Class of 2013: The Future of Leadership 06-11

Class of 2013: The Future of Leadership

Deepak Chopra

Deepak's commencement address to: President Margaret Drugovich, Trustees of Hartwick College, Guests, Parents and Students of the 2013 Graduating Class at Hartwick College

Today, as you celebrate this major milestone in your life and commence a new stage of your life journey, I ask you to reflect on the gift of life itself. And life, in essence, is nothing but awareness. Furthermore, human life, considered the pinnacle of biological evolution, is not just awareness, but self-awareness. Amongst creatures on this planet, we human beings are not only aware; we have the capacity to be aware that we are aware, to be conscious of our consciousness. In that self-awareness lies our potential and power to direct our own future evolution and the future evolution of civilization.

Biological evolution has been summed up in the phrase of "survival of the fittest," but with overpopulation and overconsumption of resources, the future belongs to "survival of the wisest." It is imperative for the future of humanity that wisdom becomes the new criterion for sustainable life on this planet. And wisdom is that knowledge that nurtures life in all its dimensions - not only for us, but also for the generations that follow us.

Today's age is frequently referred to as the Information Age. The hallmarks of this age are the gifts of science and technology that have created the miracles of molecular medicine, real-time imaging of cellular function, instant accessibility of global knowledge, and social networks. Yet despite this emerging global brain, paradoxically we are beset with the same scourges of war and terrorism, radical poverty in 50% of the world's population, irreversible climate change, along with deepening social and economic injustice! Furthermore, humanity suffers from massive malnutrition in which half the world suffers from hunger and the other half from obesity, leading to inflammatory disorders, increasing the risk of chronic illnesses including many types of cancer and cardiovascular diseases while the hungry die from compromised immune function and infectious diseases. The information revolution has not led to the wisdom needed to solve our world crisis in health and well-being.

If ever humanity had the power of mass self-extinction on planet earth, it is today. And if it happens, it will be because we allowed our emotional and spiritual evolution to be outpaced by the evolution of our science and technology. Nuclear proliferation, biological warfare, eco-destruction, the extinction of species and the poisoning of our atmosphere, our rivers and waters and the very food that sustains our life and all life loom before us as imminent threats. But just as in other critical phases of transformation, while there is disaster looming on one hand, there is on the other hand the potential to create a radical reorganization into something much greater than was conceived of before.

Today, I ask you my young friends, you who are the future hope of humanity, you who are the future leaders of the world; today, I ask you what Mahatma Gandhi once asked, "Can you be the change you want to see in the world?"

In fact, there can be no social or world transformation unless there is your own inner transformation. Today, I ask you to face a fundamental truth. Today, I ask you to consider that there is no "you" that is separate from the world. The gift of life, your own self-consciousness, is your key to inner transformation and wisdom, and that in turn is how you will transform the world. Today, I ask you to acknowledge that you are the world and that your transformation of consciousness will be the future of the world. This self-transformation is the wisdom for our planet's survival.

As I enter the autumn of my life and you the springtime of yours, I want to leave you with seven skills in self-awareness that I have learned and that I hope will serve you well no matter what profession you choose, or where your life and destiny take you as a future leader of humanity.

Skill # 1: Become the best listener you can be. Learn to listen with the instruments of the body, the feelings of the heart, the logic of the mind and the stillness of your soul. As you listen deeply, reflect on the following questions: What am I observing? What am I feeling? What is the need of the moment? What is the best way to fulfill this need?

Skill # 2: Bond emotionally with friends, family, professional colleagues and those you interact with daily. Understand that each of us is part of a web of relationships that is nurtured through love, kindness, compassion, empathy and joy. Emotional bonds create effective teamwork where nothing is impossible because you have a shared vision for service, contribution and success and because you complement each other's talents and strengths.

Skill # 3: Expand your awareness by knowing that all human beings have a hierarchy of needs that start with survival and safety and progressively expand through stages that include love and belonging, true self esteem, success as in the progressive realization of worthy goals, creative expression, higher consciousness and self-actualization. As you expand your awareness, learn to harness your spiritual gifts that come in the form of the powers of intention, intuition, creativity, imagination & conscious choice making.

