Thanks everybody with a hat on the dais or a big title working at this university. I did not get enough money to go through the list of all of the people . Honest to God, I'd rather pay for a goldfish in a bowl for each of you than recite a list of names that not even you care about. "Graduates of (fill in the blank year). I am grateful to be invited to address you on this very unmemorable of days of your life. You will never look at these photos again, except in the overpriced book you might have purchased. You will return, if rented, or box if bought, your cap and gown you are wearing. You will look into the future without one memory of what I am going to say. That's OK. I got paid in advance, so I don't really care if you listen either. "You are the future" is a true statement. Every speech given by every speaker at one of these events for your parents says so. It's true. Personally, I think you are mostly going to be a shit-show of a future. But let's work on the hopeful part. You are playing the odds Vegas isn't built on winners who break the bank. But guess what, it isn't built by those who crap out as first-time losers. The big winners take all of the money and losers don't come back and play often enough. It's built by players who win enough to play again and again, but lose enough over time so casino owners can make a lot of money and build bigger casinos. The house has all of the odds in their favor. They win over time, and only the tiniest few break the bank and walk away with millions. The odds are against you, and you will leave all of your chips on the table by the time you finally cash out. In life, you already know the odds. It is called the Bell Curve. Some of you graduated with a 4.0, some of you got by with a 2.0. The largest number fill the big bubble in the middle, somewhere between 2.5 and 3.6. That's an average in school. Guess what. Life is like that. Most of you are not going to do anything worthy of notice. If you want that, Ok. You are on the right path, you are winning and you are a part of the 80%+ of humanity. The other 20% aren't all rock stars. There will be 10% who bottom out with bankruptcy, alcoholism and there are 5% who die pretty quickly. That means that only 5% are going to make a real difference in the world. I guess I'm talking to the 5% who will make a difference and some of the 80% who want to pull themselves out of the tar and muck of averageness. I have a simple answer to beat the bell curve of averageness - You cheat. "That sucks! Tom, either get off the stage or give me a way to live a "top 5%" life." I have a way. The system of how life is defined is what creates that 80%. To break that system, to get past the 80% to a life in the 5%+ category, you have to cheat. All that means is that you have to live to a set of rules of your choosing. That doesn't mean illegal, immoral or unethical. It means you choose. Cheat - The Expectations - Why have so many of the entrepreneurs that are written about been untraditional? They left college early. They started business while working from home as a parent. They changed their careers completely mid-life or they fled corporate life to build programs and serve the world’s forgotten or exploited people. What is it that is the expectation of your version of a 5% life or accomplishment? Most "A's" were set for us. Our parents, teachers, the mores of society built a set of expectations. When I was in school, you went to school to get good grades so that you could get into a good college so that you could get into a good post-college. That is a ridiculous idea. That's not a set of expectations. At best, it is a bad path. Cheat that system, it is broken. Start out with why you want to be before what you want to be. Change - The score card - How do you know when you have achieved something? Let’s pick a few professions and give it a shot at the scorecard: 1. Doctor - Graduating means maybe a C, a specialist ok, a low b, what's an A? 2. A professional - lawyer, doctor, money manipulator – employed means low c, partner in a firm, low b, what's an A? 3. Social worker - high C, period Career is not a score card, it's a path. High point on that path, you're at the highest of the average - what is you're "A"? Change what you score - What is an A? Elon Musk gets quoted so often that it makes me want to vomit. I'll use my deceased Aunt Mary Flannigan. She wanted to take care of 35 kids by the time she was 30 years old in the inner city. She wanted a facility for them and 35 more kids by the time she was 50. She wanted a camp for them and taking care of 100 more by the time she was 55. She had a score card. It's a more noble score card than most of us and I am willing to confess mine is not that good. The point is she had one from very early on. She changed what she scored. No one else she knew had that score card. She built her own and lived her life to it. What is your scorecard that you will live to? Change when you score - When I was in my teens, I scored by how much I drank and how many girls I could chase. Twenties was about promotions. Thirties was about having it all - career, kids, wife, money, power. Forties was about owning my own business, writing and speaking around the world. The point is that I scored it by the decades. You should probably be scoring it by the half decades now. Many of you have set your starter's gun at "when I get a job." You have no idea of when to determine the time to measure the score because you need the job to tell you when score gets counted. A company tells you when your score is counted? Really? That's a terrible idea! You need your scorecard for your life in order to set your plans and 5% attainment measure. I cannot tell you why my deceased aunt picked the frequency of her scorecard. I can tell you that she had one. There are lots of books and videos on goal setting- Ok. Watch them, read them- they are encouraging and give you bites of insight. The frequency of asking who you are and are you living an “A” level, a top 5% life is all on the inside for you. Change for whom you score - Up until now, you scored for someone else; your parents or other family member, a teacher or professor or possibly a mentor. They are gone. They are in your history and background as blessed as they have been for you. You have to score for you now. I know a young man who is a psychology-research PhD. He is well regarded in his field. Published, speaks, collaborates internationally. He hates it. All he wanted to do was play guitar. He released three albums, (he likes vinyl), with his band. His parents have never seen him play and do not know about the albums. He gave up the band and the music. He had to do that. PhD’s are not easy to get in that field. You see, he got the PhD for his parents because he let them keep score. Who is really going to keep score for you. Really? You are the future, all 95% of it. At some near half-way point in your life you risk an itchy-twitchy sorrow. It's a voice of regret. Not deep regret because you never had big dreams, but even small regrets have a whisper. What could have happened if I had decided to own my life and drive from the wheel instead of ride from the passenger's side. The 5% don't need to hear this and the 95% won't understand it. Maybe there is just a sliver of the 80% who will make a choice. Well, anyway, I am glad I got paid in advance. Have a good party.