Speech

“Hard work is everything”

Effort beats talent every time…

You all know me. I am your teacher. For some of you, I’ve been your teacher for almost 2 years. You’ve heard me lecture about effort. About rising to your potential. About the value of hard work.

Some of you are tired of it, and you “turn the volume down” when I start talking. My words go in one ear and out the other. Others literally turn the volume down, and literally don’t hear me.

But many of you - most of you, I think - forget that I have been and still am many more things than a teacher. I am a brother, a son, a father, a husband … I am a part-time handyman, a football fan, an avid book reader, a hunter, a dog-lover, a dodge-truck driver, a believer. I am many, many things, and I’m different things to different people.

But it’s what I have been in the past that I’d like to talk about today, the things that I’ve been that never panned out, that were temporary, but prepared me for adult life, my life today and the days to come..

• I was a basketball player. I was a good one. My senior year I scored 17 points & 11 rebounds per game. I thought I was going to be the next Michael Jordan. I practiced his moves, wanted to be just like him. It never happened.

• In college, I played men's volleyball and for years played doubles on the beach for fun.

• In high school I was a cook at a local restaurant.

• I was a lifeguard.

• I was a dishwasher in my college cafeteria.

• I sat at a dorm entryway desk for months to make extra $$ for college.

• I waited tables.

• I worked at 2 factories - making crab baskets and treadmill belts

• I cleaned bathrooms at the local college every summer for 4 years. I swabbed toilets, swept floors, dusted, sprayed cleaners, and scrubbed - I was a janitor.

• I cut and sold firewood.

• I painted and roofed houses in the summer sun.

• I built chairs, tables - sold them

• I coached sports, directed theater for 12 years, took odd jobs

• I became a freelance writer in my spare time

• I built websites and repaired computers

All so I could have a little extra. So my family could have things.

And it was in addition to my “regular” job. It was in addition to raising children… in addition to cleaning my house, washing dishes, mowing the lawn, taking care of things.

Are you ready for that?

It’s time to get ready. You’re about to enter a world that doesn’t care about excuses, that doesn’t care about your self-image, that doesn’t care who your mom and dad are… that doesn’t care about anything except what you can do AND what you’re willing to work hard to learn.

Are you ready for that?

Studies show that about 37% of jobs need some college. 21% require a bachelor’s degree.

Are you ready to just cut out about 40% of potential jobs? And some of them great ones? Are you ready to just look at restaurant jobs? menial labor? For the rest of your lives?

On average, according to Careermetis.com, a college graduate earns 66% more than someone who just has a high school diploma or GED. A college graduate earns on average about $68K per year. Someone who has a high school diploma earns about $41K per year. CNBC says that college grads earn an average of 80% more than those with just diplomas, $61K vs. $37K per year. Studies also show that those with the degree work fewer hours and still make that much more.

Are you ready to close doors, to cross out options? To pigeon-hole yourself into a mediocre future?

Getting a job is easier with a degree. Unemployment is almost double if you only have a diploma or GED… 2% vs. 3.8% … and studies show when unemployment goes up, those ratios stay about the same.

Are you getting ready for that?

It’s time to get ready. It’s on your horizons. Some of you have a storm brewing on that horizon. A big storm.

I hear many of you dreaming big dreams, planning for big houses, and flashy cars, and “living your best life.”

But you’re not preparing for it. You’re not practicing the one skill necessary to fulfill your dreams. You’re not taking the necessary steps to achieve them.

I’m not someone who thinks money is everything. I’m really not. Effort is everything. Hard work is the only way to get what you want.

It’s really a simple thing. If you have a goal, you work for it.(symploce) If you want to be a better athlete, you train for it. If you want to be a better student, you study for it. If you want to buy something, you work, and you earn a paycheck, and you save for it. If you want to learn a skill, you practice it and practice it until you master it. You grind and grind until you drop if you want something badly enough.

And I’m not just talking about material things. My wife wouldn’t have married me if I was lazy. She would have decided it wasn’t worth the risk. And I wouldn’t have married her if she were lazy. We have mutual respect for each other, for our values and work ethics that makes our relationship smooth. My kids wouldn’t have pride for me as a dad if I was lazy. (epistrophe) And I have the most pride in them when I see them work hard just the same. I would rather see EFFORT in them than brains, than athletic ability, than good-looks; I’d rather see a never-say-die attitude in them than almost anything; and when I see determination show up, it gives me joy and hope for their futures.

It’s the same in my classroom. Effort is everything. Some people call it grit, others “sand,” determination, mulishness, tenacity, guts, perseverance, toughness, resolve. (replication) No matter the term, it’s what makes people successful.

When I played basketball in high school, I worked hard. I hit the gym; I played on weekends against the local college guys; played one-on-one with my brother all the time. And I STILL didn’t achieve my dream of being the next Michael Jordan.

But that’s okay. I learned about hard work. And when I left high school for college, I worked my way through. And when I graduated, I got that job, and I’ve worked ever since. And it’s been a joy to do so, because “work” isn’t work when 1) your attitude towards it is good, and 2) when you’re able to choose your own career. Don’t settle for a job that beats you down when you can do better. Put effort into learning, into building skills, so that when high school is over, you can keep working for something you WANT to do.

Are you ready? Because IT IS TIME.