Nothing can surpass a mother’s love for their child.
It’s a powerful force.
And former professional wrestler Marc Mero knows this.
That’s why he talks about her in speaking engagements around the world.
He says it was because of his mother that he was able to achieve so much.
He’s a WCW and a WWE champion and is a motivational speaker.
Now he talks to school children around the world about bullying and positive decision making.
“My mom, she really empowered me to become special in sports,” Mero says. “The greatest gift my mother ever gave me was [that] she believed in me.”
Mero fell in with the wrong crowd. He spent lots of time making his mother worry about his whereabouts when he would be out doing drugs and abusing alcohol.
“I’ve overdosed on drugs on three occasions where I should’ve been dead, but I believed I was kept here for a reason,” Mero told the students
No matter what, his mother would always leave the light on so she would know whether he was home or not.
“My mom wouldn’t go to bed until she knew her son was still alive,” Mero said.
But he never appreciated his mother for all the love she gave him.
“I would slam my bedroom door on the one person who believed in me,” Mero said.
But it was too late by the time he realized he should appreciate his mother more.
He was at a reception in Japan during the height of his wrestling career when he found out that his mother died.
He was so upset that he couldn’t even face his mother at her funeral.
“I was so nervous to walk up to her casket. So I just stood way in the back,” Mero said.
“I kept thinking to myself, ‘Mom, please wake up. Please get up.'”
He tells school children that he was able to survive and chase after his dreams because of his mother.
“Everything I am, everything I hoped to be was because of you,” Mero said. “You loved me so much, you gave me a life. You worked two jobs. You’re the only one that ever believed in me. All she ever wanted to do was to talk to me,” Mero said.
He says chasing after fame and fortune destroyed his personal life.
And that he wishes he knew the value of family when he was younger.
“If you have a mother or a father, tell them how much you love them,” Mero said.
“See, my whole life was about being rich and famous, that’s all I cared about. I had to win the race at the expense of my marriage, my family, [and] my friends. That’s not how it was intended to be.”
His speech usually leaves students in tears. It’s gotten more than 1.7 million views on YouTube.
He urges people to be kind to each other and to stop the bullying and hurting one another.
“I learned what is truly important, and that is how precious this gift of life is, and how quickly it could be quickly taken away,” Mero said.
“I’m not worried about tomorrow. It’s not what’s in your pocket that matters; it’s what in your heart that truly matters.”
Mero says he learned from his mistakes and started the Champion of Choices organization.
The organization is dedicated to keeping kids alive and off drugs and empowering them to make healthy decisions and achieve their goals.
“I’m dedicating the rest of my life to helping young people know that there’s hope in this world,” Mero said on the organization’s website. “Anyone can achieve their goals and dreams if they choose to believe!”
Watch Mero’s emotional talk in the video below.
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