WEBVTT 00:00:00.370 --> 00:00:03.245 It's an honour to have you here with us this evening, ladies and 00:00:03.278 --> 00:00:11.278 gentlemen, the President of the United States. 00:00:16.670 --> 00:00:21.046 Thank you. 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:24.657 Thank you. 00:00:24.690 --> 00:00:28.567 QASU 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:33.426 Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Thank you, 00:00:33.459 --> 00:00:38.737 please. Thank you very much. 00:00:38.770 --> 00:00:46.356 Well, thank you. Thank you, President Crow for That extremely generous 00:00:46.389 --> 00:00:52.606 introduction. For your inspired leadership as well here at ASU. I want to 00:00:52.639 --> 00:00:58.326 thank the entire ASU community for the honour of attaching my name to a 00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:02.487 scholarship programme that will help open the doors of higher education to 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:10.520 students from every background. What a wonderful gift. Thank you. 00:01:11.939 --> 00:01:17.805 That notion of opening doors of opportunity to everybody. That is the core 00:01:17.838 --> 00:01:23.727 mission of this school. It's the core mission of my presidency, and I hope 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:28.245 this programme will serve as a model for universities across this country. 00:01:28.278 --> 00:01:36.278 So thank you so much. 00:01:37.698 --> 00:01:44.897 I want to obviously congratulate the class of 2009 for your unbelievable 00:01:44.930 --> 00:01:48.656 achievement. 00:01:48.689 --> 00:01:54.587 I want to thank the parents, the uncles, the grandpas, the grandmas. 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:56.736 Cousins 00:01:56.769 --> 00:01:59.525 Calabash cousins. 00:01:59.558 --> 00:02:05.467 Everybody who was involved in helping these extraordinary young people 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:08.177 arrive at this moment. 00:02:08.210 --> 00:02:12.517 I also want to apologise to the entire state of Arizona for stealing away 00:02:12.550 --> 00:02:20.550 your wonderful former governor Janet Napolitano. 00:02:25.038 --> 00:02:30.396 But you've got a fine governor here, and I also know that Janet is now 00:02:30.429 --> 00:02:35.677 applying her extraordinary talents to serve our entire country. As the 00:02:35.710 --> 00:02:39.957 Secretary of Homeland Security keeping America safe and she's doing a 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:47.237 great job. 00:02:47.270 --> 00:02:53.177 Now before I begin, I'd just like to clear the air. About that little 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:58.555 controversy everybody was talking about a few weeks back. 00:02:58.588 --> 00:03:04.886 I have to tell you I really thought this was much ado about nothing. But I 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:11.737 do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick 00:03:11.770 --> 00:03:19.555 another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA brackets. 00:03:19.588 --> 00:03:25.066 It won't happen again. 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:28.677 President Crow and the Board of Regents will soon learn about being 00:03:28.710 --> 00:03:36.710 audited by the IRS. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:51.207 Now In all seriousness, I come here not to dispute the suggestion. That I 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:56.085 haven't yet achieved enough in my life. 00:03:56.118 --> 00:04:03.286 First of all, Michelle concurs. With that assessment. 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:08.827 She has a long list of things that I have not yet done. Waiting for me 00:04:08.860 --> 00:04:13.346 when I get home. 00:04:13.379 --> 00:04:16.955 But more than that, I come to embrace the notion that I haven't done 00:04:16.988 --> 00:04:24.988 enough in my life. I heartily concur. I come to affirm. That one title 00:04:26.678 --> 00:04:33.765 Even a title like President of the United States. says very little about 00:04:33.798 --> 00:04:39.995 how well one's life has been led. That no matter how much you've done or 00:04:40.028 --> 00:04:44.486 how successful you've been, there's always more to do, always more to 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:52.519 learn, and always more to achieve. 00:04:58.209 --> 00:05:05.846 And I want to say to you today. Graduates class of 2009. 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:12.476 That despite having achieved a remarkable milestone in your life, 00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:19.127 Despite the fact that you and your families are so rightfully proud. 00:05:19.160 --> 00:05:25.926 You too Cannot rest on your laurels. Not even some of those remarkable 00:05:25.959 --> 00:05:29.245 young people who were introduced early, not even that young lady who's got 00:05:29.278 --> 00:05:36.106 4 degrees today. You can't rest. 