Looking Back to Focus Forward

A good friend brought me something invaluable today that I left in my Decatur office when I moved on to Tinley: a draft of my Millikin Commencement Speech. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqMISXhYpA8

And now in its final stop, it hangs where it will be the first and last thing I see at work. How fitting that in its reflection are the rest of my accolades.

Never forget your roots.

...

My fellow students, beloved family and Millikin staff…

On this great day I stand before you on the shoulders of GIANTS!

I started this journey 13 years ago,

and because the great men & women in my life believed in me

I’ve finally arrived.

My journey wasn’t easy.

My motivation came & went with the seasons.

Motivations a funny thing.

You may discover that sometimes

what matters more… than what is said… is who says it.

There is a very good reason why it took me 13 years to earn my degree.

I started off by rejecting the numerous football scholarships I received in high school.

I followed that up by drinking my way out of I.S.U.

and then hit rock bottom

after flunking out of Richland Community College.

Because of my many mistakes and misfires, I came to believe

that it was easier not to try than it was to try and fail.

And now comes the hard part…

Despite my poor attitude… and numerous failures

my younger brother… Keith…

STILL continued to put me on a pedestal...

in fact… he once told me that he was “AMAZED at the amount of potential I could waste and still end up on top.”

Like so many things in my life that came TOO easy

I took what Keith had said for granted.

However, life teaches us valued lessons…

and I learned mine soon thereafter.

On April 13th, 2005 I received a phone call that my little brother

Keith William Ryan

never made it home after a night out with his friends.

To this day… we still don’t know what happened.

All we know… is that he is gone.

I wish my brother could be here today

to share in this victory and KNOW

that I’ve stopped wasting my potential.

In the beginning of this speech

I mentioned that this was a great day and it truly is…

I want everyone here to remember this day

? The cool winter air…

? The warm smiles of your friends and family…

? Most importantly I want you to remember that little flutter in your heart. …

The flutter that is surrounded by the overwhelming feeling

of greatness growing inside your chest.

It’s almost so great… that it can take your breath away.

I want you to embrace this feeling,

I want you to CRAVE this feeling when it starts to fade …

it is something that we all need

to become ADDICTED to …

this feeling is what “TRUE Success” feels like.

It’s a combination of pride… & joy

that resonates throughout each and every one of us here today.

For most people moments like these are few & far between. …

? The day you marry your true love

? Holding your newborn baby for the first time

? Watching your baby graduate

Behind each of these “true successes” is passion…

and you can’t achieve this feeling

of pride & joy… without passion.

If you ask someone who you deem to be successful “what they are passionate about”…

it won’t be the things they own…

but rather the dreams that they achieved.

Now you might ask, “How do I achieve my dreams?”

The answer is simple… but it’s not for the weak…

We must be strong and we must be true, but over all else…

We must DARE TO BE GREAT!

Looking back at that time in my life

when my brother put me on a pedestal

I realize… that I let my FAILURES control my future.

I really was… too afraid to try.

Never again will I let the fear of failure

STAND in THE WAY OF MY DREAMS

and neither should you.

If you take ANYTHING away from this talk let it be…

that in the end we won’t regret the mistakes we made in life…

but rather the opportunities we missed because we were .

TOO . AFRAID . TO TRY.

To my fellow students,

beloved family

and Millikin staff,

I wish you the BEST

at chasing WHAT DREAMS MAY COME.