Transcript This Day…in History…per wikipedia

This Day…in History…per wikipedia
• 1775 – The Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress – which would
become the U.S. Army
• 1900 – Hawaii became a U.S. Territory
• 1937 – the U.S. House of Representatives passes the Marijuana Tax Act…not USE tax
• 1940 – Paris falls to Germany in World War II
• 1953 – Elvis Pressley graduates from High School in Tennessee
• 1961 – Boy George is born… ask your parents who that is…
• 1989 – President Ronald Reagan is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
• And most momentously…on this day…in the year of 2014…YOU…are graduating from
Bartlett Yancey High School!!!
• I want you to give yourselves a round of applause. You deserve it!
• ---- Parents: I know you are feeling many emotions on this day…where will they go to
school…what job will they take…when will they start washing their own laundry…
• I know you’re worried – but these young men and women can make the right
decisions…let me give you an example:
• I’ve got 2 speeches prepared class of 2014…you will decide which one I deliver…
• The first one is an hour and [email protected]
minutes….and one
- BYis 11 minutes…by round of
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Commencement
applause…
1
Remembering this speech…
• 30 years ago…I sat out there…where you are…looking at the
commencement speaker
• I thought several things…
• I hope this guy catches laryngytis…
• This is a long speech…
• And my final thought was…I am going to make a concerted effort to
forget everything he says by the time I walk across that stage
• My suspisicion is that…even though 3 decades separate us…we’ve got
somehing in common…you will forget this speech as quickly as possible so
you can get to the cookout, barbecue, party, etc….
• That’s ok – I built a website for you CLASS of 2014 where you can get the
speech anytime you want it…
• www.bartlettyancey.com
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Before I start this…
• I am honored to be here with you today…my Mother – Ethel is here…my
Father Ross…my siblings…Debbie…Artie…Alison
• My kids…Maya and Lucas
• Don’t worry…I won’t embarrass y’all…too much
• First off…I did not prepare for this speech at all..i thought about it…went
to youtube to find some speeches as examples…but came across some
videos of kittens wrestling and one of a cat boxing a dog…and I got
sidetracked…also watched the Psy video “Gangnam style”
• I want to be very honest with you…class of 2014…
• During this speech…I’m going to tell you 11 things that are absolutely true,
valuable and life changing…and I’m going to tell you 2 lies
• …I think you you’re smart enough to figure out which one are lies…at the
end of my speech…I’ll tell you which 2 lies I told you…
• That’s a good thing…when you meet somebody…they tell you when they
are going to lie to you…that’s a good thing… right?
• By
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the way…I am giving one of
you
a $100.00 at the end of this speech
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If you remember nothing else…
• It ain’t how you start…it’s how you finish…
• At the age of 12…I would get up at 5:30 in the morning on
Saturday…cause that’s when TV came on…it wasn’t 24 hours like today. It
went off at mid-night and came on at 6:00
• My father and younger brother would get up to go hunting and as they
would pass by me in front of the blank TV that hadn’t started the day’s
programs…they would say, “You going hunting today?”
• Naw…mama is baking a hen and making potato salad and she’s
gonna need some help
• They’d walk out the door mumbling something about me being
“soft..never liking the outdoors…and afraid of guns.”
• My mom would overhear this and come to me and say, “Adolphus…I heard
what you said…let’s start cooking.
• I would look at her in shock and say, “Ma – you know better than that…I
told them that stuff so they would go on without me…now go on and do
your thing in the kitchen…and can you not rattle the pans…the Lone
Ranger is coming on.
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• So my start was not a very promising
one…but I did ok…and so will you
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Your life…Your Future…Your Decision
Who Are
You?
Who do you
want to be?
Are you
willing to do
what it takes
to be all that
you are
meant to be?
• I want to share with you today a roadmap to helping you achieve
all that you were meant to achieve in life…
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Choose 3 Key People in your life
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Every morning…@ 4:30
My mentor…mike.. Texts
me
Get up Fat Boy!!!
He was a linebacker @ NC
state
MBA from Columbia
Has worked for a Fortune 5
Inspires me physically,
mentally, morally.
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Who is your mentor?
•
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Trusted
critic
Financial
guru/CPA
Mentor
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Bill is my certified public
accountant
Any financial spend over
$500 – I discuss with him
He has saved me thousands
and helped me make a lot
more
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He has helped me start 3
separate businesses and all
are profitable…had he not
been there..i would be in a
much poorer condition
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I’ve got 2: my mama and my
dad…they give me advice
even when I don’t ask for it…
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Who is your trusted critic?
Best advice he gives his
millionaire clients: never buy
a new car…
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Who is yourCommencement
CPA?
This person…
Tells you when you are wrong
Gives you clear feedback
when you are about to do
something dumb
Men…for most of us…this will
be your
girlfriend…wife…mama…etc.
