Those words were spoken by Adam Shepard, who continued with "it's up individuals if they are going to get out there and live their story."

Shepard shared that inspiration with nearly 100 students and faculty members of Davidson County Community College on Monday in the Conference Center.

The 28-year-old book author from Raleigh travels around speaking to people with hopes of inspiring them to continue in life no matter the struggles.

"The biggest thing is I want to relate to the audience," Shepard said. "The crowd here is so dynamic, I hope I'm able to relate to some people in the audience. Therefore they go out and capitalize on their talents."