The Wisest Person I Ever Met - Inspiring Speech!

For #MotivationMonday today, I wanted to share with you this awesome video of a commencement speech that I came across last night. It is just so inspiring and I encourage you to watch the entire thing! There were so many amazing concepts presented in this speech that I'm not sure how I can narrow it down to the most impactful ones. But here are just a few, followed by the embedded video published by Goalcast on YouTube.

• The first one is the idea of combining knowledge and wisdom to make an impact. He calls his father a "simple cook" and refers to his father as a third grade dropout. I know he's using that term for impact, but I wouldn't use the term dropout to describe this incredible man who left third grade to help out on the family farm because he was needed. I would call that sacrificing oneself for the good of others, for the good of your family.

• I love the quote by Mark Twain: "I've never allowed my schooling to get in the way of my education." Despite being someone who has finished a college bachelor's degree myself, and though I have been married for nearly 27 years to someone who has two post-graduate degrees, I fully realize that formal education is not the only way to educate oneself. While it does provide a framework of stepping stones that can help you to "become educated" (whatever that really means) by those who have gone before you and know something about what types of things you need to learn to understand about the field you are going into, learning is not about attending classes per se, or getting a bunch of letters behind your name. Education is really more about having a thirst for knowledge and continually seeking it out each and every day. This small habit of being curious and exploring the world around you, and learning with an open mind about everything around you is how you will prepare yourself for everything that will come your way, and prepare you to teach the next generation.

• The next amazing principle in this speech is the idea of challenging oneself each and every day to be the best that you can be. This can be tough order to fill, because sometimes we just don't feel motivated to be motivated! This is part of why I created #MotivationMonday, because I need the motivation myself! But it's so important, in the word's of Dori from Finding Nemo, to just keep swimming! Never, ever give up is another lesson we learn from this speech in a very powerful way.

• The speaker's father taught him, "I won't have a problem if you aim high and miss, but I'll have a real problem if you aim low and hit." What great advice! It's important to reach high enough to stretch yourself so that you can become a little bit better every single day. 

• Aristotle said, "You are what you repeatedly do." I learned this in another setting just yesterday when I heard a speaker explain how over time, all of the seemingly insignificant, private decisions that we make over and over, can shape our lives. Thousands of little positive habits, when made consistently over time, can lift us to great things.

• The next quote I really like is, "I know you're tough, but don't ever forget to be kind." It's one of those things you learn in primary school, "Remember this, kindness begins with me!"

There are so many more great quotes and principles in this talk that I just don't have time to share them all! I encourage you to watch it all the way through, think about the truths that speak to your heart, and resolve to take just one of them and integrate it into your day today.

Go make today a great one!
~JS~ 🌞