[Applause]
good evening everyone thank you for
having
tell you what a huge pleasure this to be
here my name is Javier de anda and as
was mentioned I attended Eagle Brook in
1986 from 1986 to 1989 I came here to
learn English
amongst other things let’s get this out
of the way yes that is me the one with
the shorts now that picture proves two
things number one that I attended Eagle
Brook like I said number two I didn’t
speak a whole lot of English when I came
here you know how they say hey didn’t
you get the memo oh I got the memo I had
no idea what the memo said in any case
eventually I think I overcame all about
dorkiness unless you asked my wife and
we are now happily married and we live
in San Diego California with her with
her two young gals so I don’t really
think that one of those people that was
born with any kind of a special gift or
any kind of a talent
normal person and what I do know is that
over the years I’ve become what I refer
to as a goal junkie okay now there for
him
here talk to you about goals now as with
every good goal junkie I try very hard
not to talk about limitations and
instead I talk about dreams and I try
very hard not to focus on obstacles and
instead they focus on plans perhaps most
influential towards these successes that
I’ve had in my life I try not to leave
anything to tomorrow that which I can do
today okay now the story that I’m here
to share with you goes a little bit
farther back than 1986 you’d have to go
back to him on his home in Mexico City
my backyard to be precise on Friday
September 21st 1979 it was my sixth
birthday I was so excited I had friends
there
presents family the whole nine yards
best day of my life now knowing that I
was a pretty competitive kid from a
young age my mother had allowed me to
come up with any kind of a game any kind
of a competition to take place during my
birthday party and what I came up with
Cheers now keep in mind this is before
lawsuits were prevalent and and well
plus whatever happened however here’s
backyard stayed in however here’s
backyard but in any case what this game
consisted of is if we sit down to a
chair and get in line we jump over a
chair if you made it we’d set down a
second chair if you made it you went on
to the next round and so on if you
didn’t make it you had one of two things
or possibly both you had a Bruce Diego
for sure and then he probably had
something else Bruce depending on how
you landed it was it was brutal but the
game the competition began right and in
all of my friends except maybe three of
the smarter ones who went straight for
the cake we began to jump and and so
then at first there was 12 and that soon
became 7 nobody died just got thus
qualified and then that 7 became 5 and 5
became 3 and 3 became 2 and then there
was me I had won I was so excited
remember my mother coming over and
saying how good job you wanna know go
have some cake I’m just giving you those
special effects she didn’t really talk
like that she was speaking Spanish um
but uh before she started putting away
these chairs
I remember saying mom mom wait please I
want to jump one more chair to which
with any reasonable mother would she
replied yes me oh are you loco and in
the middle of all this madness I
remember a deep voice emerging from the
back of the crowd it was my grandfather
I remember I’m saying
the boy wants to jump onto the chair let
him jump another chair and so I took
that as a green light I went back as far
as my backyard would allow and the crowd
gathered once again about to witness an
epic fail and I remember looking down my
runway and no matter what anyone thought
I didn’t I didn’t think I didn’t wonder
I knew I was gonna make it over those
chairs and so I closed my eyes and I
visualized myself flying over those
chairs and landing free of harm on the
other side I took a deep breath I took
that very important first step and then
this second and
next and the next I started gaining
speed and those chairs were coming at me
so fast I gave her everything I could
adrenaline running down my body I took
grandfather was my hero
Papo we called him he was great at many
sports most noticeably a track and field
he was a two-time Olympian he had broken
every imaginable record in Mexico he was
named the best athlete in Mexico in the
first 50 years of the century eventually
became the president of the Mexican
Federation of athletics became a Hall of
Famer amazing man but most most
important to this story that day jumping
over those chairs papa when I made a
connection I remember him telling me do
you want to someday be a world-class
athlete – which of course I said si and
so he took me under his wing and I began
to Train
he got me access to the best of coaches
the best of teams eventually pulled some
strings and got me access to train at
the Mexican Olympic Training Center
which was an incredible privilege
everything was amazing and so I came to
Eagle Brook the track and field here
went back and eventually my family and I
we moved to San Diego but don’t worry I
stayed in close close contact with Pavel
finish high school in California and
eventually made into the San Diego State
University track team the Barcelona
Olympics were just just around the
corner everything was going according to