Skill # 4: Remember the importance of action. Learn to be action oriented and know that there is no power higher than love in action. Remember that love without action is meaningless and action without love is irrelevant.

Skill # 5: Assume responsibility for your own well being in all its various facets. Your well being encompasses every aspect of your life - your career, your social interactions, your personal relationships, your community and your financial success. Take time to rest and play, to be with your family and friends, to exercise and nourish your body with healthy food.

Skill # 6: Empower yourself with true self-esteem. Learn to be independent of the good and bad opinion of others. Recognize the power of presence. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Know your life purpose and the contribution you want to make to society.

Skill # 7: Know your true self. Your true self is not your self-image that is dependent on the labels you and others have given yourself. Your true self is the innermost core of your being that is beyond all labels, definitions and limitations. All the wisdom traditions tell us that the human spirit is a field of infinite possibilities, a field of infinite creativity, love, compassion, joy and profound equanimity. Know you can only give to the world that which you possess in that innermost core of your being. Remember that you will create peace only when you are peaceful and create a loving world only when you have learned to love.

I entreat you to not lose your idealism with the passage of years. That idealism is connected to your knowingness of the good that can be created and the power to manifest it. In you lies the potential for a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier and happier world. Remember that the goal of all other goals is to be happy. I am reminded today of an assignment that John Lennon was given by his elementary school teacher when he was seven years old. He and his classmates were asked to write a short description of who they wanted to be when they grew up. John Lennon wrote down that he wanted to be "always happy." When his teacher complained that John did not understand the assignment, John's mother told him to tell the teacher that he did not understand life.

But what do we really know about happiness? Recently there has been a lot of research on the dynamics of happiness. Most people think that if they are successful in achieving their goals or have good relationships or if they are healthy, they will be happy. In fact it is the other way around. If you are a happy person you are likely to have healthy habits, and nurturing relationships and great success in life. Social scientists describe what they describe as the Happiness formula: H=S+C+V

H stands for happiness
S stands for set point in the brain
C stands for conditions of living
V stands for voluntary choices

"S" stands for the set point in the brain and refers to our mechanisms of perception. We all have a semi-fixed place on the happiness spectrum based on our outlook on life. Happier people see the opportunities, whereas unhappy people see problems. The set point for happiness can be upregulated, or shifted toward greater happiness, through self-reflection on limiting beliefs. The set point determines 50% of our happiness experience on a daily basis. The ‘C' in the formula is for conditions of living and refers mainly to material success and personal wealth. It determines about 12% of your daily happiness experience. If you win the lottery, you will be extremely happy for a few months, but after one year, you will return to your set point. Voluntary choices represent choices that we make on a daily basis. Choices for personal pleasure bring transient happiness, while selfless choices bring inner fulfillment through purpose and meaning, e.g. by making other people happy, meaningful relationships bring more permanent happiness. So to be happy, it's fine to have material comforts around you, but that will only account for 12% of your happiness. To really be happy you need to expand awareness and overcome your self-limiting beliefs and then choose selfless actions, or ways to be of service to others. This leads to true and lasting happiness and wisdom.

Finally today, more than any other day, remember to be grateful. Gratitude opens the door to abundant consciousness. Express your gratitude today particularly to your parents, teachers and fellow students, all who have helped bring you to this threshold of life.

You are now ready to embark on the hero's journey, the hero's quest. Good luck and God speed.

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THE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS NOBODY ASKED ME TO GIVE 05-29

THE COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS NOBODY ASKED ME TO GIVE

by James McQuivey

Welcome, graduates of the class of 2013, and congratulations. You are some of the finest students our system of education – no, our society – has ever produced. Rather than stand here and occupy your time with random inspirational thoughts, I would prefer to stand back and let you rush out there to disrupt the world into which you were born.

Unfortunately, you probably won’t. And that’s too bad because those of us who have gone before you really need you to disrupt things. Which is ironic to say because we are actually the reason you won’t live up to your potential.

Now that I have your attention (and perhaps have primed the urge for an antidepressant), let me tell you why your future is likely so bleak.