They have common sense
They have your best interest
at heart
You TRUST them.
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Laugh – 3 comics to listen to
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After I graduated college…I went to Ranger school…and there were no books at Ranger school
It was 52 days of living in the woods…in 30 degree weather…eating 1000 calories a day (that’s 2 bojangle
biscuits)
Living off 1-2 hours of sleep and carrying a 50 pound rucksack…and many got kicked out because of
complaining when it got hard…
Your peers…would essentially vote you off the island if you complained about your frostbite or the fact that
you didn’t have enough food
One night…after being up for 2 days…and sleeping on the ground…my squad of 6 men looked at me to see if I
was going to complain about the weather as the rain turned to sleet…and I said…through chattering teeth…
• If the temperature drops another 15 degrees…it’s going to start getting nippy out here…
The ability to laugh at yourself and in the midst of tough times is a gift that you owe yourself and those
around you
Ron
White
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Member of the Redneck
comedy tour
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Lenny
Bruce
Jim
Gaffigan
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He is clean
Majority of his jokes are
about food
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•
He was ahead of his time
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Learn – either in college or on youtube/wikipedia
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Learning – lifelong…figure out your learning style. I waited until I was 24…hated reading…youtube & working
on a whiteboard
The majority of learning in your life will be outside of a classroom
Take control of where you focus your mind
Take advantage of long rides…quiet moments to use your smart phones/tablets to expand your mind
Psychol
ogy
Persona
l
Finance
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Buy Personal Finance for
Dummies…
$2.45 on amazon.com
Basic
Accounti
ng
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You have to know what you
make…what you spend…and
treat your life like a business
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•
My undergraduate degree is
mostly engineering
Physics, thermodynamic
fluids, mechanical
engineering
My primary job is working to
implement Fortune 500
software
1 semester of psychology was
the most useful class I had
Helped me understand who I
was/who others were/& why
we interacted the way we did
Zimbardo experiment
24 students randomly
selected
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They started to believe…a lie
3 tests to take…yes…tests
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“doesn’t he know that the entire purpose of today is that we don’t HAVE TO take any more
tests?
Remember – I said you have to know who you are…and you need to understand who you want
to be…this is how you start
All are online
No more than 10 minutes each
Do it alone…compare with your friends
Implicit
Attitude
Test
Myers
Briggs
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This test – 10 minutes
Most helpful of all 3
Let’s you understand your
personality
Where you get your energy
What causes you frustration
Importantly – helps you
understand why you get
along with some and not
others
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Harvard created test
Examines your natural
biases
Helps you understand how
your perceptions shape
your mental focus
It will surprise you…
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Machiav
ellian
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Everybody from the
Godfather to Tony Soprano to
every President has read a
book called “the Prince” by
Machiavelli
You should take the test
9
Books to read
• If you ever hear me say, “I read this book”…I probably didn’t…I listened to it on
youtube
The
Millionair
e Next
door
Blink
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The ability to look at
person and size them up in
the blink of an eye…
Critical to whatever you do
in life
This book gives insight into
being able to make
decisions in the blink of an
eye
Manifestation of the
psychological test I
previously mentioned
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Each of you..should you
choose…can be a millionaire
This book is a study of
millionaires
Average millionaire did not
have wealthy parents
Never buys a new car
Many did not go to college
How did they do it?
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The Art
of
Money
Getting
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Written by P.T. Barnum
The title is deceptive
Primarily about being
successful and happy in life
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Shape your own mind…
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You are a product of your thoughts…immerse yourself with those who will make you better
Suze
Orman/
Dave
Ramsey
Brian
Tracy
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If you don’t know where you
are going in life…any road
will take you there
Brian Tracy has over 30
books and hundreds of
youtube videos
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She started as a waitress
Now a TV personality and
millionaire
Great advice for all of you
and particularly inspiring
for young girls
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Joel
Osteen
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Very positive messages
Daily affirmations
11
Songs to listen to…
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Music – the greatest divide between you and your parents…
Your folks complain that you listen to non-sense such as Jack White, TI, Rihanna, Justin Bieber…
Let me tell you something…I was in school with a lot of your mamas and daddies and they
listened to MC Hammer, Milli Vanilli, Billy Rae Cyrus, and they all loved a song by the Oak Ridge
Boys that had the following lyrics…
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So I'm singin'
Elvira, Elvira
My heart's on fire for Elvira
Giddy Up Oom Poppa Omm Poppa Mow Mow
Giddy Up Oom Poppa Omm Poppa Mow Mow
Heigh-ho Silver, away
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You will have to listen to them several times
Blowing
in the
Wind
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Either Sam Cooke or Bob
Dylan
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The
Gamble
r
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Kenny Rogers
Talks about choices,
decisions, consequences
for your actions
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The Devil
Went
down to
Georgia
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Charlie Daniels Band
…because every southerner
should know at least 1
country song!
