Commencement Address at Plymouth State University

I was honored to give the commencement address at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire this last weekend.  And I have to say...I was pretty nervous!  Even after over the last of speaking to many groups ranging in size from eight sales executives at Cisco up to 15,000 at Bush's Inauguration, I think the chance to "shape young minds" got me excited!

Here is my commencement address (minus the the crowd reaction of course!):

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Thank you for that kind introduction.    How ya' doing class of 2006?!!!!

With that type of reaction...You're all hired!

I'm extremely honored to be here.  As many of you know, I won season 2 of "The Apprentice" and spent a full year working with Donald Trump in New York.  Now I know what you're all thinking...the question you're all dying to ask...and I'd like to get it out in the open up front...  "What's up with his hair?"    Well, I did win the show and I never heard the words "You're fired!" for a reason...  I don't answer that question!

Believe me, I've had an exciting two years since winning the show.  I've been very, very fortunate to do some amazing things.  But I can honestly say that all of the excitement, all of the hooplah, surrounding the Apprentice never matched my excitement level on my college graduation day.  I vividly remember my and my parents' excitement, my sense of pride and accomplishment, my anxiety and all the questions I had about my future when I was sitting right where you are now - (and as a matter of fact, it was raining hard then too!).  The fact that I can remember that far back -- 1989 - tells you how exciting it was for me!

I understand how important this day is to you and what it represents to you and your families and I really am honored to be here.  I want to give you a 17 year head start on me and impart some of things I've learned that will hopefully help you succeed as you start on your next adventure...

About a month ago, I was going through customs at the US-Canadian border and the guard asked me three questions:

1. Where are you from?
2. What are you doing here?
3. Where are you going?

And you know what hit me right then?  Those are great questions and they are particularly poignant for each of you.  As you sit here today on one of the most exciting and celebrated days of your life, think about each of these questions and how you would answer them.  

Question #1:  Where are you from?  There are a lot of ways to think about that question.  What motivates you?  How did you get to this graduation day?  Who has inspired you and supported you?  You all have some great accomplishments and surely have suffered through some painful failures and hopefully learned valuable lessons along the way.  Of course there are challenges in life, but how do you cope with them?  That's the question.  If you struggle through them to the finish line no matter how hard it gets, then they'll help you in the future. 

Napoleon Hill, author of the classic book, "Think and Grow Rich," which has sold over 60 million copies says, "...the majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail."  Don't give up when it gets difficult.  I've found that you learn more about yourself from the tough time than you do from the easy ones.

Roger Staubach feels the same way about the people in his organization.  I interviewed Roger for my book, TAKE COMMAND.  Roger Staubach is a 2-time super bowl champion quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys and founding CEO of the 1,300-person Staubach Company and he says that "success hides brilliance, adversity reveals it."  Meaning that he learns more about the people in his company when things are going wrong than when everything is running smoothly.  The best people rise to the top during the tough times.  This is coming from a person that understands what it means to take the tough road.  As a junior at the Naval Academy Roger won the Heisman trophy.  The best quarterback Navy has ever had.  He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, but declined saying he'd made a commitment to the Navy and planned to meet that commitment.  He went on to finish his senior year at the Naval Academy and then completed four years of service in Vietnam.  During one of his leaves in that last year in Vietnam, he visited the Dallas Cowboys training camp and decided he would play football and entered the league as a 25-year old rookie.  He went on to lead the Cowboys to 2 super bowls.  Think about and learn from your past and the challenges you've met and overcome.  Think of all of your experiences growing up.  Your family and friends.  What lessons have you learned here at PSU that you can take with you?  In those most challenging times are the lessons that will help you succeed in the future. 

I know that all of you have faced challenges in your past and you've overcome them to be where you are today.  I want you to know that you are going to face even more difficult times in the future.  Whether you're going on to graduate school, starting a new job, starting your own company, taking over the family business, writing your first book, or still figuring out what's next...no matter your course in life, there are going to be obstacles in your way.  How you overcome those obstacles will determine your success, not only in that endeavor but all the ones that follow.