plan until that day they I will never
forget it was a cold December morning I
was late to attract me I got there with
barely enough time to warm up and put on
my shoes and so I I went to the other
side of the track to the to the start of
the 200 meters – as I had done so many
times before and I stood there behind
behind those blocks and I heard that
familiar voice competitors take your
marks so I did as I was told
relax my shoulders took a deep breath
get set
and then that pain that unimaginable
pain that deep deep pain my left
hamstring I had destroyed it
a career-ending injury that even after
months and months of therapy could never
come back from fast which the fast
twitch muscle that was required to be a
sprinter was gone and with that my
dreams to be a tract sprinter were gone
as well not to make matters worse a few
months later I was by my Papa’s bed at a
Mexico City Hospital he took his last
few breaths
I remember whispering in his ear Papa
don’t worry I will be someday I will be
a world-class athlete just like you I
promise and a few days later he left us
I was devastated my running was gone my
papa was gone my spirit was crushed I
admit it I had to let time do its thing
but before long I remember getting up
one morning thinking man I’ve invested a
whole lot in myself to get me to this
point I can’t just let it all go to
waste and plus now I had I promised that
I had to keep I had to reinvent myself
and so I went back to the drawing board
kept it to a little bit of
soul-searching eventually found the
sport of triathlon they had everything I
needed everything I could want to I
didn’t need to be a fast sprinter so I
went and bought myself a bike some
goggles running shoes wetsuit he began
to train put together a plan
I was very methodical I was training
harder than ever twice a day in most
days and if I can’t I can make progress
and have successes at first local races
then at the state level before you know
I was racing in international races once
again and I remember thinking that
looking back at the road that had got me
to that point almost unconsciously I had
been following a certain set of steps
that had allowed me to be successful and
I remember thinking that those those
steps could really apply to anything any
kind of a goal big or small and anyone
really
and so I documented it I documented
those steps to be honest so that my two
girls could someday take advantage of
them
but tonight I have the incredible
opportunity and the privilege to be able
to share those steps with you step
number one you got a goal define it
define it with excruciating detail so
much that you can close your eyes and
feel it and taste it hear it
okay now most likely this goal is gonna
come in the shape of a moment for me
that moment was the sound of the roaring
crowd as I approached the finish line at
the huge event and my muscles with the
adrenaline and in the sweat coming down
the side of my face almost in slow
motion as I crossed the finish line
wearing my country’s uniform all right
now for some of you I have nothing to do
with sports maybe it’s the sight of the
tall red curtains and the lights in your
face as you walk onto the stage and sit
by that grand piano about to give the
concert of your life for others maybe
something completely different the smell
of the latex gloves that you just put on
as you walk towards that operating room
table would your staff patient the
lights moments before you perform your
first open-heart surgery I want you to
close your eyes try to visualize that
moment with me can you see it there it
is I want you to do something else I
want you to write down that goal because
you see research shows that people will
write down their goals or 50% more
likely to achieve them than people that
who do not and keep that piece of paper
nearby because it’s gonna pull you out
of some tough situations when they go
and get stuff okay step number two break
down the roadmap it seems so I’m an
unimaginably hard so far so distant
right to be to be the owner of that
wonderful house at the top of the hill
and you’ve always dreamed of or could be
the president of that company right so
no matter what the goal is no matter how
big or small it is it can be broken down
into steps let me give you an example
you guys may not have heard of this guy
but this guy named Tom Brady quite
possibly one of the best quarterbacks in
the history of the sport I’m pretty sure
that Tom Brady didn’t wake up next to
his wife one day and looked at his hand
and said just now Giselle wake up how do
I have five Super Bowl rings how do
these get here right before he got five
rings Tom Brady had to get one and
before he did that he had to get drafted
into the NFL and that didn’t come easy
you see Tom Brady wasn’t the first or
the second or the third pick at the
draft he was the 190 ninth pick six
round of the NFL Draft and before that
he had to have a successful college
career which also didn’t come easy at
the University of Minnesota he was
mostly benched for his first two years
before that he actually had to be
noticed by college recruiters which also
didn’t come easy he had to send tapes
and letters with his statistics to to
these coaches for them to to take
interest in him and before that he had
