40 minutes that will change your life

If you want to change the world start off by making your bed. If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed.

Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that the little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you'll never be able to do the big things right. And if by chance you have a miserable day, You will come home to a bed that is made. That you made. And a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. I've been a Navy SEAL for 36 years. Every morning...

In SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room, and the first thing they'd do was inspect my bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers would be pulled tight. the pillow centered just under the headboard, and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack. It was a simple task, mundane at best, but every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection.

It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that we were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs. But the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.

It matters not whether you ever served a day in uniform. It matters not your gender, your ethnic or religious background, your orientation, or your social status. Our struggles in this world are similar, and the lesson is to overcome those struggles and to move forward. Changing ourselves and changing the world around us will apply equally to all. If you think it's hard to change the lives of ten people, change their lives forever, you're wrong.

I saw it happen every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. But changing the world can happen anywhere, and anyone can do it. So what starts here can indeed change the world. You will likely fail often, and it will be painful. It will be discouraging. At times, it will test you to your very core. At that darkest moment of the mission is a time when you need to be...

calm, when you must be calm, when you must be composed, when all your tactical skills, your physical power, and your inner strength must be brought to bear. If you want to change the world, You must be your very best in the darkest moments. If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person.

a Washington, a Lincoln, King, Mandela, and even a young girl from Pakistan, Malala. One person can change the world by giving people hope. Start each day with a task completed. Find someone to help you through life. Respect everyone. Know that life is not fair and that you will fail often. But if you take some risks, step up when the times are the toughest, face down the bullies, lift up the downtrodden, and never, ever give up.

If you do these things, the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world far better than the one we have today. And what started here will indeed have changed the world for the better.

Finally, in SEAL training, there's a bell. A brass bell that hangs in the center of the compound for all the students to see. All you have to do to quit is ring the bell. Ring the bell. and you no longer have to wake up at 5 o'clock. Ring the bell, and you no longer have to be in the freezing cold swims. Ring the bell, and you no longer have to do the runs, the obstacle course, the PT, and you no longer have to endure.

The hardships of training. All you have to do is ring the bell to get out. If you want to change the world. Don't ever, ever ring the bell.

Number one, put God first. Put God first in everything you do. Everything that you think you see in me, everything that I've accomplished, everything that you think I have, and I have a few things, everything that I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It's a gift. 40 years ago, March 27th, 1975. It was 40 years ago, just this past March. I was flunking out of college. I had a 1.7 grade point average. I hope none of you can relate.

I had a 1.7 grade point average. I was sitting in my mother's beauty shop. They still call it beauty shops now? What do they call it now? Yeah, I was sitting in the beauty parlor. I was sitting in my mother's beauty parlor and I'm looking in the mirror.

And I see behind me this woman under the dryer. And every time she looked up, every time I looked up, she was looking at me, just looking me in the eye. And I didn't know who she was. And I said, you know, she said, somebody give me a pen. Give me a pencil. I have a prophecy. March 27, 1975. She said, boy, you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people. Now, mind you, I flunked out of college.

I'm thinking about joining the army. I didn't know what I was going to do. And she's telling me I'm going to travel the world and speak to millions of people. Well, I have traveled the world. And I have spoke to millions of people. But that's not the most important thing the success that I had the most important thing is that what she taught me and what she told me that day has stayed with me since I've been protected I've been directed I've been corrected

I've kept God in my life and has kept me humble. I didn't always stick with him, but he always stuck with me. So stick with him in everything you do. If you think you want to do.

what you think i've done then do what i've done and stick with god number two fail big that's right fail big Today is the beginning of the rest of your life, and it can be very frightening. It's a new world out there. It's a mean world out there, and you only live once. So do what you feel passionate about, passionate about. Take chances.

professionally don't be afraid to fail there's an old IQ test was nine dots and you had to draw five lines with a pencil within these nine dots without lifting the pencil The only way to do it was to go outside the box. So don't be afraid to go outside the box. Don't be afraid to think outside the box. Don't be afraid to fail big. to dream big but remember dreams without goals are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment

So have dreams, but have goals. Life goals, yearly goals, monthly goals, daily goals. I try to give myself a goal every day. sometimes it's just to not curse somebody out simple goals but have goals and understand that to achieve these goals you must apply discipline and consistency in order to achieve your goals you must apply discipline which you have already done and consistency every day not just on Tuesday and miss a few days you have to work at it

Every day. You have to plan. Every day. You've heard the saying, we don't plan to fail. We fail to plan. Hard work works. Working really hard is what successful people do. And in this text, tweet, twerk world that you've grown up in. Remember, just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. Remember that. Just because you're doing a lot more doesn't mean you're getting a lot more done. Don't confuse movement with progress.

