A letter to the Class of 2021:

Congratulations on your graduation. For more than 20 years (and with almost as many versions), I have sent this letter to graduates of family and friends. And now it is your turn.

I am a very lucky person. I don’t have a job. I have a business and a passion, and they are the same thing. I graduated college in 1990, but didn’t start my own business until 1994. I have loved every minute. I have never looked at the clock. I have never woken up in the morning and wished that I didn’t have to work. I have never wanted to do something else. Every day I get to do what I love.

I want to share a few of my secrets in this letter. I hope some of them will help you in the coming years.

1. Always have fun. Right now, that probably seems like a very simple suggestion. As you grow older, most people slowly start eliminating the fun in their life. They start making decisions that are not based on fun and passion, but something else. Many people don’t even notice they are having “less fun” because the changes are slow and gradual. One day they look around and they work for a company they don’t believe in, doing a job that doesn’t excite them. Have passion in your life. Go home every day and be passionate and energized about what you do.

2. Buy in-soles for all of your shoes. No matter what you do in your life, you need support and comfort. So do your feet.

3. Cherish the friends you have now and the friends you make in college. You will always need old friends around you. My closest friends and I have known each other for 35+ years. They knew me when I was a goofy kid in high school and college. You will never find friends like these again. My old friends all live in different cities. Most are married and have children. Take the time to stay close with each other no matter the distance.

4. Always remember what is important in your life. In a few years, there will be less time for your family. Enjoy these moments with your family. There will come a day when you will need them and they will need you.

5. Make the choice to have fun and passion in your life. Make the choice to be positive and supportive. Make the choice to understand what is important in life. They are simple choices, but sometimes we forget to make them or allow someone else to make them for us. Once you take control of these choices, everything will change.

6. Every semester take one class about something that interests you or is just fun, but has nothing to do with your major.

7. Take advantage of your surroundings at college. Go see a guest lecture by someone you don’t know. Go see a play that sounds really boring. Visit an art exhibit that will make you think.   

8. Cherish every moment. It will go by very fast.

9. Always be careful of all temptations. Don’t follow the crowd. The crowd never knows where they are going. Sometimes making the choice as an individual is a tougher road, but it will always lead to more happiness and success.

10. Work hard. Study hard. Do good work. Don’t forget to have fun.

11. Stay current on the news. Read multiple online reputable newspapers every day of your life. Start now. You don’t have to read every word. Read stories about different subjects. Read stories from around the world. Look at different opinions and viewpoints. Read stories about history, literature, art. Read about something new. The knowledge this gives will amaze you.

12. There are two sides to every opinion. Look at both sides and decide for yourself.

13. Not every person in authority has the right answer or even knows what they are talking about in the first place.

14. Ask questions. Sit toward the front of the class. Life doesn’t happen in the back row. Life happens up front. Would you want your doctor to sit in the back row? How about your dentist? I don’t think so.

15. You will make mistakes. You will have failures. So what? Nobody is keeping score. Read any biography of a great man or woman in history. You know what? They made mistakes and had failures. Just remember to stay in the game. Anyone can quit. You don’t even have to go to school to learn how to quit. History remembers great men and women because they stayed in the game and didn’t quit.

And finally, one of my favorite quotes:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

 Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States of America

 All my best and a huge TA DA!

 Joel