to have the grades to be college
eligible and before that he had passed
that one really hard test and before
that if you go way back at some point
little Tom had to learn how to hold a
football and throw a decent pass any
summit no matter how tall it’s so much
easier to conquer if you take it one
Hill at a time step number three believe
in yourself it’s not enough to define
the goal and you know the gloves and the
piano and all the stuff you need to
believe when you’re by yourself at night
in front of the mirror nobody else
around moment of honesty that that
person putting on the gloves and sitting
by the piano that that person is you and
people will tell you that you cannot do
it and that you’re not you’re not smart
enough and you’re not tall enough you’re
not technical enough whatever you have
to believe let me tell you a little
story used to tell the story to my girls
when they were little it’s kind of a
cute story it’s a story about these
little frogs that had gathered around a
tree there was a tree climbing
competition
and so these these frogs had started to
to climb up a tree a really tall tree in
the crowd at first was cheering for them
but before you before long some of these
frogs began to give up jumped off or
they just thought they were too weak or
they got tired question their motivation
and turn around and at the number of
frogs became fewer and fewer the crowd
began to turn against them and and they
began to yell you can’t do it it’s
impossible you’ll never get there over
and over again in all but one frog gave
up and that little frog kept going no
matter what the crowd said and made it
to the top eventually came back down was
surrounded by the crowd who asked how
did you do this we we told you it wasn’t
possible kept screaming at you that you
couldn’t do it only to find out that
little frog was deaf step number four
can’t tell you how many times people
will well say I gotta get motivated to
go to the gym I gotta get motivated to
get an A on that class or I gotta get
motivated to to lose weight or whatever
it might be you see I believe the
opposite is true I believe that the
first day at the gym it’s gonna suck
it’s gonna suck really bad you’re gonna
hurt me sweaty you me sore the next day
but the second day the third the fourth
the fifth day they’re gonna start to get
easier and easier and at some point
you’re gonna see results and once you
see results you’re gonna look back at
everything that you’ve done to get you
to that point your knee I don’t want to
have that go to waste and that is
sustainable motivation okay now it ain’t
gonna be easy
you’re gonna have your injuries and
you’re gonna fail tests and you’re gonna
go to interviews for the job that you
really really want you’re not gonna get
the job and you don’t wonder if those
people were right all along
you know question whether you’re good
enough to make it and you don’t want to
quit do yourself a favor get a good
night’s sleep wake up the next morning
and go get that piece of paper we talked
about in full steps 1 through 4 not
because it won’t happen again
you will have many adversities along the
way but now you have a system to use to
get past anything
step number five probably the most
obvious right but to me the most
difficult and the one word most people
fail we’ve talked about sending your
goals and writing him down and these are
all very important things but we haven’t
talked about hard work oh you’re gonna
have to work hard if it was easy anybody
would do it you’d have to work really
really hard every day for a long time so
above and beyond all the adversities
there’s gonna be days where you just
don’t want to get up early before the
Sun comes up and you’re not gonna want
to shoot another free-throw because you
shot 600 of the day before and you’re
not gonna want to study another hour
because you’ve been studying for three
weeks straight for that test and you’re
gonna want to quit you’re gonna wonder
if it’s all worth it
again go back and get that piece of
paper and remember why you start it to
begin with take the first step second
third fourth I remember making it safely
on to the other side of those chairs on
my birthday and I remember almost every
workout every victory every defeat on my
way to 27 years later finishing crossing
the finish line at the triathlon World
Championships wearing my country’s
uniform tonight I invite you I invite
you to be gold junkies to set aside
limitations and let your dreams be alive
I invite you to not worry about
obstacles too much and focus on your
plans don’t leave anything till tomorrow
that you can do today and remember the
five steps define your goal with
excruciating detail write it down break
down that road map into achievable
milestones believe in yourself be deaf
to what anyone says you can and cannot
do doesn’t matter
step number four take the first step and
the ever so important next step step
number five no matter what anyone says
no matter how you feel no matter how
hard it is whether you’re hoping to be
Teacher of the Year or you’re hoping to
to be a surgeon someday
or to learn another language no matter
how hard it gets don’t you ever stop
pursuing your dreams and I will see you
at the finish line thank you very much [Applause]
good evening everyone thank you for
