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Text SizeMacon Youth Challenge Academy Graduation - 12/20/08
Thank you very much for having me here today. It is an honor to be here, and let me be the first to congratulate you. And I know that many friends and family members in this audience today share in that pride and are looking forward to your future.
Each one of you has overcome many challenges and beat tough odds. You have said to the world “I can, and I will.” You have cast aside the obstacles to your success and are beginning to walk the path the many reach for, but few travel. You have charted a new opportunity to begin the course for a better life for yourself and your families.
The family members, mentors, cadre and friends here in the audience today have walked this road with you – putting you outside of your comfort zone….showing you the value of hard work and service to others….and preparing you for the long and winding road that is life. But one thing is for sure, you never walked alone. No one achieves success alone, and I would encourage you to start the next chapter of your life by remembering and thanking those who have helped you.
As you set out to start the next chapter of your lives, I would like to share with you three life principles I learned long ago from Scripture that have helped me make monumental decisions in my life. These are not new ideas…and they are certainly not a secret. But they have shaped my life and impacted every decision that I have made, and I am sure that they can be helpful to you, regardless of your faith or religion.
These principles are: Act justly…love mercy…and walk humbly.
These three guiding principles can and will provide the framework for a life centered on what is truly important…a life focused not on self but on service to others.
Albert Einstein, someone who truly understood the call to service, said that only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.
Living those six words every day…and committing yourself to making a difference, not just making a living…can help you achieve that worthwhile life.
To act justly is to understand that there are some things in life that arenon-negotiable. There are absolutes…a right way and a wrong way to act.
To speak honestly….
To work hard….
To obey the rules...
To expect nothing but the best from ourselves…..
To act justly is to understand that the life we have on this earth is a gift from God and that we must be good stewards of that gift. To act justly is to respect ourselves and those around us.
The act of serving others is not about the kind of job you have. It’s about using the talents and the abilities you have been given to serve others in the best way you can. Every one of you has this opportunity…through your words and through your actions.
The greatest acts of service are often unseen and in our own backyards. So Act justly…fill your life with a spirit of service. Make it your goal to do what you can…when you can…and as often as you can. And don’t think for a second that you have nothing to contribute to our society.
The second principle is to love mercy. To love mercy is to aspire to be someone who achieves greatness because of others…not instead of them.
It is to understand that every man is your brother…that every woman is your sister…and that every person deserves your love. It is to fill your heart with compassion. To know that no matter where you came from…no matter what your background…everybody deserves the opportunity to achieve greatness.
To love mercy is to remember that we are all equal. That no one person here today is greater than another in the eyes of God.
A few years ago I was in my Senate office and I received a call from a constituent. He was upset and needed help. He told me that his nephew had just come to live with him and he was having trouble getting him enrolled in a new school.
You see, this man’s brother had made some very bad choices in his life…gotten involved with drugs and took his life down a self-destructive path. Unfortunately, he was taking his child with him. The man who called me had taken his nephew from a bad situation and brought him into his home…determined to create a better life for this innocent young person.
He gave the boy shelter…he gave the boy a chance at a better life. He did not have to, but he was living a life of mercy.
But because he didn’t have custody of the child, he wasn’t able to give the boy the opportunity for an education in his school district. This man was just trying to do the right thing and government was standing in the way. He was acting in mercy, but running out of options.
I heard his plea and knew that helping him was not just the right thing to do – it was the only thing to do. So I set out to try and resolve the issue, and after several different phone calls and letters on behalf of his nephew, we were able to get him enrolled in a new school.
I talked to the man not too long ago…and he told me that not only has the boy become a standout athlete on the football team but that he is making straight A’s. The future looks bright for him now…and it is all because of the opportunities of his uncle’s mercy. I personally did nothing for that young man; I was grateful enough to use the opportunities I have been given in my life to serve that family. And you now have the chance to show that mercy as well...to use this opportunity to enrich the lives of others.
This brings me to my third point…to walk humbly. To walk humbly is to recognize that you can always improve. That your success lies not from what you have built in the past…but in what you build for the future.
We are put here to do the work – not to take the credit. If you can remember that, then walking humbly is easy.
As some of you may know…I didn’t live a storybook childhood. I was raised by a single mom who had to work two jobs to make ends meet.
There were some very hard times for our family. We didn’t have expensive toys or designer clothes or a fancy house. I remember times that I would come home for dinner and there would be barely enough food on the table for my brother and me. Many nights, my mom only had enough to feed us, while she had to go without.
Neither of those two jobs she worked was glamorous. Maybe they were not her life’s goal, or very fulfilling. But my mom knew that it was not status of the job she had that was important. What was important was to live a life that was an example to her sons…to provide for us with the best opportunities she could…and to teach us that no matter where you start out you can always end up successful.
And that’s exactly what my mom did. Raising us by herself she achieved her own success by creating opportunities for us…the opportunities that have brought me to this point in my life today. My life has been shaped by the sacrifices that she made for me, just as your lives have been shaped by the sacrifices people have made for you. We should never forget those sacrifices. Remembering keeps us real….keeps us connected.
To walk humbly means to keep your eye on where you’re going, but to never forget where you have come from. And to remember that it was those who helped you who have given you the chance to help someone else. And it is your duty to take others with you on your road to success.
It is to be focused on the future….focused on making your world…the world that starts in your own backyard…a better place.
Because at the end of the day…the success you will achieve in life will not just be through what you accomplish for yourself, but what you accomplish in your service to others.
So as you leave here today, be proud of where you are and what you have accomplished… and be focused on where you are going. But always be mindful of where you have come from. And remember that the life that you look forward to today is the life you have to look back on tomorrow. Make that life worthwhile.
Act justly…love mercy…and walk humbly.
Thank you all very much.