problem I had a really high-pitched
voice I think I’ve outgrown it by now
but childhood was miserable I was picked
on left and right I remember I dropped
my kid brother off at school one day and
as he walked away I waved goodbye I love
you I’ll see you at home and the people
behind me began laughing hysterically
one of them even looked me in the face
and said ha you sound like a kid I was
so angry I talked to them and I said I’m
not a kid I’m an adult I’m a grown-up I
really had to defend myself against
those mean third graders I remember one
time a telemarketer called my house when
I answered hello they said oh hi is your
mom here daddy home that would have been
okay except I was 21 it’s not all bad
though because I get to be here with you
all right
so each and every one of us has our own
definition of what success means to us
for some of you success could be to
become the top business consultant in
your field for others it could be to
finally work out five times a week
if you’re like me success is finally
being able to provide for your family
regardless of your definition of success
I want to let you in on a little secret
that will help us reach success and it
may even help us get there more quickly
but back to the voice I’ll never forget
my very first day of college my
professor asked a really
thought-provoking question I was so
excited to answer I raised my hand to
the sky and the moment I started
speaking everyone started laughing they
turned and stared and I’m sure it’s
because they were checking to make sure
no one brought a kid in the classroom I
was so embarrassed and later on a
classmate came up to me and he called
himself trying to make me feel better
he said dude you got a really weird
voice again he was trying to make me
feel better but he continued and he said
but don’t be sad because you could
totally do cartoon voice overs for
Disney movies I did not know how to take
that at first but after a while it
started to feel good I started to like
my voice I considered a career in doing
cartoon voiceovers for Disney granted
that’s not the route I decided to take
but in that conversation
I made a fascinating discovery an hour
route to success we often rely on
motivation and inspiration to thrust us
forward in life but have we overlooked a
powerful ingredient to success called
encouragement there’s a quote that I
love
it says encouragement is not flattery or
empty praise encouragement is like
verbal sunshine it costs nothing it
warms the hearts of others and inspires
them with hope and with confidence
I mean how beautiful is that verbal
sunshine who doesn’t want some some time
last year I did something I never
thought would be possible for me it
would be one of the most physically
challenging things I would ever do so
I’ll give you some background on me I’m
not a runner I’m barely a person who
likes to work out let’s just be honest
here but I went ahead and I signed up
for a half marathon 13.1 miles I was
nervous at first but I have to admit
when race day came I was inspired I was
motivated the music was blasting the
fans were cheering and before I knew it
I was off I was doing it I was running
this half marathon until about mile
seven if you’ve done this before you
know that at Mile seven is when you
start to question life I certainly did I
wondered what I was doing there in the
first place
why did I sign up for this is there a
shortcut to the
I was exhausted my feet were killing me
I was out of breath and I really wanted
to quit my brain kept thinking about
food I almost gave up but then I got a
phone call it would change the course of
that race for me so out of breath and on
the brink of giving up I answered that
call hello because that’s how I felt and
the voice on the other end shouted you
are awesome don’t give up keep going
you’ve got this you’re gonna finish this
race you were gonna finish strong
because you’re a champion and you’ve got
what it takes it was like verbal
sunshine I was so encouraged I picked up
my feet I picked up the pace and I ran
that race all the way to the finish line
you see the thing about encouragement is
that if you say it long enough or better
yet if you say it strong enough it
starts to get on the inside what would
happen if parents told their children
every day I believe in you
you can achieve that dream go for your
goal what could happen if educators and
administrators told every single student
you’ve got what it takes
keep going I could only imagine what
this world would become if every single
one of us if every single one of you was
encouraged when we are encouraged we are
unstoppable we are powerful beyond
measure inspired with that hope and
confidence that forces us to break
through barriers and live out our
wildest dreams
not only does encouragement helped us
reach success but it could help us get
there more quickly
you see encouragement can be the
difference between getting started on
that goal five years from now or getting
up and taking the first step
make it happen today regardless of one’s
definition of success encouragement is
the key ingredient that can help us to
get there the greatest thing about this
it’s free it costs nothing and it’s so
easy to do and there are so many
platforms we can use to encourage others
take social media for example so there
are a ton of you in this room who are
always on your phone you’re constantly
checking your social media accounts I
know because I saw you earlier you could
log on to Facebook or tweet a friend
some heartfelt words I tried this once
and it was magical I logged on to my
Facebook account last year but I
witnessed that there were people so many
people my people hurting and crying out
for social justice and pleading with a
great cause looking for answers and they
were hurting because of the constant
unfair treatment of individuals the
frequent brutalities and fatalities done
by those whom we trusted to serve and to
protect
I knew there was nothing I could do to
bring back the lives of people who lost
theirs and I knew there was nothing I
could do to fill the void those families
felt after losing a loved one but I just
had to do something I logged onto my
Facebook account and I sent a letter of
encouragement a Facebook message to
several people who I thought could use
it now I expected nothing from this but
what I got in return surpassed anything
I could have ever imagined
one person responded with Wow how’d you
know I needed that another said I’m
going through a really rough time in my
life and this is exactly what I needed
to hear one person shared I considered
taking my life
but your words reminded me that I have a
purpose here and I’m not going anywhere
you see it costs us nothing to encourage
one another but it could cost us if we
don’t counseling psychologists note
encouragement as a contributing factor
to greater patient outcomes research
studies on exercise show that
participants who were encouraged through
their workout not only showed higher
levels of blood concentration and
circulation but they were able to work
out for longer periods of time we must
not overlook the power and importance of
saying things like you can do it and
don’t give up then keep going
my dearest mentor Rose Mitchell said
these words to me at a time in my life
when I needed it the most
if she hadn’t encouraged me I would not
have had the courage to live out some of
my wildest dreams and I certainly would
not have had the courage to be on this
stage with all of you today when you
encouraged others you positively impact
their lives you helped them to see
endless opportunities you helped them
live out their wildest dreams so the
next time a friend a family member
colleague comes to you about a dream or
a goal and they think they can’t
accomplish it I want you to shower them
with words of encouragement fill them
with that verbal sunshine that gets on
the inside I want you to look them
square in the eye and if it’s you who
needs encouragement look yourself in the
mirror and I want you to say you are
awesome don’t give up keep going you’ve
got this you’re gonna finish this race
you’re gonna finish strong because
you’re a champion and you’ve got what it
takes
thank you [Applause]