having
tell you what a huge pleasure this to be
here my name is Javier de anda and as
was mentioned I attended Eagle Brook in
1986 from 1986 to 1989 I came here to
learn English
amongst other things let’s get this out
of the way yes that is me the one with
the shorts now that picture proves two
things number one that I attended Eagle
Brook like I said number two I didn’t
speak a whole lot of English when I came
here you know how they say hey didn’t
you get the memo oh I got the memo I had
no idea what the memo said in any case
eventually I think I overcame all about
dorkiness unless you asked my wife and
we are now happily married and we live
in San Diego California with her with
her two young gals so I don’t really
think that one of those people that was
born with any kind of a special gift or
any kind of a talent
normal person and what I do know is that
over the years I’ve become what I refer
to as a goal junkie okay now there for
him
here talk to you about goals now as with
every good goal junkie I try very hard
not to talk about limitations and
instead I talk about dreams and I try
very hard not to focus on obstacles and
instead they focus on plans perhaps most
influential towards these successes that
I’ve had in my life I try not to leave
anything to tomorrow that which I can do
today okay now the story that I’m here
to share with you goes a little bit
farther back than 1986 you’d have to go
back to him on his home in Mexico City
my backyard to be precise on Friday
September 21st 1979 it was my sixth
birthday I was so excited I had friends
there
presents family the whole nine yards
best day of my life now knowing that I
was a pretty competitive kid from a
young age my mother had allowed me to
come up with any kind of a game any kind
of a competition to take place during my
birthday party and what I came up with
Cheers now keep in mind this is before
lawsuits were prevalent and and well
plus whatever happened however here’s
backyard stayed in however here’s
backyard but in any case what this game
consisted of is if we sit down to a
chair and get in line we jump over a
chair if you made it we’d set down a
second chair if you made it you went on
to the next round and so on if you
didn’t make it you had one of two things
or possibly both you had a Bruce Diego
for sure and then he probably had
something else Bruce depending on how
you landed it was it was brutal but the
game the competition began right and in
all of my friends except maybe three of
the smarter ones who went straight for
the cake we began to jump and and so
then at first there was 12 and that soon
became 7 nobody died just got thus
qualified and then that 7 became 5 and 5
became 3 and 3 became 2 and then there
was me I had won I was so excited
remember my mother coming over and
saying how good job you wanna know go
have some cake I’m just giving you those
special effects she didn’t really talk
like that she was speaking Spanish um
but uh before she started putting away
these chairs
I remember saying mom mom wait please I
want to jump one more chair to which
with any reasonable mother would she
replied yes me oh are you loco and in
the middle of all this madness I
remember a deep voice emerging from the
back of the crowd it was my grandfather
I remember I’m saying
the boy wants to jump onto the chair let
him jump another chair and so I took
that as a green light I went back as far
as my backyard would allow and the crowd
gathered once again about to witness an
epic fail and I remember looking down my
runway and no matter what anyone thought
I didn’t I didn’t think I didn’t wonder
I knew I was gonna make it over those
chairs and so I closed my eyes and I
visualized myself flying over those
chairs and landing free of harm on the
other side I took a deep breath I took
that very important first step and then
this second and
next and the next I started gaining
speed and those chairs were coming at me
so fast I gave her everything I could
adrenaline running down my body I took
grandfather was my hero
Papo we called him he was great at many
sports most noticeably a track and field
he was a two-time Olympian he had broken
every imaginable record in Mexico he was
named the best athlete in Mexico in the
first 50 years of the century eventually
became the president of the Mexican
Federation of athletics became a Hall of
Famer amazing man but most most
important to this story that day jumping
over those chairs papa when I made a
connection I remember him telling me do
you want to someday be a world-class
athlete – which of course I said si and
so he took me under his wing and I began
to Train
he got me access to the best of coaches
the best of teams eventually pulled some
strings and got me access to train at
the Mexican Olympic Training Center
which was an incredible privilege
everything was amazing and so I came to
Eagle Brook the track and field here
went back and eventually my family and I
we moved to San Diego but don’t worry I
stayed in close close contact with Pavel
finish high school in California and
eventually made into the San Diego State
University track team the Barcelona
Olympics were just just around the
corner everything was going according to
plan until that day they I will never