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:42.776 Your own body of work. is also yet to come. 00:05:42.809 --> 00:05:49.836 Now some graduating classes have marched into this stadium in easy times, 00:05:49.869 --> 00:05:55.086 times of peace and stability. When we call on our graduates simply to keep 00:05:55.119 --> 00:06:00.305 things going and don't screw it up. 00:06:00.338 --> 00:06:06.245 Other classes have received their diplomas in times of trial and upheaval. 00:06:06.278 --> 00:06:12.127 When the very foundations of our lives, the old order has been shaken. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:17.086 The old ideas and institutions have crumbled, and a new generation is 00:06:17.119 --> 00:06:22.745 called upon to remake the world. 00:06:22.778 --> 00:06:30.226 It should be clear to you by now the category in which all of you fall. 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:35.586 For we gather here tonight in times of extraordinary difficulty for the 00:06:35.619 --> 00:06:39.377 nation. And for the world. 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:44.995 The economy remains in the midst of a historic recession, the worst we've 00:06:45.028 --> 00:06:48.887 seen since the Great Depression, the result in part of greed and 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:54.567 irresponsibility that rippled out from Wall Street and Washington as we 00:06:54.600 --> 00:07:02.600 spent beyond our means and failed to make hard choices. 00:07:04.798 --> 00:07:10.926 We're engaged in two wars. And a struggle against terrorism. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:16.765 The threats of climate change, nuclear proliferation, and pandemic defy 00:07:16.798 --> 00:07:22.127 national boundaries and easy solutions. 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:28.616 For many of you, These challenges are also felt in more personal terms. 00:07:28.649 --> 00:07:33.567 Perhaps you're still looking for a job. They're struggling to figure out 00:07:33.600 --> 00:07:40.645 what career path makes sense in this disrupted economy. Maybe you've got 00:07:40.678 --> 00:07:45.666 student loans. No, you definitely have student loans. 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:49.476 Or credit card debts. 00:07:49.509 --> 00:07:53.406 And you're wondering how you'll ever pay them off. Maybe you've got a 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:56.346 family to raise. 00:07:56.379 --> 00:08:01.007 And you're wondering how you'll ensure that your children have the same 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:06.786 opportunities you've had to get an education and pursue their dreams. 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:13.416 In the face of these challenges, It may be tempting to fall back on the 00:08:13.449 --> 00:08:21.079 formulas for success that have been peddled so frequently in recent years. 00:08:21.548 --> 00:08:23.548 It goes something like this you're taught to chase after all the usual 00:08:26.178 --> 00:08:32.907 brass rings. You try to be on this who's who's list or that top 100 list. 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:36.505 you chase after the big money and you figure out how big your corner 00:08:36.538 --> 00:08:43.596 office is. You worry about whether you have a fancy enough title or a 00:08:43.629 --> 00:08:46.395 fancy enough car. 00:08:46.428 --> 00:08:50.956 That's the message that's sent each and every day or has been in our 00:08:50.989 --> 00:08:56.677 culture for far too long that through material possessions 00:08:56.710 --> 00:09:02.236 through a ruthless competition pursued only on your own behalf, that's how 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:06.037 you will measure success. 00:09:06.070 --> 00:09:12.316 Now you can take that road and it may work for some, 00:09:12.349 --> 00:09:17.765 but at this critical juncture in our nation's history. At this difficult 00:09:17.798 --> 00:09:23.096 time, let me suggest that such an approach won't get you where you want to 00:09:23.129 --> 00:09:25.366 go. 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:30.167 It displays a poverty of ambition 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:35.686 that in fact the elevation of appearance over substance of celebrity over 00:09:35.719 --> 00:09:41.996 character. of short term gains over lasting achievement. is precisely what 00:09:42.029 --> 00:09:45.505 your generation needs to help end. 00:09:45.538 --> 00:09:53.476 Now 00:09:53.509 --> 00:09:57.956 I want to highlight, I want to highlight two main problems with that old 00:09:57.989 --> 00:10:02.616 tired me first approach to life. 00:10:02.649 --> 00:10:07.807 First of all, it distracts you from what's truly important. And it may 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:12.047 lead you to compromise your values and your principles and your 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.836 commitments. 