Words of wisdom: Remember, live and succeed

Silence

“What’s happening here?” Why do we feel awkward by silence? What comfort do we find in all the noise? Why do we try to constantly fill our lives with mindless and pointless chatter? Could not silence also mean peace?

“If a man walks through the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.”

—Henry David Thoreau

It is important that you be able to sit back and take a moment to actually enjoy life and reflect on what is happening in your life, rather than always trying to take it by the horns. You have to be able to come up to the surface for air, and take a deep breath before plunging back down to our busy lives.

Morrie Schwartz was an old sociology professor from Brandeis University. He once said: “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things.”

Now I’m not telling you to always sit down and do nothing with your life, no, but rather to experience life through moderation.

Life is a Tension of Opposites: “a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else.” It is the difference between what you want and what is expected of you. Why must we spend all our days as the speculator? Why don’t we spend half our days walking through the woods for love of them? The way to be successful in life is to be able to balance those tensions of opposites.

There are six aspects in life that if you can effectually manage and balance, you will have true success throughout your life: Family, Friends, Community, Career/Job, Education and Personal Time.

Those six components make up the Wheel of Success in life. They are all connected, and are all equally important to each other. Each of them deserves the same amount of your time as you go through life, even though one may seem more important at the time:

Up to this point we have been focusing on Education, Friends, and hopefully Family also. After this summer many of us will be continuing to focus on Education, while others are going to begin concentrating on their Careers / Jobs, and still others who are going to have their Personal Time. Afterwards, those of us finished with our Educations will most likely move on to our Careers. Family may not be important to us again until we’ve established a Career. Community may not be of any value to us until we’ve developed a strong Family. And towards the end, Personal Time is usually the most prevalent.

Overall, each of those six aspects should be given equal attention throughout your life. One is not more equal than another. The Wheel represents a well-rounded and successful individual, and it turns as you go through life. Should one of those components be neglected, your life will be incomplete.

Another quote from Morrie is: “The way you get meaning in your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

If you can find meaning in your life, you will have no regrets.

Thank you Distinguished Guests and Governor Sarah Palin for being here, Parents and Family, Staff and Administration, Students and Fellow Graduates. To those sitting in front of me: Congratulations for all your achievements, and I wish you all the luck with your futures.

Class of 2009: Remember, Live, and Succeed.

Goodbye and good night.