Jim Valvano's most-quoted line is also close to his last public one: “Don't give up. Don't ever give up.” He said it at the 1993 ESPY Awards, roughly two months before cancer killed him, and it is the line most people have in mind when they search for Jim Valvano quotes.
The same speech gave us two more keepers: the laugh-think-cry test for what counts as a full day, and the promise that cancer could take his body but not his mind, his heart, or his soul. Those three lines are the core of everything else that circulates under his name.
This collection keeps his traceable lines together with their sources, groups them by what they are good for - a card, a caption, a locker room, a bad week - and separates out the lines that travel under his name without a solid source. It is written for the person writing to a friend in treatment, the coach drafting a note before a big game, the organizer putting together a Jimmy V Classic or Coaches vs. Cancer night, and the reader who simply wants the words right.
What's in this collection: 7 attributed Valvano lines and 24 short original reflections, each labeled so you always know which is which.
Jim Valvano Quotes at a Glance
- “Don't give up. Don't ever give up.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards, closing line
- “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
- “Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
- “How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal, and you have to be willing to work for it.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
- “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.” - Commonly attributed to Jim Valvano; original source not confirmed
The full collection, grouped by what each line is for, follows below.
The Man Behind the Quotes
Who was Jim Valvano?
Jim Valvano was the head basketball coach at North Carolina State University, where the Wolfpack won the 1983 NCAA championship on a last-second play that still gets replayed every March. He was known publicly as Jimmy V, and he talked fast, joked about himself, and rarely stayed on script.
He was diagnosed with cancer in 1992 and died in April 1993, at 47. In his last months he co-founded the V Foundation for Cancer Research with ESPN, and he used his remaining public voice to announce it and raise money rather than to talk about himself.
What he said at the 1993 ESPY Awards
He received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 1993 ESPY Awards in March 1993. The speech is short and moves in a recognizable order: a few jokes at his own expense, thank-yous, the laugh-think-cry idea, the announcement of the foundation, and the closing line.
He was visibly ill on stage. Five of the numbered lines in this collection come from that speech: items 1, 6, 7, 12, and 17.
Laugh, Think, Cry: The Daily Three
This is the most usable idea in the speech, and it works better as a daily test than as a slogan: did anything make you laugh, did you think about something on purpose, did you let yourself cry when something deserved it. Reach for these lines when someone needs a gentle nudge rather than a pep talk, or when a warm line will land more kindly than a solemn one.
1. “If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
He offered this as a standard for a good day, not a cure for a bad one.
2. A day with no real laugh in it is a day you mostly spent on autopilot.
3. Cry when something deserves it. That isn't weakness; that's the part of you still paying attention.
4. Take ten quiet minutes today to think about nothing you have to produce.
5. Call the person who makes you laugh until your stomach hurts. That call isn't a distraction from your day; it's the best part of it.
Don't Ever Give Up
These lines carry weight because of who said them and when he said them. They suit a friend in a hard stretch, a teammate in a slump, or anyone staring down the fourth quarter of something long. Keep the framing honest: this is a refusal to quit, not a promise that everything turns out well.
6. “Don't give up. Don't ever give up.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
The last line of his last major public speech, delivered about two months before his death.
7. “Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
He drew the line between what illness could take and what it could not.
8. You're allowed to be tired. Tired and finished are two different things.
9. Quitting is a decision. Make sure it's one you actually made, not one you backed into on a bad Tuesday.
10. Giving up feels like relief for about a day. After that, it just feels like a door you closed on yourself.
11. A team that refuses to quit is a different team by the fourth quarter, even if the scoreboard hasn't noticed yet.
Enthusiasm, Dreams, and Real Work
This is the most energetic group on the page, and the easiest to borrow from for a graduation card, a first-practice note, or a new-job message. It holds up because Valvano does not stop at the dream; the enthusiasm comes with a goal and a Tuesday morning attached. If you want a louder, more modern voice for the same idea, the Deion Sanders quotes carry that energy well.
12. “How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal, and you have to be willing to work for it.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
His answer to the question he was asked more than any other.
13. Enthusiasm is free, and it recruits everybody in the room.
14. A dream without a plan for Tuesday morning is just a mood.
15. If you can't get excited about your own goal, don't be surprised when nobody else does.
16. Work like the outcome is still up for grabs, because it always is.
Time, Mortality, and What You Leave Behind
Read this group slowly, and use it even more slowly. It suits memorial posts, hospice and grief contexts, milestone birthdays, and fundraiser pages. It is heavy for someone in active treatment unless they have opened that conversation themselves, so lead with a lighter line and let them go deeper if they want to. If you need more range for a difficult note, our quotes for someone facing cancer are organized by tone.
17. “It may not save my life. It may save my children's lives. It may save someone you love.” - Jim Valvano, 1993 ESPY Awards
Said while asking the audience to support the cancer research foundation he was announcing, not about himself.
18. “They gave me a lifetime contract, and then they declared me dead.” - Jim Valvano, title of his 1991 book
This is a book title rather than a line from a speech, so cite it as a title. Don't dress it up as something he said at a podium.
19. There are 86,400 seconds in a day, and not one of them comes back for a second attempt.
The 86,400-seconds idea travels widely with unstable attribution, so it appears here as an original WishesVerse line rather than as a Valvano quote.
20. You don't get to choose how much time you get. You get to choose how loudly you use it.
21. Legacy isn't what people say about you at the end. It's who keeps going because you did.
Fathers, Players, and People
Valvano's warmth shows up most clearly in what he said about other people. These lines work for Father's Day, coach appreciation nights, retirement tributes, and thank-you notes to someone who backed you before you had any proof to offer. For the wider version of the same feeling, there are sports quotes for coaches and teams built for exactly this kind of note.
22. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.” - Commonly attributed to Jim Valvano
Widely repeated in Valvano collections but not traced here to a specific speech or book, so it stays labeled as commonly attributed.
23. You won't remember the standings. You'll remember who sat with you while you were losing.
24. A coach's real job is making sure nobody on that bench believes they're in it alone.
25. If someone believed in you before you had any proof, tell them you remember. They almost never hear it.
26. Be the person who believes in somebody before their résumé does.
For another voice on leadership and teamwork, the Bill Russell quotes are worth keeping close.
Short Lines to Carry With You
These are one-liners for the places a long quote won't fit: a caption, a whiteboard, the inside of a card, the first line of a speech. Short enough to carry, plain enough to land on the first read.
27. Don't just get through the day. Spend it.
28. Enthusiasm is a strategy.
29. Everybody needs a Final Four to get to. Find yours and go.
30. Make somebody's day before you make your point.
31. Believe in somebody today. It costs you nothing and it changes them.
Quotes Commonly Misattributed to Jim Valvano
A small number of well-documented Valvano lines get stretched into a much larger list on the internet, and some lines that were never his end up on those lists too. The table below shows what circulates, what can be confirmed, and how to label it honestly if you still want to use it. When a line can't be traced to a speech, a book, or an interview, the safest choice is not to print it as his.
| Line as it circulates | What it's usually attributed to | What we can confirm | How to label it if you use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| “There are 86,400 seconds in a day…” | Jim Valvano | No confirmed primary source; the idea appears in many motivational contexts | Don't attribute it. We use our own version as item 19. |
| “They gave me a lifetime contract, and then they declared me dead.” | Jim Valvano | It is the title of his 1991 book, not a line from a speech | Cite the book, not a quote graphic |
| “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: he believed in me.” | Jim Valvano | Widely repeated; no primary source confirmed | “Commonly attributed to Jim Valvano” |
| “Survive and advance” | The 1983 NC State tournament run | A phrase closely tied to that run, and the title of a later documentary about it, rather than a recorded speech line | Use it descriptively, not as a quotation |
| “Never give up” (used alone) | Jim Valvano | His recorded closing line is the longer “Don't give up. Don't ever give up.” | Use the full line as spoken |
| Any bare motivational line found only on quote-aggregator pages | Jim Valvano | Nothing to confirm | Don't print it as his |
If a Valvano quote on another site has no speech, book, or interview attached to it, treat it as unverified until you can find one.
How to Use These Quotes Well
In a card or a short note
One quote is enough. Add two sentences of your own underneath it, name something specific about the person, and sign it by hand. A card that is ninety percent borrowed words reads as distance rather than care, even when the words are right.
In a caption, post, or team message
Quote the line exactly as it was spoken, and credit it as coming from the 1993 ESPY speech rather than just “Jim Valvano.” Exact wording and a precise source are what make a post credible instead of merely motivational. If you are writing a locker-room or alumni message, the Dawn Staley quotes offer a coach's voice from the modern game.
In a tribute, eulogy, or memorial post
Use the humor, not only the mortality. Valvano's own voice was fast, funny, and self-deprecating, and a page of solemn wall-plaque lines misrepresents him. A short funny line followed by one serious one is usually closer to how he actually sounded.
For someone who is ill or grieving
Don't send a mortality quote unprompted. Start with the lighter lines, say plainly that you are thinking of them, and let them steer toward the heavier ones. If you want to write past the quote, there are encouragement messages for someone in treatment and prayers for healing and strength for readers who want that register.
If you are writing for an organization, or if a quote will appear in paid or promotional material, check usage rights first. The best-known phrase is closely tied to a cancer research foundation's branding, and commercial use is a question for the foundation, not for a blog post.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Jim Valvano say “Don't give up. Don't ever give up”?
Yes. It was the closing line of his speech at the 1993 ESPY Awards, where he received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. It is the most widely quoted thing he ever said, and he delivered it roughly two months before his death.
What are the “three things” he said to do every day?
He said that if you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. The point was not that every day must contain all three, but that a day missing all three was probably spent on autopilot.
What did he say about cancer not touching his mind, heart, or soul?
He said cancer could take away all of his physical abilities but could not touch his mind, his heart, or his soul, and that those three things would carry on forever. He said it in the same 1993 ESPY speech.
When did Jim Valvano die, and what from?
He died in April 1993 of cancer, having been diagnosed the previous year. He was 47. The V Foundation for Cancer Research, which he announced during his final speech, continues to fund cancer research.
Is it okay to use these quotes at a fundraiser or in a commercial post?
For a charity or community event, quoting the line with clear attribution is usually straightforward. For paid or branded commercial use, check first: the best-known phrase is closely associated with a cancer research foundation's identity and fundraising. When in doubt, contact the foundation rather than assume.
Why doesn't this page have 80 quotes like other sites?
The number of Valvano lines that can actually be traced to a speech, a book, or an interview is small. Longer lists tend to be padded with paraphrases and lines by other people, so this collection stays close to the verifiable core and labels everything else clearly.
Choosing One Line and Using It
Pick the line that matches the moment rather than the one that sounds most impressive. If someone is in the middle of a hard stretch, item 8 or item 6 will do more than a grand statement about legacy. If you are writing a coach, item 24 or item 25 is closer to the truth of what they do. If you are putting together a fundraiser page for cancer research, item 17 was written for exactly that job.
Once you have the line, add two sentences of your own, name the person you are writing to, and send it. That small piece of you is what makes a borrowed quote feel like a gift. For more short lines to keep on hand, browse the inspirational quotes collection at WishesVerse.com, or save this page for the next time someone needs a sentence they cannot find themselves.
