Steve Harvey - Why Would You Not Take a Chance | Motivational Speech

Summary

Motivate Me; Inspirational Speeches

Episode Summary: Steve Harvey – "Why Would You Not Take a Chance?" | Motivational Speech

Host: The Mindset Guru
Featured Speaker: Steve Harvey
Date: July 28, 2026

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Overview

This episode of Motivate Me spotlights a powerful motivational speech by Steve Harvey, exploring the courage it takes to pursue one’s dreams and the importance of believing in your unique gift. Through candid storytelling and faith-driven wisdom, Harvey inspires listeners to take risks, trust the process even during adversity, and never let setbacks or others' doubts define their journey. The episode is rich with anecdotes about overcoming failures, recognizing individual potential, and the spiritual perspective behind aspiration and perseverance.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Imagination and Vision

Steve Harvey urges listeners to pay close attention to their recurring dreams, ambitions, and "imaginings," positioning them as divine signals of personal potential.

• "Why would you not go for it? Why would you not take a chance? Why you think you keep imagining opening a business?... Because God is talking to you. He's showing you something that he has for you." (01:30)
• Imagination as a spiritual compass that should not be dismissed or surrendered to naysayers.
• Caution against sharing your visions with those who may not understand—because those dreams were given to you, not them.

2. Identifying and Honoring Your Unique Gift

• "All of you have a gift. You just got to quit wanting your gift to be somebody else's gift... Your gift is the thing that you do the absolute best with the least amount of effort." (03:10)
• Anecdote: Steve shares the story of his barber, who discovered extraordinary success and wealth by excelling at his craft, underscoring the importance of embracing and developing your innate talent.
• Emphasis that everyone’s gift is different, and fulfillment comes from fully using your personal talent.

3. Faith, Action, and Perseverance

• "But you have not. Cause you ask not... Faith without works is dead. So now you got to put in work." (05:10)
• The interplay between faith and actionable effort—dreams must be pursued with both vision and hard work.
• The importance of not letting failures or external negativity derail you from your path.

4. Learning from Setbacks: Lessons and Blessings

• "Even in some of your darkest moments, when you make mistakes, you have got to stick around for the two things that the mistake is made for. Every failure is made for. Every misstep is made for. It is made for a lesson and a blessing." (05:45)
• Harvey reframes failure as a necessary, growth-inducing phase, not a stopping point.
• Stories of personal hardship include his time being homeless, and how those moments became a source of gratitude and perspective.

5. The Process Is Necessary

• "You just gotta quit tripping while you in the process. Because the process is necessary." (08:29)
• The idea that difficulty is a preparatory stage; faith is tested and forged in the journey, not just the destination.
• Encouragement to keep perspective when things are tough—adversity is not permanent.

6. The Need to ‘Jump’: Taking the Leap of Faith

• "Every successful person in this world has jumped... You cannot just exist in this life. You have got to try to live." (11:50)
• Potent metaphor: Standing on a cliff, needing to jump—using your unique gift as your parachute.
• Acknowledgment that the leap is hard and comes with hardship, but those who never try never soar.
• "If you don’t jump, your parachute will never open. You’ll never know. You never know what God really have (for you)." (13:20)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Naysayers:
  "Stop telling your visions to other people. Cause they not going to see it... God Ain't show it to them. He showed it to you." (02:20)

• On the Role of Faith:
  "God is in the forgiving business. God is in the get your life together business. God is in the turn it around business. God did all that for me." (06:07)

• On Processing Adversity:
  "You just gotta quit tripping while you in the process. Because the process is necessary... He ain’t through with you. If he was through with you, you would not wake up in the morning." (08:30)

• On Using Your Gift:
  "Your Bible says your gift will make room for you. Your gift, not your education." (10:10)
  "When you jump, it's not going to open right away. You're gonna hit them rocks... But eventually the parachute has to open. That is a promise of God." (12:00)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:30-04:30 — Imagination, listening to your own dreams, the story of Harvey’s barber, and understanding your God-given gift.
• 04:30-06:02 — Sharing visions with others and overcoming negative voices.
• 08:29-10:30 — Embracing “the process,” and personal lessons from adversity.
• 10:30-13:20 — Cliff metaphor: the necessity of ‘jumping’ to unleash your potential and the risks and rewards of doing so.

