you've invested a lot in your education
and people have
invested in you and let me tell you the
world needs your talents
and does it ever the world needs a lot
and we need it from you
we really do we need it from you young
people i mean i'm not speaking to the
rest of us up here but i know i'm
getting a little grayer
we need it from you the young people
because remember this so you got to get
out there
you got to give it everything you got
whether it's your time
your your your talent your prayers
or your treasures because remember this
[Music]
you will never see a u-haul behind a
hearse
i'll say it again you will never
see a u-haul behind a hearse
you can't take it with you the egyptians
tried it
and all they got was robbed
so the question is what are you going to
do with what you have i'm not talking
about how much you have
some of you were business majors some of
you are theologians nurses sociologists
some of you have money some of you have
patience some of you have kindness
some of you have loved some of you have
the gift of long suffering whatever it
is whatever your gift is
what are you going to do with what you
have
fail big
that's right fail big
today is the beginning of the rest of
your life and it can be it's going to be
very frightening it's a new world out
there it's a mean world out there and
you only live once so do what you feel
passionate about passionate about take
chances
professionally don't be afraid to fail
there's an old iq
test was nine dots and you had to
draw five lines with a pencil within
these nine dots
without lifting the pencil the only way
to do it was to go outside the box
so don't be afraid to go outside the box
don't be afraid to think outside the box
don't be afraid to fail
big to dream big
but remember dreams
without goals are just dreams
[Music]
and they ultimately fuel disappointment
so have dreams but have goals
life goals yearly goals monthly goals
daily goals
i try to give myself a goal every day
sometimes just to not curse somebody out
simple goals but have goals
and understand that to achieve these
goals
you must apply discipline
and consistency in order to achieve your
goals you must apply
discipline which you've already done and
consistency
every day not just on tuesday and miss a
few days
you have to work at it every day you
have to plan
every day you've heard the saying we
don't plan to fail
we fail to plan hard work
works working really hard
is what successful people do
and in this text tweet
twerk world that you've grown up in
remember just because you're doing a lot
more
doesn't mean you're getting a lot more
done
remember that just because you're doing
a lot more
doesn't mean you're getting a lot more
done don't confuse
movement with progress
my mother told me yeah yeah cause you
can run in place all the time and never
get anywhere
so continue to strive continue to have
goals continue to
progress
i found that nothing in life is
worthwhile
unless you take risks nothing
[Music]
nelson mandela said there is no passion
to be found
playing small in settling for a life
that's less
than the one you're capable of living
now i'm sure in your experiences in
school and applying to college and
picking your major and deciding what you
want to do with life i'm sure
people have told you to make sure you
have something to fall back on
make sure you got something to fall back
on honey
but i never understood that concept
having something to fall back on
if i'm going to fall i don't want to
fall back on anything
except my faith i want to fall forward
i figure at least this way i'll see what
i'm going to hit
fall forward this is what i mean
reggie jackson struck out 2600 times in
his career the most
in the history of baseball but you don't
hear about the strikeouts
people remember the home runs
[Music]
fall forward thomas
edison conducted one thousand failed
experiments did you know that i didn't
know that
because the one thousand and first was
the light bulb
fall forward every failed experiment is
one step closer to success
you've got to take risks and i'm sure
you've probably heard that before
but i want to talk to you about why
that's so important
i got three reasons and then you can
pick up your iphones
first you will fail
at some point in your life accept it you
will lose
you will embarrass yourself you will
suck at something
there's no doubt about it and i know
that's probably not a traditional
message for a graduation ceremony but
hey
i'm telling you embrace it because it's
inevitable
and i should know in the acting business
you fail all the time early on in my
career
i auditioned for a part in a broadway
musical
perfect role for me i thought except for
the fact that i can't sing
i didn't get the job
but here's the thing i didn't quit
i didn't fall back
i walked out of there to prepare for the
next audition and the next
audition and the next audition i prayed
i prayed and i prayed
but i continued to fail and fail
and fail but it didn't matter because
you know what there's an old saying
you hang around the barber shop long
enough sooner or later you're going to
get a haircut
so you will catch a break and i did
catch a break
last year i did a play called fences on
broadway
so someone talked about it won the tony
award
and i didn't have to sing by the way but
here's the kicker
it was at the court theater it was at
the same
theater that i failed that first
audition
30 years prior
the point is and i'll pick up the pace
the point is every graduate here today
has the training
and the talent to succeed but do you
have the guts
to fail here's my second point about
failure
if you don't fail you're not even trying
i'll say it again if you don't fail
you're not even trying my wife told me
this great expression
to get something you never had you have
to do something
you never did les brown's a motivational
speaker he made an analogy about this
he says imagine you're on your death bed
and standing around your
deathbed are the ghosts representing
your unfulfilled potential
the ghost of the ideas you never acted
on the ghost of the talents you didn't
use
and they're standing around your bed
angry
disappointed and upset they say we
we came to you because you could have
brought us to life
they say and now we have to go to the
grave together
so i ask you today
how many ghosts are going to be around
your bed when your time comes
not only take risks but to be open to
life
to accept new views and to be open to
new opinions
to be willing to speak at a commencement
at one of the best country
best universities in the country even
though you're scared stiff
while it may be frightening it will also
be rewarding
because the chances you take the people
you meet
the people you love the faith that you
have
that's what's going to define you never
be discouraged
never hold back give everything you got
and when you fall throughout life and
remember this
fall forward
[Music]
say thank you for grace
thank you for mercy thank you for
understanding thank you for wisdom
thank you for parents thank you for love
thank you for kindness
thank you for humility thank you for
peace
thank you for prosperity say thank you
in advance for what's already
yours that's how i live my life that's
why i why i am one of the reasons why i
am
today say thank you in advance
for what is already yours true desire
in the heart for anything good
is god's proof to you sent beforehand
to indicate that it's yours already
say it again true desire
in the heart that itch that you have
whatever it is you want to do
that thing that you want to do to help
others and to to grow and to make money
that desire that it's that's god's proof
to you
sent beforehand already to indicate that
it's yours
and anything you want good
you can have so claim it
work hard to get it when you get it
reach back pull someone else up
each one teach one
don't just aspire to make
a living aspire
to make a difference
you