00:10:14.869 --> 00:10:19.686 Think about it. It's in chasing titles and status in worrying about the 00:10:19.719 --> 00:10:25.086 next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those 00:10:25.119 --> 00:10:30.047 who you're supposed to represent that politicians so often lose their ways 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.816 in Washington. 00:10:32.849 --> 00:10:38.657 They spend time thinking about polls but not about principle. 00:10:38.690 --> 00:10:43.895 It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits. And the bonuses that came 00:10:43.928 --> 00:10:51.217 with them. That so many folks lost their way on Wall Street. Engaging in 00:10:51.250 --> 00:10:57.125 extraordinary risks with other people's money. 00:10:57.158 --> 00:11:03.316 In contrast, the leaders we revere. The businesses and institutions that 00:11:03.349 --> 00:11:10.066 last. They are not generally the result of a narrow pursuit of popularity 00:11:10.099 --> 00:11:16.177 or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose. The 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:21.135 preservation of the union or the determination to lift the country out of 00:11:21.168 --> 00:11:27.076 a depression. The creation of a quality product. A commitment to your 00:11:27.109 --> 00:11:31.875 customers, your workers, your shareholders, and your community, a 00:11:31.908 --> 00:11:36.996 commitment to make sure that an institution like ASU is inclusive and 00:11:37.029 --> 00:11:43.586 diverse and giving opportunity to all. That's the hallmark. of real 00:11:43.619 --> 00:11:51.619 success. 00:11:53.830 --> 00:11:57.996 That other stuff, that other stuff, the trappings of success may be a 00:11:58.029 --> 00:12:03.196 byproduct of this larger mission. 00:12:03.229 --> 00:12:07.015 But it can't be the central thing. 00:12:07.048 --> 00:12:12.596 Just ask Bernie Madoff. 00:12:12.629 --> 00:12:16.157 That's the first problem with the old attitude. The second problem with 00:12:16.190 --> 00:12:24.025 the old approach to success. Is that a relentless focus on the outward 00:12:24.058 --> 00:12:30.557 markers of success can lead to complacency. It can make you lazy. 00:12:30.590 --> 00:12:36.515 We too often let the external, the material things serve as indicators 00:12:36.548 --> 00:12:40.236 that we're doing well, even though something inside us tells us that we're 00:12:40.269 --> 00:12:45.246 not doing our best. That we're avoiding that which is hard but also 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:49.606 necessary, that we're shrinking from rather than rising to the challenges 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:55.775 of the age. And the thing is, in this new hyper competitive age, none of 00:12:55.808 --> 00:13:01.976 us, none of us can afford to be complacent. That's true whatever 00:13:02.009 --> 00:13:07.797 profession you choose. Professors might earn the distinction of tenure, 00:13:07.830 --> 00:13:11.946 but that doesn't guarantee that they'll keep putting in the long hours and 00:13:11.979 --> 00:13:18.677 late nights and have the passion and the drive to be great educators. 00:13:18.710 --> 00:13:23.217 The same principle is true in your personal life. Being a parent is not 00:13:23.250 --> 00:13:27.907 just a matter of paying the bills, doing the bare minimum. It's not just 00:13:27.940 --> 00:13:31.775 bringing a child in the world that matters, but the acts of love and 00:13:31.808 --> 00:13:36.547 sacrifice it takes to raise and educate that child and give them 00:13:36.580 --> 00:13:44.580 opportunity. 00:13:44.899 --> 00:13:49.336 It can happen to presidents as well. 00:13:49.369 --> 00:13:55.145 If you think about Abraham Lincoln. And Millard Fillmore had the very same 00:13:55.178 --> 00:14:01.446 title. They're both presidents of the United States. But their tenure in 00:14:01.479 --> 00:14:07.157 office and their legacy could not be more different. 00:14:07.190 --> 00:14:12.139 And this is not just true for individuals, it's also true for this nation. 00:14:12.229 --> 00:14:14.229 In recent years, in many ways we've become enamoured with our own past 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.395 success. 00:14:19.428 --> 00:14:25.967 lulled into complacency by the glitter of our own achievements, we've 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.326 become accustomed to the title of military superpower. 00:14:30.359 --> 00:14:35.846 Forgetting the qualities that got us there, not just the power of our 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:40.125 weapons, but the discipline and valour and the code of conduct of our men 00:14:40.158 --> 00:14:48.158 and women in uniform. 