forget it was a cold December morning I
was late to attract me I got there with
barely enough time to warm up and put on
my shoes and so I I went to the other
side of the track to the to the start of
the 200 meters – as I had done so many
times before and I stood there behind
behind those blocks and I heard that
familiar voice competitors take your
marks so I did as I was told
relax my shoulders took a deep breath
get set
and then that pain that unimaginable
pain that deep deep pain my left
hamstring I had destroyed it
a career-ending injury that even after
months and months of therapy could never
come back from fast which the fast
twitch muscle that was required to be a
sprinter was gone and with that my
dreams to be a tract sprinter were gone
as well not to make matters worse a few
months later I was by my Papa’s bed at a
Mexico City Hospital he took his last
few breaths
I remember whispering in his ear Papa
don’t worry I will be someday I will be
a world-class athlete just like you I
promise and a few days later he left us
I was devastated my running was gone my
papa was gone my spirit was crushed I
admit it I had to let time do its thing
but before long I remember getting up
one morning thinking man I’ve invested a
whole lot in myself to get me to this
point I can’t just let it all go to
waste and plus now I had I promised that
I had to keep I had to reinvent myself
and so I went back to the drawing board
kept it to a little bit of
soul-searching eventually found the
sport of triathlon they had everything I
needed everything I could want to I
didn’t need to be a fast sprinter so I
went and bought myself a bike some
goggles running shoes wetsuit he began
to train put together a plan
I was very methodical I was training
harder than ever twice a day in most
days and if I can’t I can make progress
and have successes at first local races
then at the state level before you know
I was racing in international races once
again and I remember thinking that
looking back at the road that had got me
to that point almost unconsciously I had
been following a certain set of steps
that had allowed me to be successful and
I remember thinking that those those
steps could really apply to anything any
kind of a goal big or small and anyone
really
and so I documented it I documented
those steps to be honest so that my two
girls could someday take advantage of
them
but tonight I have the incredible
opportunity and the privilege to be able
to share those steps with you step
number one you got a goal define it
define it with excruciating detail so
much that you can close your eyes and
feel it and taste it hear it
okay now most likely this goal is gonna
come in the shape of a moment for me
that moment was the sound of the roaring
crowd as I approached the finish line at
the huge event and my muscles with the
adrenaline and in the sweat coming down
the side of my face almost in slow
motion as I crossed the finish line
wearing my country’s uniform all right
now for some of you I have nothing to do
with sports maybe it’s the sight of the
tall red curtains and the lights in your
face as you walk onto the stage and sit
by that grand piano about to give the
concert of your life for others maybe
something completely different the smell
of the latex gloves that you just put on
as you walk towards that operating room
table would your staff patient the
lights moments before you perform your
first open-heart surgery I want you to
close your eyes try to visualize that
moment with me can you see it there it
is I want you to do something else I
want you to write down that goal because
you see research shows that people will
write down their goals or 50% more
likely to achieve them than people that
who do not and keep that piece of paper
nearby because it’s gonna pull you out
of some tough situations when they go
and get stuff okay step number two break
down the roadmap it seems so I’m an
unimaginably hard so far so distant
right to be to be the owner of that
wonderful house at the top of the hill
and you’ve always dreamed of or could be
the president of that company right so
no matter what the goal is no matter how
big or small it is it can be broken down
into steps let me give you an example
you guys may not have heard of this guy
but this guy named Tom Brady quite
possibly one of the best quarterbacks in
the history of the sport I’m pretty sure
that Tom Brady didn’t wake up next to
his wife one day and looked at his hand
and said just now Giselle wake up how do
I have five Super Bowl rings how do
these get here right before he got five
rings Tom Brady had to get one and
before he did that he had to get drafted
into the NFL and that didn’t come easy
you see Tom Brady wasn’t the first or
the second or the third pick at the
draft he was the 190 ninth pick six
round of the NFL Draft and before that
he had to have a successful college
career which also didn’t come easy at
the University of Minnesota he was
mostly benched for his first two years
before that he actually had to be
noticed by college recruiters which also
didn’t come easy he had to send tapes
and letters with his statistics to to
these coaches for them to to take
interest in him and before that he had
to have the grades to be college
