TO THE GRAUDATING
CLASS OF 2013 (3rd in a Series)
Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2013. As a
father, a husband, a business man, and as a graduate myself, I can feel the
excitement that each of you are experiencing, in anticipation of receiving your
respective awards. As proud as you
should be of your efforts to get here, I want you to take this time to realize
that the hard work really begins-now.
For as hard as each of you as graduates have worked to get
to this point in your life, I now challenge you to think like the many contestants
of the now infamous program: The Voice.[ii] Hosted by Carson Daly,[1] it is an ingenuous program, in my opinion,
that challenges the very talented among us, to step up, to put their best foot
(or their voices in this case) forward, and sing to no less than an audience of
four outstandingly talented and well accomplished artists (Adam Levine[2], Shakira[3], Blake
Shelton[4] and
Usher[5]), whose
backs are turned to the selected performers. Thus, it is called the blind
auditions.
If you are familiar with The Voice’s overall objective, you
know that the contestants are supposed to perform well enough to get at least
one celebrity to be so inspired, that by pushing a big red button on their
counsel, any given celebrity’s chair automatically turns around to face the
respective performer, who must continue to perform to completion. And, let’s not forget, even that act by any
given celebrity is a contest in itself.
Because the first celebrity to turn around, has an opportunity to build
a competitive team of performers, who in the end, makes one of those celebrities
a winner in their own right as a wining coach of his team. When that chair turns completely
around, it becomes for the contestant(s) the benefit with
the 1st of several ultimate positions going forward, if selected to
be on any one of the teams headed up by each celebrity.
If we have watched The Voice, we have seen where not only
one celebrity has turned around, but in several cases, 2, 3 or all 4 have
turned their chairs around, simply by pressing that red button which
automatically forces their chairs to face the performer, in this blind audition
approach. It is so exciting, not only
watching the performers put their all on the line, but to see all of the
celebrities turn their chairs around when they hear that one performer that
they just got to not only see, but have their team, because the each celebrity
wants to win as well.
To me, this show is a great play on life in general, and
today, as you each sit here, in anticipation of receiving your degrees, my
question to you is: what are you going
to do to get the world to turn it chairs around for you? That will be the ultimate challenge, but you
won’t have to go on The Voice to accept this challenge (unless that is your
dream). Starting right now, you will be presenting
yourself to the world. You will be
presenting the very best of what you have learned, and who you are as an
achiever. And as such, you will be trying
to get the world to turn its chairs around for you, as well. Correct me, if I am wrong.
There are so many dynamic components to The Voice that I
believe you will be able to incorporate, if you decide to accept this
challenge. I have narrowed them down to
five basic components. If we can, just
briefly, let’s put these components in a context necessary to hopefully help you
to get the world to turn its chairs around for you. Here they are in, no definitive order:
A. Confidence (Do you
have it?)
B. Preparation (Are
you ready?)
C. Desire (How badly
do you want it?)
D. Performance
(Giving it your best), and
E. Resilience (Will
you get back up when you fall or fail?)
Let
us talk about Confidence:
The late Zig Ziglar, one of the world’s most motivating speakers
once said, “You are the only person on
earth who can use your ability.”[iii]
I can only imagine what it is like to be able to sing like
the many talents that I have observed on The Voice. I used to think that I could sing, but now, I
realize that I was just carrying a tune.
Their talents are truly magnificent, and they deserve to be on the stage
presenting to the world what they are capable of doing. By the same token, you too must exude the
kind of confidence these contestants present.
As newly minted graduates, you too must be confident in your education,
in your skill sets and, with the knowledge that you have gained, knowing that
you are ready to make a difference in each and everyone of your pursuits-day
one.
Let us talk about: Preparation:
One
of the things that The Voice does in
preparing its audience is that it gives us a snapshot of the contestants’ lives
and how they come to be in the program.
What we often see are seemingly ordinary people, who come from what
appears to be a plain and ordinary existence.
The contestants seem to be like you and I, in many ways. But what may distinguish those contestants
from many of us, here today, is that the contestants have been proactively
seeking avenues, such as The Voice, that would provide a tremendous opportunity
for them to showcase what they are capable of showcasing, to the world.