I recently had the concept of perseverance really driven home.  I have a military background.  I went to West Point, served as a Military Intelligence Officer in the US Army, completed airborne and ranger training.  3 of my 4 younger brothers have served active duty in the Navy or the Army and my youngest brother was a scout platoon leader in Iraq for the first year of the war.  I'm thankful to say that he came back home safely with his entire platoon and is now married and working as a trader just down the road in Boston.  I attribute much of my success to the leadership principles I learned in the military.  And one of the ways I try and give back is to support our troops.  So, I asked the USO, a great organization that has supported our troops for over 65 years, if I could visit Walter Reed and Bethesda Hospitals in Washington, DC to meet some of our injured soldiers.  They eagerly agreed and tried to describe what I should expect during my visit, but I was completely unprepared. The two days I spent with the soldiers who ranged in age anywhere from 18 to 35 impacted me significantly.  These soldiers had all lost parts of themselves - literally.  Arms, legs, pieces of their skull, vision, hearing.  I was expecting them to be incredibly down with very low morale.  However, they were as motivated and excited a group as I'd ever met.  They were attacking their rehab with excitement and optimism.  You could see measurable progress on a daily basis.  Many of them, against all odds, weren't just walking again, but were actually running and doing things that seemed inconceivable only a few weeks before.  They couldn't wait to get better and get back to their units.  It was amazing and truly humbling to see their positive attitude even in the face of grueling hours they spent learning how to walk again or to use a prosthetic. It taught me a lesson about perseverance.  There is always someone out there with more pain, problems or adversity in their life.  They are able to overcome their obstacles.  You can too. 

So remember, when you're feeling beat or down or like you just can't go on...it's all in your head.  You can persevere.  You can succeed at whatever you set your mind to.  Don't let anyone tell you that you can't.  The skills and determination you've developed overcoming the challenges that you have faced in the past will help you with all of those you're sure to face in the future. 

Question #2 -- What are you doing here?  Seriously, what are you doing in that seat?  At this incredible university?  Answer - learning.  It doesn't matter if you're the valedictorian, or you just barely made it by.  Well, it can matter for some of those job interviews if they ask for your GPA, but, ultimately, it won't determine you're success in life!  No matter where you fall in the class rank, you can't spend this much time in this type of an educational environment and not learn a lot of lessons.  Academic lessons and life lessons.  And now it is time to take those lessons out in the world and succeed at whatever you set your mind to.  Do not let those lessons go to waste!  Think about them and figure out how to use them.  It might not be clear now how chemistry, creative writing, probably and statistics, or history are going to help you in the real world, but that is the beauty and the objective of a liberal education.  It gives you the tools to problem-solve.  The key is to be flexible.  Always evaluate and understand what resources you have at your disposal, keep your ultimate objective in mind and stay open-minded. 

Think about how you are going to be able to apply all that you've learned.  You may not realize it right now, but every class, every lesson, can be used as you take on challenges that life offers.  You never know when they are going to come into play.  In my book Take Command, one of the key leadership and success principles I identify is Flexibility.  The military gets a bum rap, mostly from Hollywood films, for being lock-step and not very creative.  Well, I'm here to tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth.  When the commander tells a unit to take a hill, he doesn't tell them how, the unit has to figure that out.  Creative problem solving is the key.  The successful units figure it out.  The same is true in business and in life.  As a company, you need to learn how to adapt to changing market conditions.  As a leader, or a teammate, you need to understand how to deal with different personalities in different situations. 

Speaking of different personalities...that reminds me of the Apprentice.  Not every teammate or task is going to be as difficult as say, Omarosa...  but each task on the show offered different challenges.  One task in particular was a big challenge for the men's team.  In Episode 6 our task was to create a women's fashion line, put on a runway show (don't worry, we hired professional models!) and sell as many outfits as we could to the buyers in the audience.

