sounds with the new word. "I will do all things through Him who strengthens me."
Hearing Smith talk about dying on a treadmill is inspiring...if you haven't watched the video yet...then it just sound really weird and creepy. But I've played sports with these types of people. Every shot, every run, every move is with full effort...as if it's their last. Do these people always win? No. Is Will Smith talking about winning? Not really. If the competition was, who could run a certain distance the fastest, he admits he may lose. But if the competition is who will last the longest on the treadmill...he will win every time. His effort and determination to outlast his competition is what makes him a winner. He chooses each day to define his own path instead of waiting for the world to define it for him. That's inspiring. Watch the video...it's good stuff.
Kyle Hislop
RE/MAX