10 things commencement speakers won't say (but should)

Having given a number of commencement speeches I assure you the following advice is important. Jim

Class of 2012, the world is your oyster, follow your dreams, oh the places you will go, and every motivational commencement speech cliché in between. Graduation day is filled with goodbyes, new beginnings, and a whole bucket full of question marks. A rousing speech by a notable person will probably offer an emotional high on your last day as a student, but don't allow yourself to get too wrapped up in their carefully crafted words.

Former commencement speech writer Charles Wheelan advises that you digest a commencement speaker's words with a heaping side dish of reality. Wheelan shares the ten things your commencement speaker won't tell you in a bookmark-worthy Wall Street Journal essay that offers relevant tidbits to both recent grads and those that tossed their graduation hat years ago.

A sampling:

Your parents don't want what is best for you. They want what is good for you, which isn't always the same thing. There is a natural instinct to protect our children from risk and discomfort, and therefore to urge safe choices. Theodore Roosevelt—soldier, explorer, president—once remarked, "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." Great quote, but I am willing to bet that Teddy's mother wanted him to be a doctor or a lawyer.

Some of your worst days lie ahead. Graduation is a happy day. But my job is to tell you that if you are going to do anything worthwhile, you will face periods of grinding self-doubt and failure. Be prepared to work through them. I'll spare you my personal details, other than to say that one year after college graduation I had no job, less than $500 in assets, and I was living with an elderly retired couple. The only difference between when I graduated and today is that now no one can afford to retire.

Full list at WSJ.

Tons of life improvement tips in one place.

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Jim Woods is president and founder of InnoThink Group; a leading Strategic Management and Innovation Consulting Firm in Denver, Colorado. He is an author, speaker, and a strategic innovation and hypercompetition expert to profit, non-profit organizations and municipalities. He advises clients with an objective view of their competitive capabilities and defines a clear course of action to maximize their innovation return on investment to achieve profitable growth. Build a capability for ongoing competitive innovation across your company. Call 719-649-4118 or complete our form: contact us for more information on hiring Jim to advise or speak for your next event.

My Lessons From Cain's Arcade

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As you can imagine my thoughts run deeply upon the subject of this young man doing the very thing all kids want to do. What is particularly important are the parents. They are the ones who posted Cain's work. They encouraged his creativity which became an innovation the moment it added value. Cain isn't unique. 

All children have this capability. In fact all adults have it as well. To paraphrase Maslow, We are all born singing, and dancing and creative. The question isn't how or why. The question is why we stop." 

Children in essentially all countries do this everyday. However, many many parents will "beat" this out of their children in one form or another. I assure you everyday a child has an equally creative project that no one ever notices. So, why do parents squelch the geniuses at home to keep their children ordinary? Why do those parents then grow up to do so in their careers? These questions are important because less than 1000th of a percent ever have the courage or opportunity to break free. Those that do become the rabble rousers, the "deviants," the rebels who change the world.

The short film about the “Caine’s Arcade” flashmob will premiere October 28th at DIY Days at UCLA. Caine will be joining Nirvan to present the film, and will be staffing his arcade during the fest. We hope you can make it!  via cainesarcade.com

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