And of course, we ran into a little snag.  Our designer was...not very efficient.  We were not going to make a deadline where we had to have 6 outfits fully designed and all the materials put together.  Our designer had only drawn 3 of the outfits and we had about an hour before we would be disqualified, so I finally grabbed the sketch pad and whipped out three different outfits.  That's right, the West Pointer was sketching a woman's clothing line.  Talk about flexibility!  But believe me, I received a lot of very interesting fan mail around that episode!  Well, we met the deadline and one of my skirt designs was a top-seller.  We made it to the finish line, but the women's team clobbered us. 

Are you flexible?  Are you open-minded?  Are you a problem-solver?  Just because you're graduating today doesn't mean that you stop learning.  PSU has given you the tools to continue learning.  Companies hire problem-solvers.  People that can figure out how to use all the resources at their disposal to get the job done are invaluable.  In every situation, keep learning and be flexible to increase your likelihood of success.    

Question #3:  Where are you going?  And I mean besides out to party tonight to celebrate!  This is the most important question.  I don't think it is critical that you know exactly what you want to do right now.  What is important is that you find something you're passionate about.  And when I say that "you're passionate about," I really mean YOU - personally.  Not what you think other people might want.  And not what your parents want (sorry Moms and Dads, you know what I'm saying here!).  You need to figure out what lights your fire and go after it. 

Last spring I was sitting at my desk in Trump Tower and my phone rang - it was Mr. Trump's assistant.  She informed me that he wanted me to meet him downstairs in the lobby and that we were meeting a class of 5^th graders on a field trip.  These 5^th graders had some outstanding questions.  I mean some great questions.  Now that I think about it...I bet they got coached a little on what to ask.  One little guy raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Trump what would you do if you didn't have to work?"  I smiled to myself when he asked because based on everything I'd seen I'm pretty sure Mr. Trump didn't have to work.  Donald said to the boy, "since I was your age there were only two things I ever wanted to do...build buildings...and be a professional baseball player.

That really surprised me.  Because I know something you don't...  Here's a little story about Donald...  Donald loves the Yankees (I know that's probably a bad word around here?).  Anyway, he was at a home game and was going to throw out the first pitch.  Derek Jeter met him by the dugout and walked him out to the mound.  Derek stopped in the grassy area in front of the mound to give Donald the ball so he could throw the pitch closer to home plate.  Donald, a little indignant, grabbed the ball and marched all the way up onto the mound.  He took a position on the mound facing the catcher, turned back and kicked up his leg, wound his arm back, came through with a beautiful delivery and released the ball toward the catcher. Well...It bounced twice before reaching home plate.

Of course the crowd when crazy cheering and laughing and about 10 seconds later they all screamed at once, "YOU"RE FIRED!"

So now we know why Donald's in real estate!

Now back to the 5^th grader's question.  In continuing his answer to the 5^th grader about what he'd do if he didn't have to work, Donald said, "I don't consider what I do to be work.  I love it.  I love building buildings and I love doing deals."  And it is true.  Donald doesn't smoke, doesn't drink, doesn't gamble, and he only sleeps about 4 hours a night.  And he is incredibly passionate about what he does.  That passion comes across to everyone who meets him and it is a big reason he is such a huge success.

So the point here is that as you figure out where you're going, don't be afraid to follow your heart.  Go after your passion and be the best at whatever you choose.  I've had four different careers and each time I decided that it wasn't for me and I continued searching until I found something I really loved.  I challenge you to do the same.

Think about how you would answer those three questions:

1. Where are you from?
2. What are you doing here?
3. Where are you going?

In answering those questions and as you prepare for your next life adventure remember:

1. Persevere.  Set your objective and don't ever give up.
2. Be flexible.  Use all of the resources at your disposal to find solutions.
3. Pursue your passions. 

As the German philosopher Georg Hegel, said "Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion."   

So I challenge each of you to go forth and accomplish great things in the world!

Congratulations and good luck!