My mother told me, she said, yeah, because you can run in place all the time and never get anywhere. So continue to strive, continue to have goals, continue to progress. Number three.

you'll never see a u-haul behind a hearse i'll say it again you'll never see a u-haul behind a hearse i don't care how much money you make you can't take it with you the egyptians tried it they got robbed that's all they got you can't take it with you with you and it's not how much you have It's what you do with what you have. We all have different talents. Some of you will be doctors, some lawyers, some scientists, some educators, some nurses, some teachers. Yeah, okay.

some preachers the most selfish thing you can do in this world is help someone else why is it selfish because The gratification, the goodness that comes to you, the good feeling. The good feeling that I get from helping others. Nothing's better than that. Well, one or two things, but nothing's better than that. Not jewelry, not big house I have.

cars but the it's the joy that's where the joy is in helping others that's where the success is in helping others finally i pray that You put your slippers way under the bed tonight so that when you wake up in the morning, you have to get on your knees to reach them. And while you're down there, say thank you for grace. Thank you for mercy. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for wisdom. Thank you for parents.

Thank you for love. Thank you for kindness. Thank you for humility. Thank you for peace. Thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what's already yours. It's how I live my life. That's why I am. One of the reasons why I am today. Say thank you in advance for what is already yours. True desire in the heart for anything. is God's proof to you sent beforehand to indicate that it's yours already. I'll say it again.

True desire in the heart, that itch that you have, whatever it is you want to do, that thing that you want to do to help others and to grow and to make money, that desire, that itch, that's God's proof to you. Sent beforehand already to indicate that it's yours. And anything you want good, you can have. So claim it. Work hard to get it. When you get it reach back pull someone else up each one teach one Don't just aspire to make a living

aspire to make a difference. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

You've got to take risks, and I'm sure you've probably heard that before, but I want to talk to you about why that's so important. I got three reasons, and you can pick up your iPhones. First. You will fail at some point in your life except it you will lose you will embarrass yourself You will suck at something. There's no doubt about it

And I know that's probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony, but hey, I'm telling you, embrace it. Because it's inevitable. And I should know. In the acting business, you fail all the time. Early on in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. Perfect role for me, I thought. Except for the fact that I can't sing. So... I'm in the wings, I'm about to go on stage, but the guy in front of me, he's singing like, like, like...

Pavarotti. He's just going on and on and on. And I'm just shrinking. I'm getting smaller and smaller. So they say, oh, thank you very much. Thank you very much. And you'll be hearing from us. So I come out with my little sheet music, and it was just my imagination by the temptations. That's what I came up with. So I hand it to the accompanist, and she looks at it and looks at me.

Looks out at the director and is like, all right. So I start, you know, I'm going to sing. I'm like, this is my imagination. Once again. And they're coming away with me. And they're not saying anything, so I'm thinking I'm getting better. I start getting into it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Washington. Thank you. So I assumed I didn't get the job.

But the next part of the audition, he called me back. The next part of the audition is the acting part of the audition. Now I'm like, hey, okay, maybe I can't sing, but I know I can act. So they pair me with this guy. And again, I didn't know about musical theater. And musical theater is big, so they can reach everyone all the way in the back of the stadium. And I'm more from a realistic, naturalistic kind of acting where you actually talk to the person next to you.

So I don't know what my line was my line was will hand me the cup and his line was well I will hand you the cup my dear the cup will be there to be handed to you I said, okay. Well, should I give you the cup back? Oh, yes, you should give it back to me because you know that is my cup and it should be given back to me. I didn't get the job. But here's the thing. I didn't quit. I didn't fall back.

I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition and the next audition and the next audition. I prayed. I prayed. And I prayed. But I continued to fail and fail and fail. But it didn't matter because you know what? There's an old saying, you hang around the barbershop long enough, sooner or later you're going to get a haircut. So you will catch a break, and I did catch a break. Last year, I did a play called Fences on Broadway. Someone talked about it. Won the Tony Award.

And I didn't have to sing, by the way. But here's the kicker. It was at the court theater. It was at the same theater that I failed that first audition 30 years prior. The point is, and I'll pick up the pace, the point is every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. But do you have the guts?

to fail here's my second point about failure if you don't fail you're not even trying i'll say it again if you don't fail you're not even trying my wife told me this great expression To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. Les Browns, a motivational speaker, he made an analogy about this. He says, imagine you're on your deathbed.

And standing around your deathbed are the ghosts representing your unfulfilled potential. The ghosts of the ideas you never acted on. The ghosts of the talents you didn't use. And they're standing around your bed. angry, disappointed, and upset. They say, we came to you because you could have brought us to life, they say. And now we have to go to the grave together. So I ask you today.

