Harvey - Jump

This book is dedicated to all seven of my children

Brandi, Karli, Morgan, Broderick, Jason, Lori, and

Wyntonwhom I love beyond any words. My hope for you

has always been that you live the life of your dreams. I have

tried to set an example; to live by principles that could be

modeled and referenced. It seems that all of you are willing to

jumpand to accept your share of lumps and bruises along

the way. Marjorie and I are proud of the fact that all of you

are finding your own way. I hope that after I am long gone

that I will have lived a life that will encourage you to teach

your children and grandchildren the importance of taking the

jump. I love you all and thank you for inspiring me.

You have made me a better man, husband, and father.

Without you I would not be possible. Thank you, all.

I love you, and never forget that.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate,

I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

January 13, 2016

Family Feud Studios, Atlanta, Georgia

I would like to share with you these words that I left my studio audience with at the end of a taping of Family Feud. I was amazed at the impact these words have hadI have never seen a video of anything Ive done go viral so quickly. Fifty-eight million people viewed it! That explosive and immediate response showed me that untold numbers of people around the world are looking for the answers to a better life.

Im going to tell you something that every successful person in this world has done in his or her life or career. Every successful person has jumped! They have taken their hopes and dreams and took a leap of faith toward them. If you desire greatness in your life, eventually you are going to have to jump. You cannot just exist in this life and automatically find happiness. You have to live every moment to the fullest to achieve a life of abundance. If you are waking up thinking that there is more to your life than there is, believe that there is. You have to truly believe in your heart that there is. But in order to get to that life of happiness and abundance, you are going to have to jump.

When God created all of us, He gave every last one of us a gift. He never created a soul without endowing that person with a gift. Please dont think of your gift as only a talent in running, jumping, singing, or dancing. Its more than that. If you know how to network, if you can connect dots, if you draw, if you teach, if you fry chicken better than anyone else, if you can bake pies, if you can cut hair, if you can color hair, or if you can cut grass, that is your gift.

I had a partner who never wanted to hang out late. Me and my friends would say to him, Man, lets hang out. He would say, Nah, I have to get up and cut Mrs. Johnsons grass. We kept laughing at this dude for just wanting to cut grass. He now has a landscaping company in Cleveland worth $4 million. All he does is cut grass. But he was gifted at it. I got another partner who owns a detail shop making $800,000 per year. All he does is detail cars, and he has built it into a six-mobile-truck business where he comes to you and details your car. Thats his gift and thats what he loves to do. Identify your gift!

Imagine you are standing on the cliff of life and you see people soaring by, going to exotic placesor maybe your neighbor up the street purchases a new car every two years, and you think, How does he do that? At those moments, did you ever stop and think, Maybe this person has identified his gift or Maybe he is living in his gift? Your Bible says, Your gift will make room for you. It says your gift, not your education. I know a lot of people who have degrees that they are not using. You can go and get an education. Of course you want to be educated, but your education will take you only so far.

The only way for you to soar is for you to jump. You have to take that gift that is packed away in your backpack, jump off the cliff, and pull the cord. If you dont ever use it, you are going to become strictly a worker. Your days will become routine. And hopefully youll have enough money to pay your bills. Is this how you want to live? If you are getting up every morning and going to a job that you hate, that is not living. Youre just existing. At some point, you have to see what living is like. The only way you are going to see what living is like is to jump.

When you first jump, your parachute will not open right away. I wish I could tell you that it would, but it wont. Youre going to hit some rocks. Youre going to get some skin torn off scraping against those cliffs. You may even get parts of your clothes torn off. You will get some cuts and possibly bleed pretty bad. But eventually the parachute will open. That is a promise from God. It is not a theoryits a promise. Can you name one thing that God has not gotten you through? I sincerely doubt it, because if He hasnt gotten you through it already, He is currently pulling you through it right now. You are the living proof of it, because you are breathing. If He had not gotten you through it, you wouldnt even be here. I guarantee that your parachute will open. But you have to jump and find out for yourself how far you will soar.

You can stand on that cliff of life and be forever safe. You can avoid the cuts and tears. If you dont jump, I have another promise: Your parachute will never open. Youll never know what greatness God really has in store for you. He has promised a wonderful life for you. Your Bible says that He comes to give you life and life more abundantly. If I were you, I would jump. Thats the only way to get to that abundant life. You have to jump. You have got to take a chance, or youll have more of the same.

After you hear these words, and you leave this building, there are those of you who will later discuss them in the car and say, Well, I got bills. I cant afford to take a leap of faith toward my dream life. Whether you stay on the cliff or you jump, you are going to have bills. Some of you might say, If I quit my job, Im going to ruin my credit. If you just have a job, you are just living check-to-check anyway. So, even if you have A1 credit, you probably do not have enough money to live meaningfully.

I completely encourage you to see what God will manifest in your life. If you jump, trust me, God will hold you up. He didnt bring you this far to let you fall. Before you leave this earth, before you die, do yourself a favorjust jump one time.

I cant go anywhere now without someone coming up and telling me how much the Jump video has meant to them. An owner of a golf course came up to me and said, I now make all the young caddies at my club watch this video every morning. I dont want them to settle for just being a caddy. I want them to know that they can have more. A father stopped me in the airport and said, I have six kids and I made all of them watch your video. You said exactly what Ive been trying to tell them for years.