What do you do in your free time?
Me?
I google “commencement addresses.”
I’m not kidding.
I love reading these short, insightful, and, hopefully, inspirational speeches.
I love the “life lessons” most. The part when the speaker relates what they known now that they wished they knew then.
Here’s part of a good one . . .
In 2007, Daniel Ritchie, chancellor emeritus of the
Here’s my favorite part . . .
In looking back now over these many years, I have learned a few other things that I think might be useful to you. I have a few suggestions -- just a few -- on how to make your life not only a success, but a joy.
Finding joy in life doesn't have so much to do with what you know. It's about values and character. Let me tell you about a personal experience.
When I graduated from business school, I looked around at my classmates and divided them into two categories -- those that I would like to work with and those that I wouldn't.
The latter group, I called the snakes.
I was really dividing them up according to my assessment of their character. I wanted to work with people of integrity, loyalty, and honesty -- because I valued those qualities even more than knowledge and skill.
I decided that I would watch my classmates over the years to see how they turned out.
Frankly, the early years were a big surprise!
The snakes were winning hands down.
I worried that maybe I'd gotten life figured out all wrong. Maybe this integrity and caring stuff was for the birds.
But over time, the tide began to turn.
Now, more than 50 years later the good guys are winning by a huge margin and most of the snakes have been run over.
You see, it's a real advantage to be a snake if people don't know you are one, but, sooner or later, they figure it out. And once they have, it's over. You can never change their minds. Also, I've noticed that it isn't much fun being a snake.
There's a reason why caring people with integrity, loyalty, and honesty succeed.
To succeed, any organization, whether a business organization or any other kind, must have teamwork. Real teamwork, requires people who trust one another and care about one another.
In short, you have to be trustworthy. If everybody's just in it for their own fame or fortune, I guarantee you that the organization will be a loser. Over the course of history, mercenaries have never won a war. You have to believe.
And what is true of organizational behavior and success is equally true of societies as a whole. Moral decline recedes economic and social decline. A society of snakes can't function over the long haul, because people are not meant to be selfish, solitary units. To survive and flourish people need to - and must - rely on each other. Snakes can't do that. And we know a society of snakes certainly is no fun.
Now, what I'm telling you, most of you know already. In fact, the human race has known these truths for a very long time.
We in the West have the Golden Rule, which tells us to do unto others what you would have them do unto you.
Across the globe, Confucius said not to do unto others what we would not have them do unto us.
Pretty much the same idea, with a cultural twist.
We've known these things for thousands of years. Sometimes we just forget them.
I remind you of them today because today begins the real test of your life and person. Today marks the beginning of what you've prepared for all these years. And with an education from the
Now you just need to make two promises to yourself.
First, that you will never, ever, under any circumstances, compromise your personal integrity.
And, second, that you will find a life purpose, if you haven't already, that goes beyond yourself.
It can be to grow a fine family, improve the environment, support a cause or serve your God.
I can tell you, after many years of personal experience and observation, that a self-centered, selfish life isn't very satisfying or rewarding.
So, just do these two things: Maintain your personal integrity, no matter what. And have a life purpose that goes beyond yourself.
You will be successful.
You will feel fulfilled.
And you'll have a great time, which is very important.
