Mr. Chancellor, Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Family and Friends: and especially, members of the graduating class of 2006, my heartfelt congratulations. Mrs. Mildred Gould my co-honourary degree recipient,
I also want to acknowledge your outstanding accomplishments and to congratulate you on receiving this honour.
To each and every one of you, thank you for allowing me to share YOUR special day. Your family and friends should take great pride in the manner in which you have distinguished yourselves. You have graduated from one of the world’s great universities.
Today, I would like to share three thoughts with you. Thoughts which are a product of my life and my experiences and which hopefully will give you cause for reflection as you pursue your life’s dreams. I want to talk about failure, I want to talk about goals and dreams and lastly, I want to talk about managing your most valuable asset – YOUR HEALTH!
My mother and father immigrated to Canada in the 1930’s, long before Newfoundland became part of this great country. My dad was the son of a Grand Banks fisherman and
my mother, orphaned as a child, was raised by her aunt and uncle. Although my mother graduated from high school and attended normal college, my father only had a grade three education. Nevertheless, individually and as a couple, they were eminently successful.
In our home, the importance of an education and the value of hard work was stressed at every opportunity. This was true whether it applied to school, to our part-time jobs, to our athletic activities or to our responsibilities around the house. At the same time, my parents impressed upon my sister and I that failure, if viewed properly, could be one of the most valuable and enriching experiences in one’s life. My parents were very careful to distinguish between failure and defeat. In our home, failure occurred when you did not succeed at a particular undertaking. Defeat was something that occurred when you quit on yourself, quit on your friends, or chose not to learn from the experience of failing.
Like so many others, I too have encountered failure; however, as a result of the lessons that I was taught by my parents, I have learned from these experiences. My failures have been valuable lessons which have prepared me for the next step in life’s journey. Yes, failure brings with it a sense of disappointment and discouragement. On the other hand, it represents one the best opportunities we will ever have to learn about who we really are. Don’t seek failure but when you encounter it, don’t be afraid to fail.
If you accept some degree of failure as inevitable, pursuing your dreams becomes much easier. Your first reaction won’t be to run from failure. You’ll know that you can deal with it constructively. You’ll know that disappointment and temporary discouragement will not blind you to your ultimate goal. You will be able distinguish between failure and defeat. As a result, you will be able to look inside yourself and find that inner strength, which will not only enable you to pursue your dreams, but more importantly, it will compel you to do so. Don’t be afraid to fail - dare to dream!!
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