00:14:49.158 --> 00:14:53.586 The Marshall Plan and the Peace Corps and all those initiatives that show 00:14:53.619 --> 00:14:57.946 our commitment to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of 00:14:57.979 --> 00:15:03.417 opportunity and equality and freedom that have made us who we are. 00:15:03.450 --> 00:15:07.606 That's what made us a superpower. 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:12.427 We've become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world, forgetting 00:15:12.460 --> 00:15:17.385 that it wasn't reckless deals and get rich quick schemes that got us where 00:15:17.418 --> 00:15:22.696 we are, but hard work and smart ideas, quality products, and wise 00:15:22.729 --> 00:15:27.787 investments. We started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:32.106 instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding 00:15:32.139 --> 00:15:38.346 and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas that improve our 00:15:38.379 --> 00:15:43.746 lives. All the while the rest of the world has grown hungrier, more 00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:50.135 restless, in constant motion to build and to discover, not content with 00:15:50.168 --> 00:15:56.576 where they are right now, determined to strive for more. They're coming 00:15:56.609 --> 00:16:00.336 So graduates, it's now abundantly clear that we need to start doing things 00:16:00.369 --> 00:16:06.226 a little bit differently. In your own lives, you'll need to continuously 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:10.885 adapt to a continuously changing economy. 00:16:10.918 --> 00:16:14.726 You'll end up having more than one job and more than one career over the 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:19.125 course of your life. You'll have to keep on gaining new skills, possibly 00:16:19.158 --> 00:16:23.686 even new degrees, and you'll have to keep on taking risks as new 00:16:23.719 --> 00:16:26.537 opportunities arise. 00:16:26.570 --> 00:16:31.226 And as a nation, we'll need a fundamental change of perspective and 00:16:31.259 --> 00:16:36.145 attitude. It's clear that we need to build a new foundation, a stronger 00:16:36.178 --> 00:16:41.316 foundation for our economy and our prosperity, rethinking how we grow our 00:16:41.349 --> 00:16:45.226 economy, how we use energy, how we educate our children, how we care for 00:16:45.259 --> 00:16:49.846 our sick, how we treat our environment. 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:57.879 Many of 00:16:59.969 --> 00:17:03.657 Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. 00:17:03.690 --> 00:17:09.325 There are no standard remedies, no go to fixes this time around. 00:17:09.358 --> 00:17:14.766 In class of 2009, that's why we're going to need your help. We need young 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:21.085 people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm, 00:17:21.118 --> 00:17:24.887 we need your energy, we need your imagination. 00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:28.186 And let me be clear, when I say young, I'm not just referring to the date 00:17:28.219 --> 00:17:31.075 of your birth certificate. 00:17:31.108 --> 00:17:35.236 I'm talking about an approach to life, a quality of mind and a quality of 00:17:35.269 --> 00:17:41.406 heart. A willingness to follow your passions regardless of whether they 00:17:41.439 --> 00:17:47.545 lead to fortune and fame. A willingness to question conventional wisdom 00:17:47.578 --> 00:17:50.835 and rethink old dogmas. 00:17:50.868 --> 00:17:55.637 A lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige 00:17:55.670 --> 00:18:00.555 and a commitment instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps 00:18:00.588 --> 00:18:08.588 others, what makes a difference in this world. 00:18:14.118 --> 00:18:20.085 That's the spirit that led a band of patriots, not much older than most of 00:18:20.118 --> 00:18:26.256 you to take on an empire. To start this experiment in democracy we call 00:18:26.289 --> 00:18:34.289 America. It's what drove young pioneers west. To Arizona and beyond. 00:18:34.650 --> 00:18:38.996 It's what drove young women to reach for the ballot. What inspired a 30 00:18:39.029 --> 00:18:45.897 year old escaped slave to run an underground railroad to freedom. 00:18:45.930 --> 00:18:52.936 What inspired A young man named Cesar to go out and help farm workers. 00:18:52.969 --> 00:18:59.736 What inspired a 26 year old preacher to lead a bus boycott for justice. 00:18:59.769 --> 00:19:04.246 It's what led firefighters and police officers in the prime of their lives 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:09.065 up the stairs of those burning towers. And young people across this 00:19:09.098 --> 00:19:13.065 country to drop what they were doing and come to the aid of a flooded New 00:19:13.098 --> 00:19:19.295 Orleans. 