连尼·柯里在杰克逊维尔大学2016年毕业典礼上的演讲
Oh, Mr. President, I think I want to use you in a TV ad. Thank you for that kind introduction.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you, President Cost, JU Faculty, the Board of Trustees and staff for this distinguished opportunity. As the mayor of Jacksonville, you could imagine over the course of the last year, I've given numerous speeches, but this is my first commencement speech, so I can tell you that the nerves were in full effect right now. And, I couldn't be more honored than to share this memory with the JU Dolphins. Congratulations, graduates, parents, loved ones and educators.
As in most well-constructed speeches, one should always begin with a purpose. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life." Now, you've heard and seen this lyric on your television sets and in your newspapers over the course of the last week with the death of music legend Prince. However, today, his message of life is most fitting for this occasion, and that is very simple: live your life.
Throughout today, you're going to receive a great deal of advice from educators, faculty, friends, family, and a whole lot of different people, including your commencement speaker. The truth is: You won't remember most much of this. In fact, you'll forget most of it, most of us that have been to this don't remember who our commencement speaker was, what the speech was.
But I appeal to you: I'm going to share with you over the next few minutes, but just for these couple of minutes, these few seconds, if there's nothing you remember from today, remember this: You only get to do "this thing called life" once time. And the older you get, you will realize there are no do-overs. Live your life with the motto "YOLO" – You Only Live Once.
So, hear me on this. People will try to define you; they will try to tell you where you should go, and what you should be. Your circumstances will try to define you at some point in your life. Reject them.
If the journey you're beginning today is not your own, if it's a path someone else has suggested you travel, if you're doing this for some reason, it's not of your choosing – that does not evoke passion – my advice to you is very clear and this may upset some of the parents here. Choose your road, walk your path, that is to say, flip it all upside down today if you have to. Follow your passion in your dreams, do not live anyone else's version of your life and never let your circumstances define you.
I remember being your age and I'd like to think that it wasn't that long ago, I believed that I could chase any dream and become anything and go anywhere. I hope you believe that today. And if you don't, find that belief, because what you believe about yourself will absolutely define what life gives you. I hope the personal story that I share here with you today will reinforce the importance of living your life and pursuing your dreams.
I am privileged to serve as the Mayor of this big, beautiful, wonderful city called Jacksonville. The journey was a long one to get here. I am 45 years old and I had to flip it upside down many times to travel this road. I'll admit going from CPA to Mayor is an unlikely path, but I can tell you that if I had listened to the critics, the pessimists, even those that cared about me all along the way, and that many decisions that I had to make, I would not be standing on this stage today. I had to fight for these dreams every day.
I am sharing my journeying with you today, and how determination and discipline have guided me.
For most of my life, at least as far back as I can remember, there were three things that I knew with certainty: I knew I wanted to start a business someday; I knew I wanted to get involved in politics, though I didn't know exactly how or what that meant; and I knew I wanted to coach football. Actually, the dream was to play in the NFL, but when I was 17, I realized 5'8", 180 pounds, coaching it would be.
Throughout my life and my career, I've always sought to make decisions and take actions that brought me closer to these goals. There's a quote that asks, "Is what you're doing today getting you closer to where you want to be?" It's not enough to just want something. You have to work at it, you have to be focused, and you have to put yourself in a position, so when an opportunity knocks, your hand is on that handle to open that door. I want each of you sitting here today to have your hand on that handle when opportunity knocks, and that could be 1 year from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now or 20 years from now, but you've got to be ready to open that door.
A common thread you will find in my journey is that I always committed the time in the effort to stay attached to my dreams, no matter what else was happening in my life, ready for the moment opportunity knocked. For example, when I was studying accounting in college, I found the time to coach 10 and 11-year-old Pop Warner football. Now, as you know, as recent grads, as new graduates, there were many things I could have found to do with my time in the evenings and in the weekends, but I wanted to stay close to my dream even then.
I earned a degree in accounting because that was keeping me attached to my dream, I thought an accounting degree would be a great foundation to start a business someday. When I graduated, I accepted a job with Coopers & Lybrand, who merged with PricewaterhouseCoopers, now known as PwC, one of the largest accounting firms, international accounting firms, in the world. While I was there, I was working 60 hours a week, plus late night dinners, weekend events, climbing the corporate ladder, but I managed to stay focused and disciplined and close to my dreams.
