Graduation Speech
Having talent can give you a head start, but it does not help you finish the race
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I had the honor of giving the graduation speech for my high school Boston Latin Academy:
Congratulations class of 2024! A special thank you to the administrators, the teachers and to the family and friends who made this day possible, we would not be here without you. Class of 2024, this is a tremendous victory. I commend you on this great achievement.
Growing up in Boston is not easy. I know you have all faced a great range of challenges. Some of you have struggled through the harrowing experience of poverty, others have overcome mental health issues and trauma, some of you have had to navigate this country as immigrants, I could go on and on describing the challenges that young people face in this great city. The important thing is that you made it. You crossed one of the most important thresholds you need to set yourself up for success as an adult.
As graduates of Boston Latin Academy, you are some of the smartest people in this city and in this country. You have a great chance to genuinely make your dreams come true. There is great power in being educated, being well-informed, and having the analytical capacity to figure out what is true and what is not true. You are in a privileged position. Not only did you have the good fortune to be intelligent, but you decided to intentionally cultivate it and put it to good use.
I graduated from BLA in 2006, if you are anything like my fellow classmates, you are not only intelligent, but you are also slick, quick witted, hardworking, and you probably have a side hustle or two. BLA students know how to make something out of nothing and you know how to excel even when it feels like the world is against you.
I want to give you 7 pieces of practical advice and hopefully some of it can help you as you move forward into college and adulthood.
Consistency always wins. These days people are looking for their big break, a meteoric rise to the top, they are trying so hard to go viral, but overnight success is an illusion. I remember when I first started writing and sharing bits and pieces on Instagram in 2014, there were other writers at the time who were also doing the same, people I looked up to who had great natural talent. As I kept sharing my writing and facing my own ups and downs as I tried to prove myself as an author, I started noticing that many of these writers who were my peers, just simply disappeared. A lot of them stopped writing altogether. In that moment I learned that having talent can give you a head start, but it does not help you finish the race. The only thing that can really get you to the top of any field is consistency and dedication. I spent years slowly growing my account, posting daily, honing my voice and message, while not making any money from writing. Today, the story is much different. Small daily wins that bring you one tiny step closer to your goal should be your focus.
Whatever you are good at, get better at it. A lot of people talk about how important it is to improve in the areas that you are weak in, this is actually good advice for your personal life, but not so much for your professional life. When you find the thing you are good at, which may take some trial and error and time to discover, make yourself become great at it. This is how you make yourself indispensable. Turning yourself into an expert in your own niche will make it easy for you to always have a job and an income. Your skills will be in demand because people will know that you are the person to reach out to. Making yourself really great at one thing can set you up for your entire life.
Leverage your wins to open new doors. When you develop a track record of accomplishing big things, people will know that you are not the type to quit and they will invite you to start new projects with them. I was fortunate to have a talent for writing, but what helped me become a successful author was consistent practice. I was then able to leverage my wins as a writer to start a venture capital company that focuses on compassionate innovation with friends in silicon valley. I didn’t know anything about venture capital, but I did know a lot about marketing, that is what got my foot in the door, the rest I learned along the way. I’m now leveraging this to start my own company called Ready that focuses on relationship support. I’ve used previous wins to help open doors to new adventures.
Make your dreams bigger. Sometime after I self-published my first book, a friend told me, whatever your dream is, make it bigger. It took me a while to realize that too many of us play small and we can all scale up our dreams. Unconsciously, we place limitations on what we are capable of. Aiming high will help you go far. The world needs more good-hearted people to reshape civilization into something that is much more compassionate. You have more power than you think you do. Use it for the good of all.
Believe in yourself. This one sounds simple, but runs quite deep. I have definitely had a lot of support over the years, which I am very grateful for, but some close people in my life were doubtful when I started writing. They wanted me to follow a more well-worn path, a safer, less risky career. They didn’t understand what I was doing or why it mattered to me. Their intentions were good, they were trying to protect me. But they were also often coming from a place of fear. Fear that I would fail. But luckily I had enough internal strength to follow my intuition and pursue this path. And gradually, as my successes grew, everyone came around, but it was my own belief in myself that made it possible.
Have a service oriented mindset. With whatever you do, ask yourself, can this directly or indirectly help people? Is this product that I am helping create potentially solving a problem for humanity? Am I helping make people’s lives better? When you make your life and job an act of service, not only will you be a happier human being, but you will be helping humanity take a step forward. We all know how harsh, cruel, and violent this world can be. Helping people and speaking out on behalf of those who are less fortunate than you, are absolutely necessary, because our world is on fire. As I reflect on all the paths my friends in high school and college have taken, the happiest and most successful ones are doing what they care about and helping others, though it is not often the first career path they tried. The active compassion you have for yourself and other people truly does make a difference.
Personal growth is vital. Meditation made everything possible for me. I did my first 10-day silent meditation course in 2012, right after college, and I often say I learned more about myself in those 10-days than in my whole college career. College can help you be externally successful in life but you have to find ways to be internally successful too. Finding ways to cultivate you inner balance, your peace, and your mental clarity are just as important as getting a good job. When I started meditating daily, it helped my mind feel more peaceful and it opened up my creativity. It also helped deepen my relationship with my wife and friends and family. I didn’t know I was a writer until I started meditating. Even if meditating is not your thing, your inner peace requires you to develop self-awareness, which will help you be less reactive. Find your own way to be self-reflective – journaling, therapy, mindfulness, there is a lot out there that can help you get in touch with your emotional history and your inner world.
And lastly, a few quick points of advice:
Don’t wait too long to act on your plans. Start before you are ready.
Truly listening to other’s perspectives is a sign of inner strength.
Learn what you need to take care of yourself and do it often.
Be generous with your kindness, it is more powerful than you think.
Know that in the present moment is where your true power lies.
If you want to be intelligent, read a lot.
If you want to grow, listen to your intuition.
If you want wealth, start your own company.
If you want inner peace, embrace the truth that everything changes.
As I stand up here, I hope you know that there is nothing special about me. What I did was apply consistency and dedication over many, many years. This has helped me transform my life for the better and help others. You can do the same. I hope you find the path that most excites you and that you are relentless about taking small steps forward. Eventually those steps will amass into a victorious and magnificent life.
May your noblest ambitions come true. May your lives be beautiful and may they leave a positive impact on the world. Class of 2024, I am wishing you massive success! Thank you!
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Beautiful speech! I so appreciated the emphasis on consistency and steadfastness and sharing with hunility the practices that help us believe in ourselves and dream big. Thank you for all the wealth you share through your writings, Young.
This is just such a powerful piece. What a gift you gave those students and all of us here! It quite literally gave me goose bumps. I draw great strength and inspiration from your consistent depth and wisdom. More than words…thank you.