A speech to remember

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So, I told you that I attended my son’s graduation from the University of Michigan. (Of course, I did. Wild horses, a hurricane, or even a tornado would not have kept me from it.) And, I had the opportunity to hear one of the best graduation speeches ever. (I’m not inexperienced in this matter; a rough count is that I have heard- nay, endured- some 45 or so of these colloquys.)

The U of M chose Dick (Richard) Costolo, now the CEO of Twitter to present the commencement speech. (Don’t you just love how the culmination of an educational experience is called a “commencement”?) And, while he was a Michigan computer science grad, you can tell that his experience and training at Second City rendered him a polished speaker- and comedian. I’ll share a few of his comedic lines before I delve into his meaty and pithy advice. Advice not just for the graduates-but for each and every one of us.

“When I woke up this morning and started writing my speech…”
“I’d like you to think of your soaring expectations followed by crushing disappointment as a metaphor for your next 20 minutes with me.”
“I’m just going to pander to the crowd…that’s the kind of person that I am.”

His very first piece of advice to the graduates was to remember to thank their parents or whoever it was that helped them get to where they are today. Too many of us forget all those folks whose contributions were and are critical to our success(es). At this point in our lives, it is probably more than just our parents. We should consider their contributions to our lives each morning, as far as I am concerned.

Dick told the graduates that, “You have to figure out what you love to do, what you have conviction to do and go do that… When you are doing what you love to do, you become resilient…If you do what you think is expected of you or you are supposed to do- and things go poorly or chaos ensues, you will continue to look to external sources for a solution to escape the situation.”

Those choices are the differences between success and failure in our lives. Without stressing it, he reminded the graduates- and me- that our lives are just an improvisational stage. We can’t script them, we just have to be prepared for all contingencies and be able to pounce on an opportunity to deliver an appropriate line or an action.

Which leads to the key piece of advice he rendered. “Not only can you not plan the impact you are going to have, you often won’t recognize it even while you are having it… The impact is what others frame for you and the world after it happens. The present is what you are focusing on right now.”

Read that paragraph again. It’s truly profound. I can recall- now- when various milestones were reached (thank you one and all for helping me reach them, by the way), that I rarely recognized them to be those moments at the time of occurrence. When my first kidney concept worked, I had hopes- but no real concept- of the effect it would have on people’s lives. Or, when I decided that a course in Water Reuse and Recycle was needed- the places that would take me, the people I would meet, the effects my advice would have upon countless industrial and commercial facilities (not to mention the environment).

And, his closing comments are ones we need to keep near and dear to our hearts and minds. Because it’s how we will make the difference we hope in this world.

Be bold. Make bigger choices. Take courageous risks.

Oh- and he ended like he began. He said “Thank you. #GoBlue.”

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8 thoughts on “A speech to remember”

  1. I wish someone had said that to me ages ago. It took me a long time to understand that, and live that. Wonderful.

    Congratulations on your son’s graduation. I have no doubt he’ll be exactly that.

  2. Yes. That was some very wise advice. I don’t think those kids will remember it, but since we are older wise sayings make sense. Glad you were listening.

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