Former NFL quarterback and humanitarian Tim Tebow continues to inspire people after he gave a speech at Sheridan High School in Arkansas, saying that kids should not let peer pressure bend them down or minimise their potential.

When confronted with peer pressure, Tebow prefers to consider: "Do I want to be average or do I want to be special?" He explained that giving into peer pressure is choosing to be average, the Sheridan Press shared.

"If everyone is going one way, I'm gonna make a choice to follow that? Why? Because if I'm like everyone else, then I'm average," Tebow said. "For me, when I was young, even if it wasn't right, I chose to be different because if you're different you at least have a chance to be special."

Tebow added that there is nothing wrong with being different, even if it means being criticised every now and then.

Average people, he said, have a daily mentality that says "I can't wait to get by," but great people have a different mindset. Great people wake up everyday thinking, "I can't wait to get better."

Tebow then asked the students who among them wakes up and says, "I can't wait to go to school; I can't wait to learn; I can't wait to go to practice and get better" and who among them say "I can't wait until Friday, I can't wait until I get to hang out with my friends."

It's up to the people to decide how they choose to live their lives, he said, and whether they prefer to be average or different. But people who think and act differently have the potential of inspiring other people and making it big.

"When you choose to love every day, and be excited about it, and sacrifice to be the best that you can be, people are going to look at you and say, 'Wow, that's different, that's exciting and that's contagious,'" he said.