Best 2013 Commencement Speech Quotes for a Purposeful Life

We are amazed that the only time there tends to be great advice given is during life's elations or tragedies.  Well what about the kind of advice that happens when you are able to sit at the doorway of your biggest life opportunities and that advice comes from a well experienced person hoping to give you their best advice right before you are released with all the opportunity and courage that you will likely be able to muster before life gets more complicated?

This advice normally only comes during commencement!

As we perused the different pieces of advice shared thus far from commencements occurring across the United States from some of the most intellectual, seasoned and knowledgeable leaders of the highest influence, we wanted to give you nuggets that we think are applicable to anyone no matter what season of life they are in...


Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter (University of Michigan)

"As you get ready to walk out under the bright lights of the improvisational stage of the rest of your life... be bold. Don't always worry about what your next line is going to be."

David Brooks, NY Times Columnist (Sewanee, University of the South)

"Don't think about what you want from life. Think about what life wants from you. If you're observant, some large problem will plop itself in front of you. It will define your mission and your calling. Your passion won't come from inside. It will come from outside."

Carson Kressley, Fashion Celebrity (Philadelphia University)

"If you live your life only following the path you think is approved or acceptable, or the one you think is expected of you, you'll be making a huge mistake. Not a single successful person... has ever done great things because they played it safe. You've got to be true to yourself."

Darius Rucker, Hootie & the Blowfish (University of South Carolina)

"..find something that makes you want to give 'til it hurts."

Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark (Yale University)

"Get out of bed. Keep going. I will not quit. I will not give up no matter how dark the days, no matter how big my failure. I won't lose lessons that I could gather while on my knees. I won't lose the lessons I can find in my lowest pits of despair, because when I emerge, it's those lessons that will define my being.'"

Mark Shields, Political Analyst (Saint Michaels College)

"Call your mother...not text, not e-mail--call her. She wants to hear how you sound." [If you become parents,] "spend more time than you judge to be reasonable with your children. Please know that no one in recorded history, on his or her death bed has ever said, 'Gee, I wish I had spent more time at the office.'"

Rick Hodes, Physician and Author (Brandeis University)

"Remember this: Run to do good. Create a momentum in the right direction. Get your hands dirty. Wear out your shoes. Don't try to get too comfortable, please!"

Carlos Eire, Author and Professor (Midland University)

"If it weren't for my failures and my painful experiences, I would not be here today speaking to you...It's a way of saying the risks I took brought me here. Failure has brought me to his podium, more failures than I can count...These failures are my trophies."

Steve Case, Co-Founder of AOL (University of North Carolina)

"Be curious. Be open. Be flexible. Let your life unfold as a series of chapters. Don't be so fixated on a specific ending that you neglect to open the door when opportunity knocks."

Arianna Huffington, Journalist and Author (Smith College)

"And remember that while there will be plenty of signposts along your path directing you to make money and climb up the ladder, there will be almost no signposts reminding you to stay connected to the essence of who you are, to take care of yourself along the way, to reach out to others, to pause to wonder, and to connect to that place from which everything is possible."

No matter your age, stage, season or past, these quotes are still applicable in the life that wants to be impactful and fulfill its purpose...

The Supa Group
thesupagroup@gmail.com
www.thesupagroup.com

11 Rules for Success (Part 1 of 2) (Inc. Magazine)

In the February 2013 issues of Inc. Magazine, they shared the 11 Rules for Success by founders of Twitter, Whole Foods, Zappos, Huffington Post, and more.  These people represent the world's top minds in business-- entrepreneurs behind the nation's most dynamic companies, as well as thinkers from leading business schools.

For your quick empowerment and to give you an injection of wisdom, we have summarized the 11 Rules below:

Rule #1:  Do Less (Evan Williams, co-founder of Blogger, Twitter and Medium)

When I meet the founders of a new company, my advice is almost always, "Do fewer things." It's true of partnerships, marketing opportunities, anything that's taking up your time. The vast majority of things are distractions, and very few really matter to your success.

Anything I've done that really worked happened because, either by sheer will or a lack of options, I was incredibly focused on one problem. When you're obsessing about one thing, you can reach insights about how to solve hard problems.  If you have too many things to think about, you'll get to the superficial solution, not the brilliant one.

Rule #2  Embrace Accidents (Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos)

At Zappos, we prioritize collisions over convenience by intentionally making exits on all four sides of the building.  It's all about maximizing collisions and accelerating serendipity.

It think you can create your own luck.  The key is to meet as many people as you can and really get to know them.  Meet lots of different people without trying to extract value from them.  You don't need to connect the dots right away.  But if you think about each person as a new dot on your canvas, over time, you'll see the full picture.

Rule #3:  Choose Your Playing Field (Roger Martin, Dean at Rotman School of Management)

Company leaders think that if they have a vision or aspirations, that's enough.  We need to understand the difference between strategy and aspiration. 

The heart of strategy is defining where you're going to play and how you're going to win. A lot of companies don't consciously choose where not to play.  Southwest Airline has one kind of jet.  It flies between smaller airports.  That decision about how to win affected its decision where to play; only in the continental U.S. Otherwise, the system didn't work.

Rule #4:  Fail (Arianna Hiffington, co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post)

Very often, success stops people, because they're afraid of taking a step that leads to failure.  My mother used to call failure a stepping stone to success, as opposed to the opposite of success.  When you frame failure that way, it changes dramatically what you're willing to do, how you're willing to invent, and the risks you'll take.

There's absolutely no one who's succeeded who has not failed along the way.  Reading biographies of the successful people you admire is a great way to put failure in perspective.  Steve Jobs said that being fired from Apple was the best thing that ever happened to him. 

Rule #5:  Let Others Lead (Micheal Useem, professor at Wharton School and "The Leader's Checklist")

With unpredictable markets, shorter time cycles and an increasingly complex business environment, resilience (the ability to come back from crisis) is the single most important quality a leader needs to possess.

Leadership is a team sport.  You need to build leadership through the ranks, by empowering people to independently make good decisions.  You can't do that if you don't make clear what your vision is.

Rule #6:  Slow Down (founder and CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group)

I'll never forget sitting in the living room with my brother, sister and mom as my dad tearfully told us his travel company was not going to make it.  After that, I always associated bankruptcy with overexpansion.  I think that's why after my first restaurant, it took me 10 years to open a second one.

Now I realize, despite whatever emotional issues led me to go slowly, I gave myself a real gift.  I was able to take a deep dive into the skills of being a restaurateur in a way that I never would have done had I lacked that patience.

It's easy to think running a business has to be a sprint.  If I've learned anything at all, it's that if you're lucky enough to lead a healthy, long life, there's time.

During those first 10 years, I learned the value of allowing a business to develop its soul.  Soul happens almost as slowly as it takes for a baseball glove to break in; you  have to play catch for a really long time.  Time helped Union Square Cafe achieve something very few businesses do, which is essentially, the sense that it mattered in people's lives.  The shelf life of innovation is about two seconds today.  Even if you have the best idea, it's going to get copied.  The thing that cannot be copied is how I made you feel.

We are committed to bringing you the best snap shot wisdom, ideas, opinions and strategies that correlates to our advisory services.  We hope this post edifies your vision and execution plans and stay tuned for Part 2!

The Supa Group

www.thesupagroup.com