Graduates, parents, school officials and guests, it is a honor and privilege to be asked to speak here today at this fine institution of learning. As I look out at this distinguished looking group of graduates, I have one statement that you may not have heard before.
Graduates, it’s not about you.
I can tell by that shocked look on your faces you’ve probably never heard this before. You have grown up in a world where high self-esteem is the ultimate goal. Parents, teachers, education officials, media and other adults have made sure of that.
Proper self-esteem is important, but the adults in your life have their reasons for wanting you to “feel good about yourself.” Your parents have been told by the “experts” that if they didn’t build you up and do everything exactly right you would turn into an ax murderer. And that would be a bad reflection on their parental skills.
Adults in institutions and organizations need you to need them. If they help make you “special” then they can justify their existence. While they may have worthy stated goals, the ultimate purpose of any institution or organization is to justify its own existence, continuation and growth. Of course, there have been a lot of adults who have been there in your life to help just because they care. And they also have listened to the “experts’ and don’t want a potential ax murderer loose in the neighborhood.
Business and retail treat you as special because they want you to buy their stuff. Remember, their ultimate purpose is also their own continuation and growth.
And the media is there to help them sell you their stuff.
Graduates, you will learn soon enough that employers are not out there just to provide you a job. Their purpose is to make a profit. If your labor and skill assist in this goal, you may get employment. If not, they will hire a candidate more suitable. It’s just that simple.
It’s not about you.
And that pool of candidates has grown tremendously over the past ten years. Remember when you called tech support for help on your computer last month. The person with the strange accent on the other end of the line was not from Cary or California, but from Calcutta, India. By the way, he’s willing to work more hours and for half the pay you are.
You may not be planning to go on to further education. You just want to go out and get a “regular” job. Look around at those “regular” jobs. That man who put on those new tires on your car last week didn’t speak English very well, did he? But he was fast and efficient in his job. And he’s glad to be here working, he is learning English and is learning the business. And his employer is glad to have him and will probably eventually make him assistant manager. This story is going on everyday in other “regular” jobs, such as construction, fast food, etc.
You’re thinking, “What about me? Don’t you know I’m special?”
Graduates, every young generation thinks that they are “special.” I know my generation did. And I’m sure there were older people warning us of impending doom. But the difference was, back then I came into the job market at a time of an expanding economy, not today’s stagnant economy. Also, my competition in the job market came from places like Roseboro or Raleigh. Today your competition will be not only from Roseboro and Raleigh, but also Hong Kong or Mexico City.
A quote I read from “USA Today” a couple of years ago probably explains what you are feeling right now. It stated, “If you grow up in a culture that says it’s all about you, it’s hard to think it isn’t.” So, I challenge you to change your thinking.
“It’s not about you.” That’s the first line in Rick Warren’s best-selling book, “The Purpose Driven Life. He states that it is not about me and my plans, wants and desires. It is about determining and achieving God’s purpose in our lives. If you do that, then you will find the life and career that you were created for. That is what will make you “special.”
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