By Carl Sampson
Tap, tap, tap. “Is this microphone on? “It is? Good.” The shuffling of papers is heard in the background.
“Four score and seven years ago. … Oops, wrong speech.
“And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country….
“Nope, that’s not it either. Wait, here it is.
“I’ve been invited by the members of the Class of 2013 to speak at the momentous occasion of their graduation from high school. When I asked what they wanted me to
talk about they told me they didn’t care, as long as I kept it short. So here is the Reader’s Digest version of all that I have learned. I guarantee that you will be successful and happy if you follow these seven steps.
Step 1: Have a plan. For the next hour. For the day. For the month. For the rest of your life, you must have a plan. We all have goals. To get a good job. To be healthy. To meet the “right” person. No matter what your goal is, write it down and then come up with a plan to achieve that goal. Let’s say you want to be a successful doctor. Step one would be to talk with several successful doctors and ask them how they did it. Though the stories will be different, a theme will emerge: Work hard, learn all that you can about medicine. Get great grades in college and medical school. And don’t pass out at the sight of blood.
Step 2: Work your plan, and plan your work. Using the example of becoming a doctor, the top priority would be getting great grades.
If you haven’t been getting good grades, learn how to do that. It’s not particularly hard. Take good notes in class, read what the instructors assign, and learn the subject matter. No one wants a doctor who says, ‘Dang, I got a good grade on CPR in med school, but I forget how to do it. …”
Step 3: Learn how to manage your time. If you haven’t already, you will learn that the most precious thing in life isn’t money, or fame. It’s time. You can’t make more of it, but you can use it wisely, and you do that by efficiently taking care of the small stuff so you have time for the big stuff.
Step 4: Establish a 10-foot No Jerk Zone around you. Don’t go around jerks. Don’t do business with jerks. Don’t waste your time on jerks. If one comes near you, move away. Life is way too short for spending time around jerks.
Step 5: Learn the Three Pot Theory. Everything in life can be divided into three pots. Pot 1 contains everything you have direct control over. It is a very small pot, but concentrate on it. You are in Pot 1. Pot 2 contains all of the things you have some influence over. It is a bigger than Pot 1, but not by much. Pot 3 is gigantic. It contains all of the things you have no influence over. Don’t worry about Pot 3.
Step 6: Be nice. Tell the truth. Share. Remember that everything you do reflects on you, not someone else.
Step 7: And most importantly, always have a joke to tell.
So that’s it, Dear Class of 2013. That is how you can succeed in this confusing, complex and sometimes bizarre world. It’s not hard, but it does require hard work and focus and good humor. You can do it. I have a couple of minutes left, so I’ll follow my own advice. Did you hear the one about. …”