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Final Thoughts

Steve Harvey’s message is an uplifting reminder that each person holds within themselves a distinct, God-given ability, and finding fulfillment requires courage, self-belief, and action. Listeners are challenged to honor their visions, have faith in the process, and not let setbacks—or the doubts of others—diminish their pursuit.
If you’re yearning for more in your life, this episode serves up both a pep talk and practical spiritual wisdom to inspire you to take that crucial leap.

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Transcript

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[Steve Harvey]

you not go for it? Why would you not take a chance? Why you think you keep imagining opening a business? Why you keep imagining graduating, getting a better job? Why do you keep imagining buying a house? Why do you keep imagining driving a really nice car? Why do you keep imagining getting rich one day? Why do you keep imagining that? Because God is talking to you. He's showing you something that he has for you. You've got to understand how good God is. He ain't playing with you. He the real deal. He created you and then he even showed you what he got for you. You got to start believing in your imagination. You got to start talking to him about these stuff you be seeing. How many times has God showed you something in your imagination that you thought was so wonderful and then you took it in there to your family and your friends and you shared it with them and they shot it down. You know why they shot it down? Because they couldn't see it. You know why they didn't see it? Because God Ain't show it to them. He showed it to you. Stop telling your visions to other people. Cause they not going to see it. All of you have a gift. You just got to quit wanting your gift to be somebody else's gift. Identify your own gift. Cause you already have it. Here's the way you identify your gift. Your gift is the thing that you do the absolute best with the least amount of effort. That is your God given gift. The dude that gave me my first haircut in Texas. You know how much he charged me for my haircut? $10. Do you know when he came out on the road with me on the Kings of Comed? He did the Steve Harvey Show. Do you know how much he was making per haircut? Fifteen hundred dollars a haircut. You know how many haircuts I got a week? Four haircuts a week. This dude made $6,000 a week cutting hair. You know what he do? He cut hair. When I went bald, he damn near killed himself. But you know what he did? He went back to what he do now. Guess what he got. He got four salons in Texas and two barber colleges. You know what he make? $6 million a year. You know what he do? He cut half. That's all he do. Listen to me. Y' all got a gift that God gave to you at birth. If I was you, I would do that gift for you. Mess around and lead this world. Cause your gift will make room for you. You'll be the happiest you've ever been. And you'll make the most money you ever made. I dare you to try it. That's a promise God made. But you have not. Cause you ask not. So if you see the vision, the imagination. But you don't ask God for it. What you want him to do? He showed it to you. Faith without works is dead. So now you got to put in work. But if you don't work, if you don't ask him for it, he cannot give it to you. Because he created us with the power of choice. We make choices every day. If you decide that you will be poor, there's nothing I can do. You gonna be poor. If you decide to be rich today, who gonna stop you? Who? If you decide you want to be rich, all you gotta do is start. Why not? Who gonna stop you? Unless you tell it to the wrong person. Mama, Mama, listen to me. I'm going to be rich. Anybody rich in this family. Go in there and sit down somewhere, get yourself a good job. No, Mama could be wrong. Because what you have in your imagination. God didn't show it to your mama. I'm sorry. He showed it to you. Even in some of your darkest moments, when you make mistakes, you have got to stick around for the two things that the mistake is made for. Every failure is made for. Every misstep is made for. It is made for a lesson and a blessing. Them two things follow every single one of them every single time. God don't send down rain without a return. When he send down rain, flowers grow, trees get bigger. You got to understand what the rain and the dirt is for. People get so angry when people start throwing dirt on you. You have no idea what I've done. You have no idea what I've been through.