You are among the world’s first fully digital citizens. You were born after the Macintosh IIx, Windows 3.0, and the launch of AOL. We now have the iPad, Windows 8, and Google Fiber. When you entered Kindergarten, already 20 million US households were connected to the Internet, by the time you started high school, that number had quadrupled to approximately 80 million. Oh, and while in that year of high school, YouTube posted its first video and Facebook opened its social network to anyone with an email address; today YouTube shows 4 billion hours of videos each month and Facebook has more than a billion friends.

You lived through and accelerated all of this. And you are superhuman because of it. You have more potential knowledge than any generation before you. You have access to and are experts at navigating the tools, devices, networks, and systems that will define the economy of the future. And despite some popular perceptions of how you waste some of your time with those tools following drunk celebrities on Twitter or sexting each other, it is my experience that many of you are ready to assume a disruptive place in the world.

For example, earlier this year I judged a competition between student groups at a Boston-area university. These teams worked for three weeks to generate business plans that employ the sponsoring company’s technology. As a former professor who had students create business plans in the mid 1990s I can categorically say that all three of the business plans I judged were an order of magnitude better than what my students achieved nearly two decades ago. Digital tools gave the students of today a decided edge, in information gathering, idea generation, product testing, and prototyping. In fact, a few of the project plans were as good as a briefing I might get from a venture-backed startup in my role as a technology analyst.

As I sat through the pitches, there arose in me an irrational optimism for the future, given the capabilities of the students in whose care that future would be placed. Digitally equipped, they were ready to disrupt the world. They saw no boundaries between their ideas and the market. Then I remembered something: These bright, amazing, digital students would soon graduate and within very few months would have entry-level jobs in companies that would immediately begin the process of retraining them to think like analog people.

Analog people are those who have been subject to the forces of analog business long enough that they have never known or have forgotten how energizing it is to generate an idea, refine it through iterative conversation with bright peers, and then test it in the market as swiftly as you are ready to. And they certainly don’t see digital tools as the dramatic shortcut to all of those processes that you do. Most of us in the business world are analog people. And I collectively apologize to you on our behalf for the number of times you are going to hear the following analog excuses:

• We tried that once.
• We don’t have budget for that.
• You can’t prove the ROI on that.
• The executive team doesn’t like that idea.
• Our shareholders won’t tolerate that kind of risk.
• Sure, consumers love that, but where’s the revenue model?
• Our tech project list is full.
• We can’t risk our brand on that.
• We can’t cannibalize that business, it’s what keeps the lights on around here.

The list of excuses analog people give goes on and on. I’ve heard them all, including one I heard this week where someone resisted being inspired by disruptive startups Uber and AirBnB because “what they’re doing is illegal.” We’re good at thinking like this and we’re going to do our best to invite you to the dark, analog side of business. It would be easier on us to stand between you and the disruption that you are so capable of rather than encourage you.

But you should ignore us. Because the digital disruption you are capable of is disruption that we want because we’re consumers, too – we want better stuff, more efficient services, and cool experiences. And it’s also disruption that we need to grow our economy, to stimulate new opportunities for the workforce, to make better use of the billions lying fallow in corporate accounts waiting to be put to use. And we need it to get your entire generation moving so you don’t end up living in our basements for the next two decades, failing to launch, failing to marry, failing to produce the next generation of kids who are going to be even more spectacularly equipped than you are. (Picture a generation of youth born after Google Glass.)

The more I stand here and give you the bleak overview of the future, the more angry I get about it. Hopefully, the more I say, the more rebellious you get. The more you want to rush out there and prove me wrong. The more motivated you are to insist that your digital acumen coupled with your naïve faith in each other can and should be put to use by whatever company you work for. So that on day one, when your employer tries to tell you how things are “done around here,” you can respond with conviction: “Let me tell you how things are done out there.” Then go do them.

