Inky Johnson had put in the work, embraced the process, and was on his way to being a top 30 pick in the NFL draft when a big collision during a game as a Vol derailed his career. Some of our audience will be old enough to remember him flying around and making plays, while the name may ring a bell, but his story is unfamiliar.
Either way, this seven minute video of Inky sharing a moving motivational message will strike a cord. In the video, Johnson shares some great messages and wisdom on what inspired him growing up, and the vision that kept him motivated when his NFL dream could no longer be fulfilled.
There is a ton of great motivational stuff in here that will give you chills, but the best nugget in my opinion comes from some advice from Inky's mother, who worked at Wendy's growing up, and when she would come pick him up from practice growing up, Inky would beg her to turn on the lights of her car to light up the field so he could get some extra work in. She's clearly someone that would help out her son however she possibly could, and one piece of advice that had an enormous impact on Inky had to do with quitting.
"One of the greatest pieces of advice that my mother gave me was this: 'Son, whatever you start, you make sure you finish'"
"And the problem with the world today is people get involved in things and if they don't like a certain person, or if they don't like the process, or if it's not what they thought it was, they quit. What they don't understand about quitting is that quitting is a habit that doesn't just effect you...later on in life when you get a wife, and you get some kids and you've got a family, it's going to come back to haunt you, and it will one day affect them."
"That is why I tell you that the process is more important than the product. It's not even about the outcome for me, it's about can you take pride in what you do as an individual?"
Listen to the full message below. You'll be glad you did.