While
it is safe to say that many of you are prepared as a result your education, you
will never know how prepared you are to make a difference in the world until
you step out of the shadows of hope, and faith, and step out today on the
world’s stage. Yes, you know what you
are capable of doing, but until you confront the challenges of the world that
is before you, all of the preparation that you have acquired up to this moment
in your life, matter for nothing.
Desire
What
about Desire? When we talk about desire, I
would like to quote Mario Andretti, one
the world’s greatest racecar drivers, who is quoted to have once said:
Desire is the key to motivation, but its determination and commitment to
an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will
enable you to attain the success you seek
[v]
Having
watched The Voice, I believe that you will agree that desire is very much in
the eyes of the contestants, as well as in their hearts, and in their will. The contestants’ main goal, at that point, is
to have their greatest desire to be validated by one of, if not all of the
celebrities in this blind audition. But
don’t be fooled by their presence on The Voice. The Voice is just one avenue,
among many others, that these contestants are availing themselves. It is as much an honor for the program’s
producers, sponsors, and celebrities that these contestants have chosen The
Voice’s arena as it is for the contestants to be there. The Voice is in essence, desire meeting
desire. It is dreams come true meeting
dreams come true. And although every
contestant may not be chosen to participate in the overall program, the
contestants are showing their true spirit by exercising a desire to be
recognized as talented professionals.
And if nothing else for their efforts, the mission is all but
accomplished by just the contestants showing up to perform.
Performance
Speaking of performance, when it
comes time to demonstrating what it is that makes you stand out to the world,
my graduates, you need to be ready.
Author and
motivational speaker Ralph Martson once said this about performance:
“Don't lower your
expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet
your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary
to make it a reality.” [vi]
If you
have ever observed the performers on The Voice, you have to sincerely
appreciate the fact that they set aside any and all inhibitions. You have to appreciate the fact that at that
moment, the sum of their efforts is focused on getting any one of, if not all
four celebrity judges to press that big red button in front of their counsel,
thus, turning their individual chairs around to see the performers, performing,
at their very best.
As
observers, we have to be acutely aware of the dynamics of the performances as
well as that of the celebrities who are in their seats of judgment. The equal part of this dynamics is that both
the performers and the celebrities are both in the mode of anticipation. While it maybe hard to tell, I think that in
a lot of cases, the celebrities may actually be at a higher level of desire
than the performers.
If during
any one of the performances, we can observe in a matter of just a few notes of
the performer’s singing, a judge can be immediately inspired by the very best
of a performer’s presentation, and quickly push that big red button in order to
be the very first, and surely not the only celebrity, to capture the talent
that their ears have heard, and their mogul minds have calculated. In other instances, it maybe all the way
through a performer’s song before even one celebrity presses their button to
turn their chair around.
The
dynamics can be further explored as we watch the celebrities, as they watch
each other. The dynamics of this
extraordinarily ingenious program, is watching the celebrities weigh their
options, not with a particular performer, but against their celebrity judges,
who are, in actuality, their competition.
It is truly awesome to watch and analyze. But the real dynamic exists when one of the
contestants are not picked, by either celebrity. That’s when we come to our final
component: resilience.
Resilience
I found
the following quote on the website below that I thought best depicted what I
believe many of the performers who weren’t ultimately selected by the
celebrities for The Voice. It reads as follows:
Resilience
is rooted in a tenacity of spirit—a determination to embrace all that makes
life worth living even in the face of overwhelming odds. When we have a clear
sense of identity and purpose, we are more resilient, because we can hold fast
to our vision of a better future.[vii]
Resilience,
believe it or not, was what I observed in those performers who were not
selected. I know it had to have been
difficult for the celebrity judges (Adam Levine[viii],
Blake Shelton[ix],
Shakira[x]
and Usher[xi])
not to select some of the performers, even though many of them sounded
great. But there was something that each
performer needed hear (thus the blind auditions). There was something that each celebrity needed
to be transmitted from those performers in that moment, within those 3 minutes,
that said to the celebrities: “I have a chance to win with you” or “I know I
can win with you”. But that did not
happen on many occasions. In those
instances in which a performer is not selected, the celebrities, at the end of
the performer’s act, would all turn around, not having selected the singer, but
was ready to give constructive advice to surely a disappointed performer. But this is where resilience showed its
beautiful head.