00:19:19.328 --> 00:19:24.006 It's what led two guys in the garage named Hewlett and Packard to form a 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:28.656 company that would change the way we live and work. What led scientists 00:19:28.689 --> 00:19:33.996 and laboratories and novelists and coffee shops to labour in obscurity. 00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:40.397 Until they finally succeeded in changing the way we see the world. 00:19:40.430 --> 00:19:45.805 That's the great American story. Young people just like you. Following 00:19:45.838 --> 00:19:52.045 their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They 00:19:52.078 --> 00:19:59.526 weren't doing it for the money. Their titles weren't fancy. Ex-slave, 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:04.045 minister, student, citizen. 00:20:04.078 --> 00:20:09.647 A whole bunch of them didn't get honorary degrees. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:14.847 But they changed the course of history, and so can you, ASU. 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:22.880 So can you, class of 2009. 00:20:29.118 --> 00:20:33.956 So can you. 00:20:33.989 --> 00:20:40.166 With a degree from this outstanding institution. You have everything you 00:20:40.199 --> 00:20:43.795 need to get started. You've got no excuses. 00:20:43.828 --> 00:20:51.828 You have no excuses not to change the world. Did you study business? 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:57.967 Go start a company. 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:03.166 Or why not help a struggling not for profit find better, more effective 00:21:03.199 --> 00:21:10.656 ways to serve folks in need. 00:21:10.689 --> 00:21:14.377 You study nursing? 00:21:14.410 --> 00:21:18.686 Understaffed clinics and hospitals across this country are desperate for 00:21:18.719 --> 00:21:21.676 your help. 00:21:21.709 --> 00:21:28.055 You study education 00:21:28.088 --> 00:21:33.377 Teaching a high needs school where the kids really need you give a chance 00:21:33.410 --> 00:21:38.936 to kids who can't. Who can't get everything they need maybe in their 00:21:38.969 --> 00:21:42.766 neighbourhood, maybe not even in their home, but we can't afford to give 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:50.799 up on them. Prepare them to compete for any job anywhere in the world. 00:21:56.818 --> 00:22:00.637 You study engineering. 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:06.406 Help us lead a green revolution. Developing new sources of clean energy 00:22:06.439 --> 00:22:12.127 that will power our economy and preserve our planet. 00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:16.815 But you can also make your mark in smaller, more individual ways. That's 00:22:16.848 --> 00:22:19.887 what so many of you have already done during your time here at ASU 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:25.097 tutoring children, registering voters, doing your own small part to fight 00:22:25.130 --> 00:22:30.936 hunger and homelessness, AIDS, and cancer. 00:22:30.969 --> 00:22:34.295 One student said it best when she spoke about her senior engineering 00:22:34.328 --> 00:22:38.496 project building medical devices for people with disabilities in a village 00:22:38.529 --> 00:22:42.377 in Africa. Her professor showed a video of the folks they've been helping 00:22:42.410 --> 00:22:49.217 , and she said. When we saw the people on the videos, we began to feel a 00:22:49.250 --> 00:22:56.847 connection to them. It made us want to be successful for them. Think about 00:22:56.880 --> 00:23:02.686 that. It, it made us want to be successful for them. 00:23:02.719 --> 00:23:09.335 That's a great model for all of us. Find somebody to be successful for. 00:23:09.368 --> 00:23:12.236 Raise their hopes. 00:23:12.269 --> 00:23:16.026 Rise to their needs. 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:19.666 As you think about your life after graduation, as you look into the mirror 00:23:19.699 --> 00:23:27.699 tonight after the partying is done. 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:33.456 That shouldn't get such a big cheer. 00:23:33.489 --> 00:23:37.045 You may look in the mirror tonight and you may see somebody who's not 00:23:37.078 --> 00:23:41.367 really sure what to do with their lives. 00:23:41.400 --> 00:23:44.847 That's what you may see, but a troubled child might look at you and see a 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:51.127 mentor. A homebound senior citizen might see a lifeline. The folks at your 00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:56.217 local homeless shelter might see a friend. None of them care how much 00:23:56.250 --> 00:24:01.016 money is in your bank account or whether you're important at work or 00:24:01.049 --> 00:24:05.176 whether you're famous around town. They just know that you're somebody who 00:24:05.209 --> 00:24:11.097 cares, somebody who makes a difference in their lives. 