Derek Clark: “It’s Not About My IQ, It’s About My I Will.”

Derek Clark delivers a powerful message on self-worth, resilience, and purpose. He reminds us that success isn’t about money but about discovering value within yourself and helping others. By overcoming adversity, silencing self-doubt, and choosing to define your own path, you unlock your greatness and create lasting impact. Want Ad-Free Episodes? Join QOD Club and hear zero ads inside our Circle community. Plus, book clubs, mentorship calls, weekly business trainings, and new likeminded friends. Get started for only $9. Source: Motivational Speaker: Never Give Up - Greatness is Contagious! Derek ClarkHosted by Sean CroxtonFollow me on InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  Never let your weakness destroy your greatness. Never limit yourself.

• 0:23Speaker 01

  Welcome back to the Quote of the Day Show. I am your host, Shawn Croxton, of seancroxton.com. We've got the Rappin' Dad, Derek Clark, on the show today. This is a pretty short talk, but there's so much powerful stuff in it. The QOD is this: It's not about my IQ. It's about my I-will. I love that. Some of us feel like we're not smart enough to go out there and do our things. And here's the truth. Here's what I find: That the smarter the person, the less they actually do because they get stuck in their head. They're trying to figure every single thing out before they move forward, kind of what we talked about yesterday. And

• 1:05Speaker 01

  there are so many examples of individuals who, you know, weren't academically the best, we'll say, but still crushed it in life, crushed it in their businesses because they were willing to take action and learn along the way. It's like the best education is the education you get when you actually get into action. It's what you learn from your failures, it's what you learn from your wins, it's what you learn from the people around you. A lot of times, it doesn't come in a classroom. It comes in the actual experience. And so if you feel like you're not smart enough to do the thing, remember, you probably are, but also that you don't have to reach the certain threshold of intelligence in

• 1:48Speaker 01

  order to do something. Just go out there and do it and learn along the way. The Rappin' Dad, Derek Clark, is coming up.

• 1:57Speaker 00

  And I'm here to tell you that I've been in a room with, hanging with the President of the United States, to a billionaire, to one of my friends who makes $600 million in a year, to other friends, right? And I'm able to tell you, as a witness, that making money doesn't make you happy. You have to find something within you that fulfills you. Something within you. Every one of you has a story. Every one of you has greatness. You were born with it.

• 2:30Speaker 00

  The most important opinion you should have in this life is the opinion of yourself. Not what other people think about you. I'm up here rapping at FBLAPBL. I know some of you don't even probably like my rap. Raise your hands. No, I'm playing.

• 2:52Speaker 00

  No, but you know what I'm saying, but I'm up here being myself. And that's what you gotta be, be your best self. And I also learned to not let the inner me become the enemy. You go after your dreams. Don't let the little thing inside of you tell you, oh, you're not good enough. Oh, you're not pretty enough. Oh, you're not tall enough, or you're not short enough, or you're not skinny enough. No. You have a dream that's been put inside of you, you go for that dream.

• 3:22Speaker 00

  Because either you go for that dream, or you're gonna help another person build their dream.

• 3:30Speaker 00

  Why not try to build your dream and help change the world?

• 3:35Speaker 00

  My life has changed drastically.

• 3:39Speaker 00

  Because when I started finding value within myself, I realized that I could help others. And let me break it down for you real simple, hope. This is a Derek Clark acronym. Hope, helping one person every day. Hope. When you go back home tomorrow.

• 4:02Speaker 00

  You remember Diamond D? You remember Diamond D sharing a message of hope? Because every one of you has a story. And every one of you has the ability to share hope. And when you share hope, greatness comes even more. Greatness comes through your character, greatness comes through adversity, overcoming adversity. I have a nice scar. About an inch thick. Right over my artery, where I, as a teenager, did something very self-destructive to me.

• 4:36Speaker 00

  And when you puncture your artery.

• 4:41Speaker 00

  Blood just doesn't dribble out. It's like a movie. Blood escapes from your body. And as I'm on the way to the hospital, my foster mom's telling me how much they love me. How much they care about me. That I didn't care about myself. And I know there are people suffering in this room because I just did a PBL, FBLA conference last week, and you would not believe on how many emails I received, how many Facebook messages I received from people that are hurting. In order for you to be great in this world, you've got to overcome the weakness. Never let your weakness destroy your greatness.

• 5:26Speaker 00

  Never limit yourself. Now. I graduated high school with a 1.8 GPA. That's crazy, huh? But I learned it's not about my IQ, it's about my I-will. I learned it's not about how much smarts I have, it's about how much heart I have. Well, thank you. Now, I can tell you that a GPA like that limits you. But I'm telling you that those are the greatest numbers for me because my mom dropped out in the 8th grade, and my dad dropped out in 9th.

• 6:09Speaker 00

  So I'm the first one in my family to break the cycle. And I can tell you right now that my kids are going to be better than me. I had to start the cycle. I had to start a new cycle, break that generational gap, and say that I am better than my mom and dad, that I'm not defined by my parents' mistakes, I'm not defined by my mistakes. I own me, I define me, right? You define you. You define you. Now you step up and own yourself. You step up. This is your life.

• 6:50Speaker 01

  That was Derek Clark wrapping up the week. His website is rappingdad.com. You can watch today's entire talk on YouTube. It's called Motivational Speaker: Never Give Up. Greatness is Contagious. Derek Clark. All right, my friend, that is it for me. Thanks for tuning in. Have a lovely weekend and I will see you on Monday. I'm out. Peace.