[Gen Digital Narrator]

You.

[Steve Harvey]

You wouldn't even talk to me if you knew what I had to do to be here. But God is in the forgiving business. God is in the get your life together business. God is in the turn it around business. God is in the saving business. God did all that for me. So I'm telling you right now, if God can fix Steve Harvey and turn him into this, I bet he could turn you into that. Everything you're going through Finding great candidates

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[Steve Harvey]

It's preparing you for what you ask God for. You just gotta quit tripping while you in the process. Because the process is necessary. You may not see it now, but when he gets you on the other side of it, you're going to see exactly why it went that way. And you're going to be okay with it. But quit tripping during the process. Oh Lord, why me? You ain't the only one. Oh Lord, why I lose my job? You ain't the only one unemployed. Pull yourself together and quit tripping. Cause you in the process. God is processing. He ain't through with you. If he was through with you, you would not wake up in the morning. He gonna fix it. I look back on my life at all that I've been through. So the stuff I'm currently going through, I have built up enough reservoir that living in the car taught me that this ain't it. So the things I'm going through now, I know this ain't it. That he gonna come get me in a minute. So all I gotta do is sit tight. I ain't in a bad place now. I ain't where I want to be. But the spot I'm in is better than where I was. I ain't homeless. So what I'm going through right now, y' all don't know. I got some challenges. People think when you get famous or rich that your problems is over. They got a whole new set of them for you. They got some stuff you ain't seen. But I'll tell you the truth right now. The problems I got right now, I take them. Cause the problems I had when I was homeless, I don't want them no more. See, money gonna change your life a little bit, folks. All of you gonna get more. The Bible says you have not. Cause you ask not. It didn't say you have not. Cause you don't make enough. It didn't say you have not. Cause your credit ain't straight. It simply say you have not. Cause you ask not. But you don't ask. Cause you ain't got that together. When you ask God for something, quit tripping. He got it from him. God can't give you what you want. Cause you want to hold on to what you got. You all in the way. Now you telling him how to bless you. You can't tell God how to bless you. It's a simple process. The only reason I'm telling you this, cause this is how I made it. When you standing on the cliff of life and you see people soaring by, you see people soaring, going to exotic places, you hear about them doing wonderful things. Maybe you look up the street and your neighbor just gets a car. Every year, every two years. Well, how is he doing that? Have you ever thought maybe this person right here has identified their gift and is living in their gift? Because your Bible says this. Your Bible says your gift will make room for you. Your gift, not your education. You go get an education, that's nice. But if you don't use your gift, that education only gonna take you so far, man. I know a lot of people got degrees, man. They ain't even using them. It's your gift. But the only way for you to soar is you got to jump. Every successful person in this world has jumped you. Eventually, you are going to have to jump. You cannot just exist in this life. You have got to try to live. If you are waking up thinking that it's got to be more to your life than it is, man, believe that it is. Believe in your heart of hearts that it is. But to get to that life, you're gonna have to jump. You got to take that gift that's packed away on your back. You got to jump off that cliff and pull that cord. That gift opens up and provides the sword. If you don't ever use it, you're gonna just go to work. And if you getting up, going to work on a job every day that you hate going to, that ain't living, man. You just existing. At one point in time, you ought to see what living's like. But the only way to see what living like, you gotta jump. When you jump, it's not going to open right away. You're gonna hit them rocks, you're gonna get some skin. Toe off on them cliffs. You're gonna get all your clothes tore off. You're gonna get some cuts on you. You're gonna be bleeding pretty bad. But eventually the parachute has to open. That is a promise of God. That ain't a theory. That's a promise. His promises is true. Because listen to me. You cannot name one single thing God has not gotten you through. You can play it safe and deal without the cuts and the task. And you can stand on that cliff of life forever safe. But if you don't jump, I got another promise I can make you. Your parachute will never open. You'll never know. You never know what God really have.

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A fake email cost me my dream home.

[Steve Harvey]

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