Commencement Speech Class of '22: Becoming an Unstoppable Force of Nature

Dear class of '22,

Congratulations on a momentous occasion in your lives!

You're about to go out into the world to make your mark and become successful, and I couldn't be more excited for you all.

The truth is that there’s a fine line between success and failure. Trust me, I know. We can talk about my experiences another day, because today is about you ??

I want to talk about success and how to achieve it.

I used to think that success came down to how much you worked.?

I don’t any more.?

I have a new formula for success that goes like this:

Work Ethic + Initiative + Purpose =?You Becoming Unstoppable

Let me explain.

1. If you lack a strong Work Ethic you’ll never realize how much you could really become. So it is super important to work hard, but not as a stand-alone trait.?It shouldn't be the only thing that defines you. Working hard is not about hours, but about engagement, about working smart, about effort. Don't confuse it to think that you have to sit in an office 16-hours a day to show how talented you are.
2. If you lack Initiative you’ll likely feel a lack of real progress in your career and start blaming external circumstances for that. The economy, the war, the pandemic, other people around you. There’s enough blame and excuses to go around.?Don't fall victim to any of them. Initiative is about taking chances, being bold, doing something new. You know the saying; Fortune favors the bold. So have the courage and conviction to put yourself out there. No matter what happens, you'll learn a ton from it.
3. And finally, if you lack Purpose (the big one!), you’ll likely burn out quickly and wake up one day asking what it was all for and how you wasted so much time.?Purpose is the fuel that drives us through the hard times. Find your purpose and let it drive you. It's a never-ending source that you can pull from time and again.

But let me tell you the secret; alone, each of these traits are amazingly powerful - combined they make you an unstoppable force of nature.?

This is truly a case of 1 + 1 + 1 = 10.

Work Ethic + Initiative + Purpose.

Remember it. Internalize it. But more importantly, live it.

Your future is entirely up to you.

Now go seize it.

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