[Music] Don't just aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference. Well, as I said, I'm a positive person.
I think that uh you have to take what you're given and and and do something with it. You know, the easiest thing to do is complain about it and give into that, but I try to turn that into something positive and so far it's worked for me. You know, it would be easy to to sit here and say, uh, oh, yeah, there's a lot of prejudice.
There's a lot of racism. Well, that's a given. You know, I try to be a positive person and figure out a way I can do better, not not give into small minds discuss other people, gossip.
Good minds discuss events. Great minds discuss ideas. At 66, getting ready to be 67, having just buried my mother, I made a promise to her and to God to do not just to do good the right way, but to honor my mother and my father by the way I live my life the rest of my days on this earth.
I'm here to serve, to help, to provide. When I was young, I uh starting to really make it as an actor. I came in, I talked to my mother.
I said, "Ma, did you think that this was going to happen? I'd be so big and I'll be able to take care of everybody and I can do this and I can do that and I can. She said, "Boy, stop it right there.
Stop it right there. " He said, "If you only knew how many people that had been praying for you, how many prayer groups she put together, how many prayer cloths she gave me, how many times she splashed me with holy water. " She said, "Oh, you did it by yourself.
" I tell you what you can do by yourself. You can go outside, get a mop and bucket and wash them windows. You can do that by yourself.
superstar. Everything that you think you see in me, everything that I've accomplished, everything that you think I have, and I have a few things, everything that I have is by the grace of God. Understand that it's a gift.
What are you going to do with what you have? I'm not talking about how much you have. Some of you have money.
Some of you have patience. Some of you have kindness. Some of you have love.
Some of you have the gift of longsuffering. Whatever it is, whatever your gift is, we all have different talents. Some of you will be doctors, some lawyers, some scientists, some educators, some nurses, is what you do with what you have.
true desire in the heart, that itch that you have, whatever it is you want to do, that thing that you want to do to help others and to to grow and to make money, that desire, that itch, that's God's proof to you sent beforehand already to indicate that it's yours. And anything you want, you can have. So claim it.
Work hard to get it. When you get it, reach back. Pull someone else up.
You only live once. So do what you feel passionate about, passionate about. So you got to get out there.
You got to give it everything you got. Whether it's your time, your talent, or your treasures. The world needs your talents, man.
Does it ever. Your life will never be a straight path. I was 20 years old.
I was at my lowest point. And then one day, and I remember the exact day, March 27th, 1975, I was helping my mother in her beauty shop. My mother owned a beauty shop up in Mount Vernon.
And there's there was this older woman. I didn't know her personally, but I I was looking in the mirror and every time I looked at the mirror, I could see her behind me, and she was staring at me. She just kept looking at me.
Every time I looked at her, she kept giving me these strange looks. So, she finally took the dryer off her head and she said something I'll never forget. She said, "Young boy, I have a prophecy, a spiritual prophecy.
" She said, "You are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people. " Now, mind you, I'm 20 years old. I'm flunked out of school.
In fact, like a wise ass, I'm thinking to myself, maybe she's got something in that crystal ball about me getting back into school next fall. But maybe she was on to something because later that summer while working as a counselor at the YMCA camp in Connecticut, we put on a talent show for the campers. And after the show, another counselor came up to me and asked, "Have you ever thought about acting?
You're good at that. " And in the years that followed, just as that woman prophesies, I have traveled the world and I have spoken to millions of people through my movies. Don't be afraid to fail.
There's an old IQ test was nine dots. and you had to draw five lines with a pencil within these nine dots without lifting the pencil. The only way to do it was to go outside the box.
So, don't be afraid to go outside the box. Don't be afraid to think outside the box. Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big.
But remember, dreams without goals are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment. So have dreams, but have goals. Life goals, yearly goals, monthly goals, daily goals.
I try to give myself a goal every day. Sometimes just to not curse somebody out. Simple goals.
But have goals. Remember, just because you're doing a lot more [Music] doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. You'll see what I mean about taking risk or being willing to fail.
Because taking risk is not just about going for a job. It's also about knowing what you know and what you don't know. It's about being open to people and to ideas.
And I can't think of a better message as we send you off today to not only take risks, but to be open to life, to accept new views, and to be open to new opinions. Because the chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, the faith that you have, that's what's going to define you. So members of the class of 2011, this is your mission.
Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give everything you got.
And when you fall throughout life, remember this. Fall forward. I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.
Nothing. Nelson Mandela said, "There is no passion to be found, playing small, and settling for a life that's less than the one you're capable of living. " Reggie Jackson struck out 2600 times in his career, the most in the history of baseball.