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Class of 2013 collection of top commencement speeches 05-28

Oprah Winfrey's Commencement speech at Harvard to the Class of 2013

Class of 2013: You'll Never Again Be so Unburdened; Do Something Bold

Sir Richard Branson Founder at Virgin Group

Class of 2013: The Advantages of an Accent

Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at The Huffington Post Media Group

Class of 2013: The Top 10 Lessons You'll Need

Guy Kawasaki, Advisor at Motorola Mobility

Class of 2013: Question Authority

Charlene Li, Founder Partner at Altimeter Group

Class of 2013: So, You Want To Start a Company?

Michael Fertik, CEO at Reputation.com and Owner, Reputation.com

Class of 2013: The Power of the Pause

Maria Shriver, Author, Journalist & Activist at Maria Shriver

Class of 2013: Understand Your Greatest Asset, Then Every Day Can Be...

Michael Skok, General Partner, North Bridge Venture Partners

Class of 2013: 3 Myths About Changing the World

Wendy Kopp, CEO & Co-Founder, Teach For All / Founder & Chair, Teach For America

Class of 2013: Sleeping Through an Exam Was My Key to Success

Emily Chang, Host of "Bloomberg West"

Class of 2013: Here's What I'd Give Up to be You

T. Boone Pickens, Founder, Chairman and CEO at BP Capital and TBP Investments Management

What Successful People Aren't Telling You

Adam Lashinsky, Sr. Editor at Large, Fortune Magazine

Class of 2013: Being a Nerd Has Brought Me Success

Craig Newmark, Founder at craig connects

Class of 2013: Ignore Your Commencement Address

Jon Steinberg, President and Chief Operating Officer at BuzzFeed

Class of 2013: You'll Never Again Be so Unburdened; Do Something Bold 05-28

Class of 2013: You'll Never Again Be so Unburdened; Do Something Bold

The best advice I could give any graduate is to spend your time working on whatever you are passionate about in life. If your degree was focused upon one particular area, don't let that stop you moving in another direction. If college hasn't worked out for you, don't let that put you off. Virgin's expansion into so many different areas is borne out of my insatiable curiosity to enjoy new experiences and pursue fresh challenges.

You may decide to take a break and consider your options. I would urge you to travel, take on new experiences and draw upon those when it comes to making the decisions that will shape your future. The amount of business ideas that people pick up from travelling the world is enormous. If you don't want to reinvent the wheel, you may find a business that works in another market that could be adapted for your own. Gap years don't only have to happen before you go to college. Actually, a good option is to travel instead of going to university. You can work and still have a lot of fun along the way: you won't create as much debt, you'll learn an awful lot and may come back with some great ideas. 

Equally, if you spot an opportunity early on and are really excited by it, throw yourself into it with everything you have got. Be ambitious. There probably won't be another time in your life when you have such freedom of opportunity. Grasp it with both hands. If you can't find an opening that fits what you want to do, why not try to create one yourself? We always enter markets where the leaders are not doing a great job, so we can go in and disrupt them by offering better quality services. Until this week I had never had a boss in my entire life. I lasted about five hours before Tony Fernandes sacked me, after throwing a tray of drinks over him while working as a stewardess on a flight! (It was all for a bet to raise money for charity, so I wasn't too upset.)

My own transition from education to a working life was pretty straightforward. I started Student Magazine at school and was spending an increasingly large amount of time working on getting it off the ground. The headmaster gave me an ultimatum: he said if I wanted to carry on with Student, I had to stop being a student. So I left to start my adventures in business. Being dyslexic, I never excelled in the classroom and entrepreneurship wasn't encouraged. I didn't even know what I was doing was called entrepreneurship until somebody told me!

However, education is absolutely crucial to success and to the progress of the world at large. As Nelson Mandela said:

Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world."

But education doesn't take place in stuffy classrooms and university buildings, it can happen everywhere, every day to every person. I was on a panel at a University in Australia recently and it turned out the only one of us onstage who had graduated was the Dean himself!
I have been offered to do graduation speeches over the years and did accept an honorary Doctor of Technology from Loughborough University. It was strange at the time, but now we have Virgin Galactic perhaps it's not so strange! I was chuffed to receive it, having left school at 15. It was a hell of a lot easier than going through university to get it! If you are graduating, congratulations and good luck for your future. Every graduate - scratch that - every person has the chance to reach for the stars in their chosen field.

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