eligible and before that he had passed
that one really hard test and before
that if you go way back at some point
little Tom had to learn how to hold a
football and throw a decent pass any
summit no matter how tall it’s so much
easier to conquer if you take it one
Hill at a time step number three believe
in yourself it’s not enough to define
the goal and you know the gloves and the
piano and all the stuff you need to
believe when you’re by yourself at night
in front of the mirror nobody else
around moment of honesty that that
person putting on the gloves and sitting
by the piano that that person is you and
people will tell you that you cannot do
it and that you’re not you’re not smart
enough and you’re not tall enough you’re
not technical enough whatever you have
to believe let me tell you a little
story used to tell the story to my girls
when they were little it’s kind of a
cute story it’s a story about these
little frogs that had gathered around a
tree there was a tree climbing
competition
and so these these frogs had started to
to climb up a tree a really tall tree in
the crowd at first was cheering for them
but before you before long some of these
frogs began to give up jumped off or
they just thought they were too weak or
they got tired question their motivation
and turn around and at the number of
frogs became fewer and fewer the crowd
began to turn against them and and they
began to yell you can’t do it it’s
impossible you’ll never get there over
and over again in all but one frog gave
up and that little frog kept going no
matter what the crowd said and made it
to the top eventually came back down was
surrounded by the crowd who asked how
did you do this we we told you it wasn’t
possible kept screaming at you that you
couldn’t do it only to find out that
little frog was deaf step number four
can’t tell you how many times people
will well say I gotta get motivated to
go to the gym I gotta get motivated to
get an A on that class or I gotta get
motivated to to lose weight or whatever
it might be you see I believe the
opposite is true I believe that the
first day at the gym it’s gonna suck
it’s gonna suck really bad you’re gonna
hurt me sweaty you me sore the next day
but the second day the third the fourth
the fifth day they’re gonna start to get
easier and easier and at some point
you’re gonna see results and once you
see results you’re gonna look back at
everything that you’ve done to get you
to that point your knee I don’t want to
have that go to waste and that is
sustainable motivation okay now it ain’t
gonna be easy
you’re gonna have your injuries and
you’re gonna fail tests and you’re gonna
go to interviews for the job that you
really really want you’re not gonna get
the job and you don’t wonder if those
people were right all along
you know question whether you’re good
enough to make it and you don’t want to
quit do yourself a favor get a good
night’s sleep wake up the next morning
and go get that piece of paper we talked
about in full steps 1 through 4 not
because it won’t happen again
you will have many adversities along the
way but now you have a system to use to
get past anything
step number five probably the most
obvious right but to me the most
difficult and the one word most people
fail we’ve talked about sending your
goals and writing him down and these are
all very important things but we haven’t
talked about hard work oh you’re gonna
have to work hard if it was easy anybody
would do it you’d have to work really
really hard every day for a long time so
above and beyond all the adversities
there’s gonna be days where you just
don’t want to get up early before the
Sun comes up and you’re not gonna want
to shoot another free-throw because you
shot 600 of the day before and you’re
not gonna want to study another hour
because you’ve been studying for three
weeks straight for that test and you’re
gonna want to quit you’re gonna wonder
if it’s all worth it
again go back and get that piece of
paper and remember why you start it to
begin with take the first step second
third fourth I remember making it safely
on to the other side of those chairs on
my birthday and I remember almost every
workout every victory every defeat on my
way to 27 years later finishing crossing
the finish line at the triathlon World
Championships wearing my country’s
uniform tonight I invite you I invite
you to be gold junkies to set aside
limitations and let your dreams be alive
I invite you to not worry about
obstacles too much and focus on your
plans don’t leave anything till tomorrow
that you can do today and remember the
five steps define your goal with
excruciating detail write it down break
down that road map into achievable
milestones believe in yourself be deaf
to what anyone says you can and cannot
do doesn’t matter
step number four take the first step and
the ever so important next step step
number five no matter what anyone says
no matter how you feel no matter how
hard it is whether you’re hoping to be
Teacher of the Year or you’re hoping to
to be a surgeon someday
or to learn another language no matter
how hard it gets don’t you ever stop
pursuing your dreams and I will see you
at the finish line thank you very much [Applause]
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