But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs. Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments.
Did you know that? I didn't know that because the 1,0001st was the light bulb. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.
Now, I'm sure in your experiences in school and applying to college and picking your major and deciding what you want to do with life. I'm sure people have told you to make sure you have something to fall back on. But I never understood that concept, having something to fall back on.
If I'm going to fall, I don't want to fall back on anything except my faith. I want to fall forward. I figure at least this way, I'll see what I'm going to hit.
Keep striving. Never give up. Fall down seven times, get up eight.
Without commitment, you'll never start. Without consistency, you'll never finish. What are you going to do with what you have?
Those who can do, those who can talk about those who can. What an opportunity we have because tomorrow's the first day of the rest of our lives. [Music] Strength, leadership, power, authority, guidance, patience are God's gift to us as men.
We have to cherish that, not abuse it. I prayed this morning to be a better listener. Didn't work so well.
If we're human, you get back up. Yes. I've been high up on the mountain.
I've been blessed. But that's a slippery slope. >> Yeah.
And it's lonely up there. You know, people don't know that side of it. We did not come this far to just break down and lose.
Now, I'm a winner. I'm going to win. true desire in the heart.
That itch that you have, whatever it is you want to do, that thing that you want to do to help others and to to grow and to make money, that desire, that itch, that's God's proof to you sent beforehand already to indicate that it's yours. Aspire to make a difference. See, you are what you are in this world.
It's either one of two things. either somebody or nobody. Never give up.
Without commitment, you'll never start. But more importantly, without consistency, you'll never finish. It's not easy.
If it were easy, there'd be no Denzel Washington. So, keep working. Keep striving.
Never give up. Fall down seven times. Let's get up eight.
Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship. So, keep moving, keep growing, keep learning. See you at work.
[Applause] While it may be frightening, it will also be rewarding. So, you got to get out there. You got to give it everything you got.
Whether it's your time, your talent, your prayers, or your treasures. Because taking risk is not just about going for a job. It's also about knowing what you know and what you don't know.
It's about being open to people and to ideas. To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. [Music] Because the chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, the faith that you have, that's what's going to define you.
I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Nothing. Nelson Mandela said, "There is no passion to be found playing small and settling for a life that's less than the one you're capable of living.
" Now, I'm sure in your experiences in school and applying to college and picking your major and deciding what you want to do with life, I'm sure people have told you to make sure you have something to fall back on. Make sure you got something to fall back on, honey. But I never understood that concept, having something to fall back on.
If I'm going to fall, I don't want to fall back on anything. I want to fall forward. I figure at least this way I'll see what I'm going to hit.
Fall forward. This is what I mean. Reggie Jackson struck out 2600 times in his career, the most in the history of baseball.
But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs. fall forward.
Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn't know that.
Because the 1,000 first was the light bulb. Fall forward. Fail big.
Today is the beginning of the rest of your life. And it can be can be very frightening. It's a new world out there.
It's a mean world out there. And you only live once. So do what you feel passionate about.
Take chances professionally. Don't be afraid to go outside the box. Don't be afraid to think outside the box.
Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big. But remember, dreams without goals are just dreams. and they ultimately fuel disappointment.
So have dreams but have goals. Life goals, yearly goals, monthly goals, daily goals. I try to give myself a goal every day.
Sometimes just to not curse somebody out. Simple goals. But have goals and understand that to achieve these goals, you must apply discipline and consistency.
In order to achieve your goals, you must apply discipline, which you have already done, and consistency every day, not just on Tuesday and just a few days. You have to work at it. Hard work works.
You'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. I don't care how much money you make. You can't take it with you.
The Egyptians tried it. They got robbed. That's all they got.
You can't take it with you. And it's not how much you have, it's what you do with what you have. We all have different talents.
Some of you will be doctors, some lawyers, some scientists, some educators, some nurses, some preachers. The most selfish thing you can do in this world is help someone else. Why is it selfish?
Because the gratification, the goodness that comes to you, the good feeling, the good feeling that I get from helping others, nothing's better than that. Well, one or two things, but nothing's better than that. Not not jewelry, not big house I have, not the cars, but the the it's the joy.
That's where the joy is and helping others. That's where the success is. And anything you want good you can have.
So claim it. Work hard to get it. When you get it, reach back.
Pull someone else up. each one teach one. Remember, just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done.
Remember that. Just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. Don't confuse movement with progress.
My mother told me, she said, "Yeah, cuz you can run in place all the time and never get anywhere. " So, continue to strive, continue to have goals, continue to progress.
