On Thursday, Nov. 16, State High hosted the motivational speaker, Gian Paul Gonzalez, whose speech lasted an hour with the event beginning at 9am. Students from neighboring school districts gathered to hear what the Super Bowl win-accredited speaker had to say.
Gonzalez was invited to join the NBA after high school, but decided pursuing his teaching career was more important. After delivering a speech to the New York Giants, he became known for his “ALL IN” motto.
Gonzalez’ speech started with his ESPN clip. The video discussed his motivational speaking for various sports teams.
After the video, Gonzalez talked about the start of his career and the impact it had on his future.
“When I walked out of [the Giants’ hotel], I thought I could make very minimal impact, but I was wrong,” Gonzalez said. “The Giants happened to win the next game, and the next game, and the next game. I remember the chaplain from the team called me up. He said, ‘Mr Gonzalez, you wouldn’t believe it; we made the playoffs and all the players are saying ‘all in’ before they break.’”
Following the success with the Giants, Gonzalez was asked to speak at many more events. As Gonzalez’ career grew even more, jerseys and T-shirts were made featuring the “ALL IN” slogan. He talked about the message behind the shirts.
“People ask me what ‘ALL IN’ means to me. It’s not a T-shirt, it’s not a wristband, it’s not even a Super Bowl trophy.”
He later talked about the changes the “ALL IN” lifestyle will bring.“When you choose to be all in, some of you know the feeling- you’re going to find out who your real friends are and just the people you’ve been walking in the hallways with for the past couple of years,” Gonzalez said.
The speaker asked a student from Bellwood school district to come up on the stage. Gonzalez had the student do push-ups to recreate his experience in the NBA workout room.The crowd cheered loudly and the student was able to complete a series of push-ups, about 10 seconds each.
Gonzalez also talked about the poker chip strategy he uses with the teams he works with. This is where the “ALL IN” slogan comes from. “I said [to the team], ‘Guys, imagine we’re playing a big game of poker and one of you pushes your chips in the middle. What does that signify?’ [A player in the back of the room said], ‘That means you’re all in, you’re ready to win, you’re done going halfway.’”
He continued by explaining the logic of the poker chip.“I said ‘All right, now what if you push your chips in the middle but then you get nervous about the whole thing and you pull them back?’ [The player said], ‘Well if you do that in a game of poker with these guys, you’re going to get punched in the face.’ I said, ‘You’re right, you would never do that in a game of poker, so why do we do that in our lives?’” Gonzalez said..
Gonzalez told the audience that he instructed the team to sign the poker chip with their name, then put it somewhere they will see it. The chip serves as a reminder to stay committed and not give up when things get tough.
Many students liked Gian Paul Gonzalez and thought that the speech was very interesting.
Sophomore Madison Martin thought that the event was a great opportunity.“I thought that the speaker was a unique opportunity for us to be able to hear from him. It was interesting to hear of his experiences and how we could learn from them too,” Martin said.
Freshman Carsyn Ligetti agreed that the speaker was inspiring.“I thought the motivational speaker was very inspiring and it allowed people, like me, to think differently about subjects [like those he discussed],” Ligetti said.
Overall, Gonzalez’ speech was appreciated by State High and surrounding school districts. His “ALL IN” motto will not be forgotten.
