2014 Commencement Speech for College of Western Idaho When I was asked to give a speech at this graduation, I was flabbergasted. Here I am, three days shy of 42, graduating with students who are mostly younger than I, and some even young enough to be my children. I’m expected to inspire you? I grew up in the military and have seen and lived in many places. I have been to the majority of these United States, and several countries in Europe. I have met people from all walks of life; from the homeless and destitute, to the rich and famous. I can say, without a doubt, we are among the luckiest and most privileged people in the world. Again, I’m supposed to inspire you, who are among the most privileged in the world? The more I thought on it, however, the more I began to realize that perhaps “inspire” wasn’t the right word. After all, you are here today because you have already been inspired to be greater than you were. Perhaps I am here not to inspire, but to congratulate you on your accomplishment. Maybe, I and others from my generation, and generations before, should be here thanking you for giving us hope that tomorrow is filled with possibilities. Truth be told, I am grateful that there are others graduating here today that are also veterans of youth and wrong turns in life. Those of you stepping out into the “real world” for the first time can be comforted by the knowledge that there will be some of us taking that step with you that have been there, done that, and are willing to share our analog knowledge with your digital youth. And those of us who have half a life behind us, with a brand new half to look forward to, can take comfort in the knowledge that someone else will be there to answer our tech problems and show us how to be smarter than our smart phones. Over the past couple of years you have learned much from many. Google and Wikipedia have taught you that knowledge is easily found. The faculty has taught you that applying that knowledge requires long, tedious, and often difficult work. The administration has taught you that education is expensive. Life will teach you that it is more than worth all of the work, cost, sleepless nights, and additional grey hairs. The American author Napoleon Hill once said, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” You are testament to the truth of that statement. You conceived of a future where you could be successful. You believed it enough to advance your education. Finally, you achieved it. All of us here today have taken responsibility in what we hope will be a bright and successful future. It is only a first step, however. There will be many obstacles ahead; some small, and some seemingly insurmountable. You have shown you are not afraid to take that first step, or to climb that first wall. Do not be satisfied with this accomplishment. Do not say to yourself, “I have overcome this hurdle and the rest will be smooth sailing.” Rather, look around you and realize this first step is your sure footing. Now that you have it, look for the next obstacle in life and run for it. Conquer that one, elate in that accomplishment, and look for the next. To quote Amelia Earhart, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” Life is and always will be full of challenges. Embrace them. Wrestle them. Conquer them. It is through the challenges that we find our true merit, our true grit, and our true selves. Some of us here will go on to do extraordinary and amazing things that will live on in the annals of history. Others of us will do extraordinary and amazing things that will live on in the memories of those we touch. Look to your left, then look to your right. You are sitting among greatness. Breathe it in. Take a piece of it with you. You have been a part of something bigger than yourselves. I would like to leave you with the words of Mark Twain, a man who, in his own right, achieved greatness in his time and will, as some of you, live on in eternity. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones that you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”