Sometimes you need to get knocked down
before you can really figure out
what your fight is
and how you need to fight it.
Throughout ancient times,
institutions of learning have been built on top of hills
to convey their great struggle is required
to achieve degrees of enlightenment.
Each of you
had your own unique difficulties with the hill
For some of you the challenge
was actually academics.
When you hear the words
you know that's not you,
that's not you, you worked hard.
You did your best,
but you didn't make A's or B's
sometimes C's
you never made the dean's list,
but that's okay you're here
on top of the Hill.
And I want to say something to that
you know sometimes your grades
don't give a real indication
of what your greatness might be.
So it really is okay
for others it was financial
you and your family struggled to make ends meet
every semester of your matriculation.
You had to stand in one line to get to another line
to get to another line
for somebody that might help you
you had to revoke an extra job or two
but you're here
for a lot of you, not all, but a lot of you
your hardest struggle was social.
Some of you never fit in you.
You will never as cool and as popular as you want it to be.
And it bothers you.
So your social struggles here became psychological.
Even though you made it up the Hill, you carry the baggage of
rejection with you, but you're here.
Or some of you went through something traumatic.
You made it to the top of the Hill, but, but not without scars
and bruises, some of you fit into much.
you are on the yard,
rapping on your frat block, where you were supposed to be in class.
or you got caught up in the DC party life.
You carry the baggage of too much acceptance
completing a long climb
one first experiences dizziness
disorientation and shortness of breath due to the high altitude.
But once you become accustomed to the climb your mind
opens up to the tranquility of the triumph.
Oftentimes the mind is flooded with realizations
that were for some reason are harder to come to
where you were at a lower elevation
at this moment
Most of you need some realizations because
right now you have some big decisions to make.
Right now.
I urge you
in your breath, in your eyes,
in your consciousness.
Invest
in the importance of this moment
and cherish it I know
savor taste of your triumphs today.
Don't just swallow the moment
whole without that disgesting
what is actually happened here?
Look down over what you conquered
and appreciate
what God has brought you through.
People want to know how to stop the laziness and they want to know
how to stop the procrastination.
And they have some idea in their head, some kind of a
vision, what they want to do.
But they don't know where to start.
They don't know where to start it.
They don't know where to start.
And I think most people that are miserable
or that are really like dying to be great
and dying to have more,
we want to change.
We want to live a better life.
We want to create more for our families.
We want to be happier.
The desire is there.
just do it, just pick up a camera
and start shooting something.
Don't wait to be asked because nobody's going to ask you
and don't wait for the perfect conditions because they'll never be perfect.
It's a little bit like having a child.
If you wait until the right time to have a child you'll die childless.
and I think filmmaking is very much the same thing.
You just have to take the plunge and just start shooting something.
Even if it's bad, you can always hide it, but you will have learned something
wisdom uninvested in labor is wasted
attitude even the highest of attitude, which is faith
faith uninvested
is wasted
produces nothing
So the name of the game is not faith
The name of the game is not philosophy.
The name of the game is to put faith and philosophy into activity.
So that it starts making progress.
So if you want to make real progress,
then you really have to look at your life in a different way.
You have to say,
"I have to take control of this process
and not just hope it's going to work out," like
people do who make a resolution.
being able to make the right choices in your life.
Being able to go down the right path and not the wrong path.
And even if you make that mistake and find yourself in a position
that you really did want to be in, don't be so hard on yourself.
As long as you had the right mindset and the right intent.
You can learn from that and build from that and continue to push
forward and move on
every day making yourself stronger and faster
and more flexible and healthier.