00:24:11.130 --> 00:24:17.676 So class of 2009, that's what building a body of work is all about. It's 00:24:17.709 --> 00:24:23.676 about the daily labour, the many individual acts, the choices large and 00:24:23.709 --> 00:24:31.709 small that add up over time, over a lifetime. To a lasting legacy. 00:24:31.939 --> 00:24:35.217 That's what you want on your tombstone. 00:24:35.250 --> 00:24:39.526 It's about not being satisfied with The latest achievement, the latest 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:45.325 gold star, because the one thing I know about a body of work is that it's 00:24:45.358 --> 00:24:51.887 never finished. It's cumulative. It deepens and expands with each day that 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:57.367 you give your best, each day that you give back and contribute to the life 00:24:57.400 --> 00:25:02.387 of your community and your nation. You may have setbacks and you may have 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:06.946 failures, but you're not done. You're not even getting started, not by a 00:25:06.979 --> 00:25:09.295 long shot. 00:25:09.328 --> 00:25:13.785 And if you ever forget that, just look to history. Thomas Paine was a 00:25:13.818 --> 00:25:19.555 failed corset maker, a failed teacher, and a failed tax collector. Before 00:25:19.588 --> 00:25:23.156 he made his mark on history with a little book called Common Sense that 00:25:23.189 --> 00:25:30.996 helped ignite a revolution. 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:35.295 Julia Child didn't publish her first cookbook until she was almost 50. 00:25:35.328 --> 00:25:38.377 Colonel Sanders didn't open up his first Kentucky Fried Chicken until he 00:25:38.410 --> 00:25:44.256 was in his 60s. Winston Churchill was dismissed as little more than it has 00:25:44.289 --> 00:25:48.617 been, who enjoyed Scotch a little bit too much before he took over as 00:25:48.650 --> 00:25:53.097 Prime Minister and saw Great Britain through its finest hour. No one 00:25:53.130 --> 00:25:57.736 thought a former football player stocking shelves at the local supermarket 00:25:57.769 --> 00:26:01.617 would return to the game he loved, become a Super Bowl MVP, and then come 00:26:01.650 --> 00:26:07.276 here to Arizona and lead your Cardinals to their first Super Bowl. 00:26:07.309 --> 00:26:13.315 Your body of work is never done. 00:26:13.348 --> 00:26:18.276 Each of them at one point in their life didn't have any title or much 00:26:18.309 --> 00:26:23.835 status to speak of, but they had passion, a commitment to following that 00:26:23.868 --> 00:26:29.085 passion wherever it would lead, and working hard every step along the way. 00:26:29.118 --> 00:26:34.117 That's not just how you'll ensure that your own life is well lived. It's 00:26:34.150 --> 00:26:38.266 how you'll make a difference in the life of our nation. I talked earlier 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:41.746 about the selfishness and irresponsibility on Wall Street in Washington 00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:46.166 that rippled out and led to so many of the problems that we face today. I 00:26:46.199 --> 00:26:51.166 talked about the focus on outward markers of success that can help lead us 00:26:51.199 --> 00:26:57.035 astray, but here's the thing, Class of 2009, it works the other way too. 00:26:57.068 --> 00:27:04.065 Acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what's in it for you. 00:27:04.098 --> 00:27:09.147 That also creates ripple effects, ones that lift up families and 00:27:09.180 --> 00:27:15.176 communities, that spread opportunity and boost our economy that reach 00:27:15.209 --> 00:27:20.627 folks in the forgotten corners of the world who committed young people 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:24.666 like you see the true face of America, our strength, our goodness, our 00:27:24.699 --> 00:27:30.335 diversity, our enduring power, our ideals. 00:27:30.368 --> 00:27:34.045 I know starting your careers in troubled times is a challenge, but it is 00:27:34.078 --> 00:27:38.666 also a privilege. Because it's moments like these that force us to try 00:27:38.699 --> 00:27:44.726 harder and dig deeper and to discover gifts we never knew we had. To find 00:27:44.759 --> 00:27:50.627 the greatness that lies within each of us. So don't ever shy away from 00:27:50.660 --> 00:27:56.926 that endeavour. Don't stop adding to your body of work. 00:27:56.959 --> 00:28:03.217 I can promise that you will be the better for that continued effort, as 00:28:03.250 --> 00:28:07.916 will this nation that we all love. Congratulations class of 2009 on your 00:28:07.949 --> 00:28:14.809 graduation. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.