Jim Kelly, as I'm sure you're aware, has spent the bulk of the past five years fighting cancer. He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in 2013, which attacked his upper jaw. The cancer went away after a surgery, then returned in 2014. Chemotherapy removed the second round of cancer, only to see a third round in March.
The battle has reconstructed Kelly's upper jaw and is still ongoing -- he announced yesterday he's going back in for another checkup after "something came up" -- but has not robbed him of his spirit.
Kelly accepted the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the ESPY awards on Wednesday night, and his speech was something every person on Earth can learn from.
The entire six minutes are worth watching but if six minutes are too long, fast forward to the 5-minute mark.
"You don't need to be a Russell Wilson, an Aaron Rodgers, to make a difference out there. Every single person in this room can be a difference maker," Kelly says. "You can be just a normal person who gets up every morning and goes to work, but you can be a difference maker, putting smiles on those faces. My kids, my friends, when they came in to see me, not once did they ever have a frown on their face. I encourage anybody out there, if you have somebody out there who's suffering -- it doesn't have to be cancer, it could be somebody not having a good day, it could be your mom, your dad, it could be your grandparents -- what you say to them and the smile that you have on your face, that could be a difference in them making it to the next day. Remember that."
Watch the full thing here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln07N8AV7UA