The President of the United States is an eloquent speaker, that is for sure but you need to listen quite intently on the message being delivered in the message.
Commencement is a great time, a time where the real work begins. Hopefully for most it includes putting the skills and talents, that were learned in college, to use creating value that others are willing to pay for. If that is not the case, then they may have wasted all that time getting the degree in the first place.
Education is not about the piece of paper that you receive at graduation, it is about being able to implement the skills learned into results that others are looking for.
President Obama suggested that the graduates look at other ways of serving, making these comments about perceive success:
“In the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on the formulas for success that have dominated these recent years. Many of you have been taught to chase after the usual brass rings: being on this “who’s who” list or that top 100 list; how much money you make and how big your corner office is; whether you have a fancy enough title or a nice enough car.
You can take that road – and it may work for some of you. But at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won’t get you where you want to go; that in fact, the elevation of appearance over substance, celebrity over character, short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.
I want to highlight two main problems with that old approach. First, it distracts you from what is truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values, principles and commitments. Think about it. It’s in chasing titles and status – in worrying about the next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those they represent – that politicians so often lose their way in Washington. It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that come with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street.
The leaders we revere, the businesses that last – they are not the result of narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose – the preservation of the Union or the determination to lift a country out of depression; the creation of a quality product or a commitment to your customers, your workers, your shareholders and your community.
The trappings of success may be a by-product of this larger mission, but they can’t be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff.”
As the above statement certainly seems noble and forthright but this all depends on what your definition of success is… mine has been that…
“Success is the progressive realization a WORTHY goal or ideal” – Earl Nightingale.
The key word being WORHTY.
When you start to include the likes of Bernie Madoff in with success, you are certainly placing success in the wrong light.
I realize that what he is trying to say is that as a society we need to redefineour definition of success from money and goods to providing service to others. But if you go further into his speech you will find that he is looking for you to sacrifice your needs for those of others. Which has absolutely no place in a properly functioning prosperous society.
The best place for you to provide service to others is in a field that utilizes your god given talents and abilities. The more people that you serve, the more you should be rewarded.
The one thing that you have to keep in mind is that the road to success can not be changed. And it is a very “OLD” way of doing things that can not be circumvented in any way.
“A willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame. A willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink the old dogmas. A lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige – and a commitment instead to doing what is meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world.”
This is one statement that I some what liked but felt that it wasn’t expanded on enough.
I agree with following your passions but again it is equated with the need to fortune and fame.
Success always begins with…
1. Desire – YOUR need to be, do or have. This has to be the beginning point of all true success. This is the driving force. This is where you need to build the heat. This is what gets you off your butt and on your feet.
Web Resource: http://designsuccess.lifetosuccess.com
2. Plan for Service – This is where you plan to pay the price for your desire. Keeping in mind that the more people you profitably provide a service for the faster you get to your desire. Learning the Laws of Success will help you start to realize how to make this happen.
Web Resource: http://forgottenlaws.lifetosuccess.com
3. Action (Different Action!) – This where you modify your current action to start getting you in line with the actions necessary for you to get what you desire. Your actions have to be congruent with what you desire in order to get and keep what you truly desire.
Web Resource: http://www.habitbustingsystem.com
This is a very simple formula for success but requires hard work!
But you need to remember that what you want and desire is extremely important and it should never be discounted as long as you keep in light with a GOOD definition of success such as “Success is the progressive realization a WORTHY goal or ideal” – Earl Nightingale.
As always, Here’s to your LifetoSuccess,
John Clark
P.S. Make sure to pass this on to everyone you know who can use this information.