How many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes? You've invested a lot in your education and people have invested in you. And let me tell you, the world needs your talents. Man, does it ever. I just got back from Africa like two days ago, so if I'm rambling on, it's because I'm jet-lagged. I just got back from South Africa. It's a beautiful country, but there are places there with terrible poverty that need help.

And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg. The Middle East needs your help. Japan needs your help. Alabama needs your help. Tennessee needs your help. Louisiana needs your help. Philadelphia needs your help. The world needs a lot, and we need it from you. We really do. We need it from you, young people. I mean, I'm not speaking for the rest of us up here, but I know I'm getting a little grayer. We need it from you, the young people, because remember this. So you got to get out there.

You got to give it everything you got, whether it's your time, your talent, your prayers, or your treasures. Because remember this, you will never see a U-Haul. behind a hearse I'll say it again you will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse You can't take it with you. The Egyptians tried it. And all they got was robbed. So the question is,

What are you going to do with what you have? I'm not talking about how much you have. Some of you are business majors. Some of you are theologians, nurses, sociologists. Some of you have money. Some of you have patience. Some of you have kindness. Some of you have love. Some of you have the gift of long suffering. Whatever it is, whatever your gift is, what are you going to do with what you have? All right, now here's my last point about failure. Sometimes...

It's the best way to figure out where you're going. Your life will never be a straight path. I began at Fordham University as a pre-med student. I took a course called the cardiac... I still can't say it. Cardiac morphogenesis. I couldn't read it. I couldn't say it. I sure couldn't pass it. So then I decided to go into pre-law, then journalism. And with no academic focus, my grades took off in their own direction. I was a 1.8 GPA.

One semester and the university very politely suggested that it might be better to take some time off. I Was 20 years old. I was at my lowest point and then one day and I remember the exact day March 27, 1975. I was helping my mother in her beauty shop. My mother owned a beauty shop up in Mount Vernon. And there was this older woman who was considered one of the elders in the town.

I didn't know her personally, but I was looking in the mirror, and every time I looked in the mirror, I could see her behind me, and she was staring at me. She just kept looking at me. Every time I looked at her, she kept giving me these strange looks. So she finally took the dryer off her head and said, She said something I'll never forget. First of all, she said, somebody give me a piece of paper. Give me a piece of paper. She said, young boy, I have a prophecy, a spiritual prophecy.

She said, you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people. Now, mind you, I'm 20 years old. I'm flunked out of school. In fact, like a wise-ass, I'm thinking to myself, maybe she's got something in that crystal ball about me getting back into school next fall.

But maybe she was on to something because later that summer, while working as a counselor at a YMCA camp in Connecticut, we put on a talent show for the campers. And after the show, another counselor came up to me and asked, have you ever thought about acting? You're good at that.

So when I got back to Fordham that fall, I got in and I changed my major once again for the last time. And in the years that followed, just as that woman prophesied, I have traveled the world and I have spoken to millions of people. through my movies. Millions who up till this day couldn't see me. Who up till this day I couldn't see while I was talking to them and they couldn't see me. They could only see the movie. They couldn't see the real me.

But I see you today. And I'm encouraged by what I see. And I'm strengthened by what I see. And I love. What I see One more page

Now shut up. Let me conclude with this one final point. Actually, the president kind of brought it up. It has to do with the movie Philadelphia. She stole my material. Many years ago, I did this movie called Philadelphia. We filmed some of the scenes right here on campus. Philadelphia came out in 1993. Most of you were probably still in diapers. Some of the professors, too.

That cracked me up. But it was a good movie. Rent it on, what do you call it, Netflix. It's a good movie. Rent it. I get 23 cents every time you rent it, please. True. Parents up there, rent it. Netflix, please. Tell your friends, too. It's about a man played by Tom Hanks.

who's fired from his law firm because he has AIDS. He wants to sue the firm, but no one's willing to represent him until a homophobic ambulance chaser, lawyer, played by yours, truly takes on the case. In a way, if you watch the movie, You'll see everything I'm talking about today. You'll see what I mean about taking risk or being willing to fail. Because taking risk is not just about going for a job. It's also about knowing what you know.

and what you don't know. It's about being open to people and to ideas. In the course of the film, the character I play begins to take small steps, small risks. He very, very, very slowly begins to overcome his fears. And I feel ultimately his heart becomes flooded with love. And I can't think of a better message as we send you off today. To not only take risks, but to be open to life, to accept new views, and to be open to new opinions.

To be willing to speak at a commencement at one of the best universities in the country, even though you're scared stiff. While it may be frightening, it will also be rewarding. Because the chances you take... The people you meet, the people you love, the faith that you have, that's what's going to define you. So members of the class of 2011, this is your mission.

When you leave the friendly confines of Philly, never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give everything you've got. And when you fall throughout life and... Remember this. Fall forward.