(Pay
attention Graduates)
What I
learned about several of those performers, was that some of them had been on The Voice before. Some of the performers, having been denied an
opportunity to be on the The Voice,
even in their hour of disappointment, were now committed, more than ever, to
continue on, having now been baptized by fire, so to speak.
For those
who have now been on one of the largest stages ever, where else could they
possibly fail? The opportunity to be on
national TV, while not achieving the desired results, having something under
their belts, and now, they are going to go on to the next level, just as though
they had won The Voice. Because in actuality, they had. They had been a performer on The Voice and that
was a winning moment, many other performers had not yet achieved. Now, what does The Voice have to do with you
as graduates?
What Are You Going
to Do To Get the World to Turn Its Chairs Around for You?
Four of the five components that I have shared here today,
as it relates to the contestants of The Voice, I believe are very important to
you as new graduates. These aren’t the
only components, or dynamics that go into making this show a success. The audience participation, the relationships
of the celebrities, producers and sponsors, are also important. But for now, I just want to focus on these
specific components. The components we
discussed were: Confidence (do you have it?); Preparation (Are you truly
ready?); Desire (How badly do you want it?), and Performance (Giving it your
best!). But, I think the one component
that I want to make sure that we all embrace is, Resilience (Will you get back
up if you fall or fail?).
Resilience, is perhaps the
greatest component for each of you to be able to exercise today as you prepare
to receive your degrees. God knows you
are going to need a lot of it. As you
leave here today, I am hoping that all of you will get your chance to put your
version of The Voice in play. I hope that you will get a chance to turn the
chair around in your pursuits. With the
other 4 components notwithstanding, I
hope that regardless of what you go through going forward, that you will
exercise the ability to get up, if you fall or fail; that you will exercise the
ability to come back if doors are closed in your face. The question is, what
are you willing to do to get someone to turn their chair around for you?
I know that you are going to
succeed at a lot of things, because each and everyone of you are going to
exercise resilience. You are not going to quit or give up just because someone
says “no”. You are going to be relentless until you get someone to open
their doors to your fantastic ideas, or to get someone to open their minds to what
you bring to the table in order for you to be a success.
So as you leave here today, with
sum efforts in your hands, prepare to challenge the world to turn its chairs
around for you. No matter what you
pursue in life. You can get the world to
turn its chairs around. So I challenge you to be prepared.
Be prepared to turn chairs in
medicine;
Be prepared to turn chairs in
education;
Be prepared to turn chairs
Criminal Justice and Law;
Be prepared to turn chairs in Engineering;
Be prepared to turn chairs in your
community;
Be prepared to turn chairs in Arts
and Sciences;
Be prepared to turn chairs in
Transportation, Aeronautics, Geology, Cancer, if not in mankind itself. Be prepared to turn those chairs around and
make the world a better place.
I believe that you have the
confidence, the desire, the ability to perform, and for sure, the preparation. But more than anything, I know that you have
what it takes to get up every time you are knocked down, or if you fail, because
you are determined to turn every chair regardless of whose doors you have to
knock on, or whose back you have to sing to, you will turn those chairs around!
In Conclusion -Used
by Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech
“Our deepest fear is not
that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond
measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask
ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?'
Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small
does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that
people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory
of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when
we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do
the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically
liberates others.” [xii]
Congratulations to all of you,
the Graduating Class of 2013, and Best wishes.
[iii] Zig Ziglar on Confidence
- http://thinkexist.com/quotations/confidence/
[iv] Lucious Seneca
on preparation; http://www.egs.edu/library/lucius-annaeus-seneca/biography/
[vi] Ralph
Martson quote on Performance http://www.searchquotes.com/quotes/author/Ralph_Marston/
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