True Stories to Inspire You To Never Give Up!
MY SAD EARLY LIFE WAS BUT A STEPPING STONE TO A HAPPY AND FULFILLING LIFE
Derek Clark shares a part of his life to inspire others to never give up and to never let the past infect their future. He is a popular motivational speaker and the author of six inspirational books.
Read Derek Clark’s powerful story of overcoming abandonment, abuse, and despair to become a motivational speaker who inspires others never to give up.
This is the true story of my life. A life in which abuse, loneliness, and dark nights of despair rattled the very bones of my body, drained the tears of my spirit, shattered my mind into a million fragments, and left me for a while plodding through life as an empty shell, a lost and helpless soul.
I have breathed the air of the unloved, and suffered deep psychological and spiritual wounds due to abandonment at an early age by my mother and father. I have blamed myself for a past over which I had no control. My trust in people was displaced with hostility and anger.
And yet, my spirit would not be broken. I have fought for survival in the name of love, powered by a dogged will whose voice never stopped telling me to NEVER GIVE UP!
I was a five-year-old kid, and already a survivor of appalling events. I have never known my father. My mother, having given up on me, placed me in the County Social Services Foster Care System. She was desperate to be rid of me.
The saddest, most inexplicable part of this was that she kept my younger brother and older sister. I was devastated knowing I had been deleted from my family. I was now motherless and fatherless. I loved my mother, brother, and sister, but my love for them wasn’t enough for her to keep me in the family.
She claimed she could not control me, and that I was a “devil,” but I now know she was the one out of control. I was the child and she was the adult. I am not to blame for the predicament I found myself in. That is life; it is unfair.
Watch Derek Clark’s TEDx Speech On The Power of Determination!
Millions of little kids have been given up on, and I hold their parents completely responsible. The ignoble actions of parents will always be remembered by their children.
I know, because that five-year-old foster child still lives within me, constantly striving to be empowered, and to make his insecurities my own. But I refuse to be a victim; I am a conqueror. I am stronger than my unworthy parents!
There is no question; that the mental and physical struggles of my life have proved very difficult to overcome. They say the first five years of a child’s life are the most critical to his or her development, and that children soak up everything they experience like a sponge. I agree. I have seen my own three children sponge both my strengths and weaknesses. Kids watch their parents and mimic what they observe.
The influence of my first five years contributed to many destructive behaviors throughout my life. I often wished I had been given away at birth so that I wouldn’t have had to endure the memories and nightmares that have haunted me these many years.
There is always a lesson to be learned from adversity. I have learned many such lessons the hard way, but have found there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The light that leads us out of the darkness is the positive energy that comes to surround those who continually search for what life has to offer. The answer is always within.
By harnessing this positive energy you can accomplish anything. Nothing has ever held me back from “going for it.” I have not let anyone or anything stop me from making my dreams a reality. I keep on keeping on. I am an unstoppable force. I am headstrong and know exactly what I want. I have always trusted my intuition.
My search for life’s meaning eventually brought me through a baptism by fire, which cleansed my soul. I am like the mystical “Phoenix” that has risen from its own ashes, a resurrected soul, a lost boy who evolved into a man. In life’s journey, I was meant to shine.
It is this journey in which fractured souls are made whole again. It is this journey in which wounds are healed and pain is finally replaced with love and peace.
Discover more inspiring stories of hope that will empower you to stay determined and never give up on life.
Pregnant At 13! (it’s not what you think)
I would like to share the story of another inspiring young person who attended a
How My Painful Past Became My Greatest Blessing: Derek Clark’s Inspiring Story
I recently delivered the keynote for about 3000 wonderful people. Their last speaker was General
A Poem By Cynthia Johnston
If I could write my life into a poem I would, I’d start off with
How to Never Give Up: Stop Beating Yourself Down and Rise Up with Derek Clark
This is not the type of motivational video that will make you feel all warm
I am grateful I found you and this! As I read I see my life and the reason I am writing a book, we all need encouragement and need to see survival after tournment. I am currently dealing with adult bullying and it has been real hard. I relate to the victums of bullying at any age even though I’m in my 50’s. Being older doesn’t mean it wont hurt. (or that the tournment from people will finally subside, satan is never done, and he uses people, even the saved ones when they carry roots of bitterness) God is faithful and has been my redeemer and this is one of the blessings He has brought me to endure, Thank you all and I thank God for you!