This post originally appeared about a year ago in a digital space I share with my friend and project partner Eric Taylor. I'm reposting it here, now, because: (a) I was recently asked what I would say at a commencement and, of course, having already given it some thought, formed my answer around this premise. And (b) Having revisited the idea of mediocre messages to new grads, I thought next Monday's TGIM message could follow on and so it would be useful to have this on this page as a reference.
CAN YOU BECOME ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE?
“A new phase of your life is ahead of you. As a new graduate you can become anything you want if you just try hard enough.”
That’s the message I heard repeatedly at graduation ceremonies for family members this past June.
And every time I heard it, I bristled because –
I don’t think that’s true.
And I don’t think it’s useful to tell that to young people about to set off on the next set of challenges in their lives. I’d sooner leave them with a more realistic take on the world they are about to encounter and give them more practical and pragmatic guidance on how to move up as they move on.
What would I tell new graduates?
That’s what I’ll share with you here, today.
Assuming that, as these young people were, they were young adults about to head off to college or on a career path, after the correct observation that “A new life is ahead of you” I’d advise: “At this point in your life –
Focus On What You Do Best
TGIM ACTION IDEA: Identify your strengths and work hardest at developing them. In this talent-driven society, your biggest success awaits you in the place where you fit in most comfortably and can excel at what you do.
TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Be guided by what feels natural to you; what agrees with the way you think, and fits in with the way you feel and behave.
By now you should have an inkling of your interests and passion. You surely know you’re talented at some things and have greater difficulty mastering others.
In the days and years ahead, invest your time and energy practicing and developing those things you do best and building your knowledge base there. Consider carefully where you concentrate your efforts.
Don’t be “Rudy.”
It’s likely you know the inspirational, spirit-lifting story of Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger. It became, and remains, an iconic movie tale, based on a real-life story, of “success” by perseverance.
Here’s a capsule version. Then I’ll give my maybe-offbeat take on it:
Rudy was a 23-year old groundskeeper at the University Of Notre Dame, the Indiana football power. At 5’6”, 165 pounds he was an unlikely physical specimen for big-time college football played there under legendary coaches Ara Parseghian and later Dan Devine. Yet that was his desire. He worked doggedly to gain admission to Notre Dame so he could play football there.
He finally was accepted after having been rejected numerous times and, as a walk-on, earned a place on the football practice squad. For two years he took a beating in daily practice but was never in a “real” game. He was finally allowed to suit up for the final game of his senior year. In that game, with Notre Dame well ahead in the score, his teammates agitated to put Rudy in. In the final seconds the coach, Dan Devine, sent Rudy in.
Heart-warming outcome: Rudy sacked the opposing team’s quarterback. Rudy’s an instant hero … cheering fans carry him from the field … he’s later invited to the White House to meet the President, Joe Montana and other world-class leaders.
“So,” you say, “isn’t the Rudy story proof ‘You can become anything you want to be?’”
Well, I say “You can be anything you want to be, if you just try hard enough” is –
A misguided message. While Rudy’s perseverance is noteworthy, in the end, he played a few seconds of football and made a single tackle.
Despite his somewhat deserved current status as a motivator and poster boy for persistence, it only followed on the heels of the success of the movie. Following his 1976 college graduation and brief acclaim, he struggled in life and business.
Yes, someone wins the lottery. But million-to-one odds are not good odds. If buying a $1 ticket and enjoying the process is painless fun, then I’ve no problem with that.
But I don’t see that in the “Rudy” story.
What if Rudy had invested the thousands of hours of he devoted to college football to developing a talent that came more naturally to him?
While we can’t know the outcome, there are many established scientific studies and surveys that confirm that acknowledging weak points and moving in the direction of developing your greatest strengths leads to the biggest and best rewards.
Gallup Polls quantify it this way: People who do have the opportunity to focus on their strengths are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life in general.
TGIM Takeaway: Extraordinary room from growth exists in each and every one of us if we put our energy into developing our natural talents.
So I say to the Class of 2010 and friends and families assembled: Congratulations on all you’ve accomplished so far. Now --
Even if you cannot be “anything that you want,”
You can “be a lot more of who you already are.”
Go for that. And thanks for your attention.
Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com
P.S. Mark Twain is often credited with a story about the history buff who spent his entire life trying to figure out who was the world's greatest general. So when he died and got to Heaven, he asked Saint Peter if would show him the world's greatest general. Saint Peter took the man through heaven and pointed out a man and said, “That is the world's greatest general." The historian said, "You must be mistaken. That was the blacksmith in my village." And St. Peter said, "You are right. He was the blacksmith in your village. But if he had been a general, he would have been the greatest general of all."
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