The Cost of Staying Who You Were

Steve Harvey opens with a piece of advice his father gave him: "When you've done your best, and you've done all you can, sit still for a second and just do a little bit more." He says he has never been completely out—never so depleted that there isn't another step left. The trick is to rest, then push again. He illustrates this with a documentary about Mount Everest climbers who reach a "death zone" where oxygen runs thin and the summit is in sight. Most people turn back there. Many have died there. But the ones who make it to the top are the ones who find that little bit more.

The poem that stuck

Harvey recites a poem he learned during his college pledging days called "Don't Quit." He remembers it through a memorization technique he used back then, but the content has stayed with him for decades. The poem describes a person whose funds are low, debts are high, and the road feels uphill. The refrain is simple: "Rest if you must, but don't quit." The poem's logic is that success is often closer than it seems when a person is ready to give up. "Success is failure turned inside out," Harvey quotes. "It's the silver tint of your clouds of doubt, and you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems afar."