I remember thinking ages ago that one of my goals in life and a true sign that I had really accomplished everything I wanted was being invited back to one of my alma maters as a commencement speaker. I figured why wait? I have a blog about self improvement so I should write what I imagine my commencement speech would be like. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration in it….
I want to congratulate you on finishing your degree and on beginning your education at an institution where the quality of your learning far exceeds that from any ivy league degrees or nobel prize winning professors, where there are no valedictorians, GPA’s or measures of success other than the ones you set for yourself. This institution is “The School of Life.” While a degree might seem like it prepares you, it’s really like your admission to ticket to this amusement park we call life. With that I want to impart some of my own advice and advice given to me by friends, strangers, and other people I’ve run across which will hopefully ensure that you enjoy the many rides that lie ahead of you.
Remember that the power of your imagination is limitless. Everything you see in the world today, this blog post, Facebook (if that’s where you are reading this), Google, and everything else you can’t possibly imagine life without was once nothing more than an idea in somebody’s head. Don’t believe everything you see, but instead, chose empowering beliefs, and see everything you believe. It will get you much further. Talk to strangers. Everybody you call a friend, even your best friend, was once a stranger. See what they’ve done for the quality of your life, and imagine just what would happened if you talked to more strangers. Color outside the lines. Break all the rules, and make up your own. Set your own standards for success because trying to live up everybody else’s is like joining a rat race that is a constant uphill battle. When you make mistakes, don’t be afraid to make them big, but learn from them and move on. When you dream, dream big. Dream far beyond where you are and what you think you are capable of today. Enjoy the journey on your way to every destination. The journey is what makes the experience.
Choices are a part of and life you’ll have many. When you have 31 flavors, be wary of those who never chose chocolate, unless they’re allergic. Some choices will be more important than others. Choose your friends wisely, because you’ll be a byproduct of the ones you are around the most. Chose careers based on passion and do what you love. Don’t worry about where the money will come from. It’s far more depressing to be spiritually and emotionally broke, than it is to be financially broke. I only know because I’ve been damn near broke twice in my life and it sucked much more when I was emotionally, spiritually, and financially broke. Recovering from the latter is easy, recovering from the former another uphill battle.
When you come across unfortunate incidents, look back over the course of your life and you’ll see that almost every bad thing that happened to you was actually a blessing in disguise. See as much of the world as you can and your own backyard will suddenly start to feel much larger. Pay it forward whenever you have the opportunity. Don’t concern yourself with what you’re doing, but concern yourself with who you’re being. Let yourself be completely vulnerable at least a few times in your life because that’s when you tend to have some of your greatest emotional strides. Don’t compare yourself to other people because no matter how good you are what you do, there’s always somebody better, and there’s always somebody worse. Remember, it’s not a race. Besides, what are you going to do race to the death? Be independent of the good opinion of other people and you will likely be favored by them.
“Forget regret or life is yours to miss.” Don’t waste your time regretting something you can’t change. It’s already happened, and by dwelling on it and thinking about it, it’s like it’s happening over and over. When you fall get back up and keep walking. You did that as a baby and you eventually learned to walk and do it so well you don’t even have to think about it. Something tells me most things in life work that way. See the magic in the world and listen to the music. It’s apparently all around us you just have to listen according to August Rush.
Each and every one of us brings a magic into the world. Just believe that and you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for and exactly what you’re supposed to. Good luck and Godspeed…..
Tags: life, success, goals, accomplishment, enlightenment, motivation, inspiration
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