12
Places to go
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Plan it out 2 months in advance
Spend at least 3 days there
Have specific things you want to see and do there
Go with a friend or by yourself
Research it
Take pictures/videos
Put it on your website
New
York
City
West
Point
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Go to a football game
Take Amtrak
Talk with the Cadets…your
age
Look out over the Hudson
river where young men and
women…your age…defended
West Pont against the British
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Take the Amtrak up
Stay in either Secaucus or
Hoboken
Go into the city early on
Friday & Saturday
Go to Rockefeller
center/times square
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Salt
Lake
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Go and ski
Visit the Mormon temple
13
Movies that will change you..
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As a child and young man…I thought that movies shaped me…
I realize…that they reflect a part of you..
If I asked – what are your 3 all time favorite movies…what would they be?
I want you to watch 3 movies that are…on the surface…simple
The people that I interviewed for this speech/these millionaires have all watched & know these
Slumdog
Millionair
e
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Family
Friends
Betrayal
Redemption
Opens your mind to other
cultures
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Paper
Moon
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Father & Daughter
Ryan and Tatum O’neal
Family can be your
greatest attribute…
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Harvey
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Jimmy Stewart
Friendship
Loyalty
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Poems
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On December 25th 1990, I took 30 men from Germany to Saudi Arabia
Prepared for Operation Desert Storm into Iraq
4 Bradley Fighting Vehicles (small tanks)
As we prepared to launch towards Baghdad
My Executive Officer called me on the radio to come over to his tank
I ran over…minutes before the ground war started and he reached into his pocket
What map or plan or tactical advice did he want to give me??? It was a poem…”See it Through”
• He was a fellow Tar Heel…and I said, “Beechie…you’re giving me a poem before we go to
war???”
The Road
not
Chosen
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Robert Frost
Most applicable to you now
See It
Through
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7/17/2015
Take the Amtrak up
Stay in either Secaucus or
Hoboken
Go into the city early on
Friday & Saturday
Go to Rockefeller
center/times square
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Commencement
If
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This was my maternal
grandmother’s favorite poem
It speaks to success and
failure and how they are both
impostors…
When times are tough, read
this poem
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My challenge to the class of 2014…be the best that you
can be…and know this...
• I routinely work with MBA and PH.D graduates…millionaires and occasionally a
billionaire…and you have what it takes to be successful in life if you are willing to:
• Understand who you are
• Who you want to be
• Be willing to do what it takes to get there
• In that light…I have an assignment for you to do the following thing in the next 6
months (by December December 14th)
• If you do these things…you will either become wealthy…or at least…very
happy
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12 things to do…in 6 months…and yes…I’ve done them
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Download this speech and do the things we discussed today.
Learn to swim if you don’t already know
Learn to ski – I waited until I was 40…don’t wait that long
Jump out of an airplane…or…ride a roller coaster
Get up an speak for at least 5 minutes to 20 plus people…
Go eat someplace you never have (Pakistani/Indian/Korean/German/Nigerian)
a) Note: my mama tried to introduce my brother and I to this idea at a Japanese
restaurant in the 1970’s…we ordered cheesburgers…don’t do that
7. Read/listen to the 3 books I’ve recommended
8. Plan an event for someone else – cookout-charitable event-bake sale
9. Give 3 people you love $100.00 each (your mama and daddy should be one)
a) They raised you for 18 years…and it’s a sign of respect
b) Since I left home at 16…this rule doesn’t apply to me…matter of fact…my
parents still owe me 2 years of room and board…and if times get rough…
10. Buy a domain name and build a website…you should buy your name…and start
leaving your mark on this thing called life
11. Get a notebook and each night…write down 5 things you want to accomplish the
next day
12. Last thing I want you to do for the next 21 days…get up at 4:30 a.m. and start doing
those 5 things that you wrote down the night before…it will change your life
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In Closing…
• I told you at the start of this…that I was going to tell you several things
that were true and 2 things that were not…
• The first untruth was that I didn’t’ prepare
• I built a website for you CLASS of 2014 where you can get the speech
anytime you want it… AND IT HAS MY EMAIL ADDRESS
• www.bartlettyancey.com
• I interviewed 4 separate millionaires so you have heard things that
shaped the lives of 5 millionaires today
• This speech came from them.
• The second untruth was that I was going to give one of you $100 if you
could stay awake for the speech. Not true.
• I’m giving 3 of you $100.00
• My email address is [email protected] (spell it out)…and the
first 3 emails from graduating students that send me an email naming
the 3 books that I recommended will get the $100.00
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Thank you
Thank you class of 2014…
For allowing me to have a few moments of your time today
6 months from now…I look forward to hearing that you’ve achieved all the
goals we spoke about today and more…
God bless you and good luck
Adolphus Gwynn
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