Dare, Do and Win
"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a sea we are now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures!
- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
First of all, of course, welcome. Secondly, congratulations. And thirdly, please remember: This may be the first day of the rest of our lives, but if you fail to sit thru this talk , you wont get to complete term end submissions. I was told I was supposed to speak on a graduation class motto today, so well, bear with me I guess. Have you heard the motto yet, I hadn't until I thought that I might have to speak here , and I came up with a Motto called “Dare , Do and Win” This evoked the sentiments of the hidden poet within me “
"Not enjoyment and not sorrow is our destined end or way but to act that each tomorrow brings us farther than today."
Did you hear that?
"Not enjoyment and not sorrow is our destined end or way, but to act that each tomorrow brings us farther than today."
What, do you all have hearts of stone?
Where are the tears?
Don't you see it even rhymes?
Way-today, today-way, see that?
I guess I sound a little too bitter about this don't I? I don't mean to. I am actually excited to be speaking here today, even to be speaking about this conceived motto.. Those of you who know me reasonably well know that there's not much I couldn't spend ten minutes talking about. I've been told that I talk a lot. But there I go already, back to the class motto.
Not enjoyment and not sorrow, but to act.
Right now I'm sure many of you are sitting there with thoughts racing through your head at a mile a minute. Some people are anxious about
the future, others are primed to get on with it after-grad party. Some are thinking that they finally have their ticket stamped to leave this country and seek a future in the land of opportunities “America”, which I happen to be thinking right now. Some of you are looking at the clock and wondering how long it will be until I shut-up and get off the stage, I happen to know a few such people, for its not too long ago that I was on that side myself.
Though you might not be thinking any of those things right now, I'm sure we are all thinking that we finally made it. Yup, College is finally over, but we're not even close to being done. This is just the beginning of the rest of our life and it only gets harder from this point on. You will encounter obstacles at every turn, but you must persevere if you hope to succeed in this world. The key to your success will be to know what everyone expects from you and then you must commit yourself to exceeding those expectations, that is what will set you ahead of the rest.
I just have a couple more things I would like to say to the class before I step down from the podium, and somethings may sound corny and cliché yet at the same time carries significant meaning.
For my first theme of DARE… It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense. Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. For afterall Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.
Someone great once said, Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don't recognize them." Afterall In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. After all these years since someone coined this term, Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration.
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. "A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort." For Obstacles are
those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one.
Our Country needs more more people who specialize in the impossible. If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. Your aspirations are your possibilities.
Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming. "Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."
And yes , Be careful what you set your heart on, for it will surely be yours.
The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness; and knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream. Gibran, Kahlil
If you grew up...in the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable, This moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage, - believe me it's possible."
back to the class motto.
Not enjoyment and not sorrow, but to act.
There are some things that I regret about the last four years of my life, but the enjoyment and the sorrow certainly aren't among them. Life is all about the happy and the sad, and it should be. I don't want every day of my life to be measured by what I accomplished over the day before. Certainly, there are areas in which we as a society could use progress and action, but that should never exclude enjoyment and sorrow from being a part of living. Today, especially of all days, we should be thinking of these things. I am not worried this 11th of April about what I can do to advance myself past where I was on the 10th. I
am worried about the fact that it is entirely possible that I may never see some of you again in my life after tonight. Not my best friends certainly, but all of those people we enjoy saying "Hi" to between periods, a junior, someone whom we loved to help and would love to help even further. That's sorrow. But then it's surely not all bad. It's summer, maybe not on the calendar, but in our minds. This is the summer of your final year. These are the six months out of our lives that most of our parents can only dream of returning to. Think about this for a minute, we never have to experience the concept of a "Basement mein lecture again" again. That's enjoyment.
So, I know these probably weren't the most inspirational ten minutes of your lives, but if your past few weeks have been anything like mine, you've probably received enough advice and good wishes to last you well into your 40s.
I wish you all luck in the rest of your lives; may they be full of enjoyment and just enough sorrow to really remind you how great the good times are. Thank you all for letting me speak.
May the road rise to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields, and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand. And May you Dare , Do and Win.
Till then Adios.
Roby John
COEP Graduation Ceremony, April 2001
From my archive, typed up from the original.