Through all of these long hours, with very little time for myself, I signed up to volunteer for the congressional campaign of Ander Crenshaw. I emailed the then Florida Governor Jeb Bush with some ideas, and he certainly had no idea who Lenny Curry was.
I read biographies about John Adams, LBJ, Alexander Hamilton, Lincoln and many others. And I spent evenings, lunch breaks and free time debating and bantering around ideas, crazy ideas of potential new businesses I could start. But as I was climbing the corporate ladder at PwC, it didn't take long for me to realize that the partners in the firm make pretty good money.
I grew up in a middle-class family. In fact, I worked in my Dad's television repair shop as a young man, so the earning potential was indeed enticing and tempting. Entrepreneurship was becoming much less likely for me. I was 32 years old, making six figures, and was on a path to make a heck of a lot of more money. I was becoming defined by my circumstances – security and certainty. But then one night, an opportunity knocked.
And a colleague and friend in the office, at 11:00 o'clock one night, presented a business idea to me on a piece of paper. It would require that I walk away from my career, cashing in my retirement funds, borrowing against credit cards. In short, it would require me to flip it upside down. I pondered this decision for weeks, as colleges and friends told me it was a crazy idea. My circumstances were now defining my decision. But then I realized I'd not spent eight years of my free time brainstorming business ideas for nothing. So I decided to cofound and start the business – YOLO, You Only Live Once.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Lenny Curry, cofounder, CEO of ICX Group, an expert resource in accounting and finance and IT Recruitment. We started with two guys in a car with two cell phones. I remember our first client proposal, we were up till about 4 o'clock in the morning, preparing that.
There were long weeks, long hours and very stressful years. But somehow, feel all that? I found time to stay close to another dream. In 2007, I decided to get involved in local politics. Someone suggested that I volunteer to be the Treasurer of the local Republican Party. This was not a position that I sought. I, after all, wanted to be the big dog – 5'8" and 180 pounds. But it was an opportunity to me to use my skills as an accountant to get in the political game.
Next thing you know, you're later – I was the head of the Republican party here in Jacksonville. Then someone suggested that I try to be the Vice Chairman of the state Republican Party – another idea which I initially rejected because I didn't want to be the second man. But I took that opportunity because I knew it would keep me in the game. And then in 2012, I found myself as the head of the state Republican Party in a presidential year. I can tell you, that was pretty exciting. I was living my dream, I owned my own business that was successful, I was the head of the state party in a presidential year, at a time when I got to meet the President of the United States, those that wanted to be President of the United States, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC were all calling to interview me. It was a pretty exciting time.
What I didn't realize is this trip from Treasurer to state Chairman in five years happened at the most opportune time. It was preparing me and helping me to build the skillsets to run a successful campaign one day.
That day came in 2013. There were a group of folks that started to think that Jacksonville might need to go another direction, so I decided to consider a run for Mayor in an election that would happen in 2015. I'd to assess my viability. Simply put, would I be able to build a team and put the right resources together to win and contribute to this city? Most importantly, how would my wife – Molly, my kids – Boyd, Brooke, and Bridget – feel about this endeavor?
But again, hear me on this, because this will happen to you, the pessimists, the critics, even loved ones, even my own circumstances told me that I was crazy, that I was insane, that I could not win, and that any hopes of a political future would end on this failed effort. Those voices were loud and persistent. But again, my life, YOLO. I chose my road, walked my path, and again flipped it all upside down to follow my dream.
I was able to pursue this dream because I always stayed close to it. Over the years, building a business, civic relationships, the experience I had with national television, I didn't see it at the time, but everything prepared me for this moment. Even when my path wasn't clear, I stayed focused and disciplined.
What will the next phase look like? I have no idea, but I'm staying close to another dream. I started two years ago as an assistant coach to my 11-year-old son's football team. Last year and this year, I would be the head coach. So we'll see what comes next.
In closing, when I talk to my son and his friends about success, I am reminded of the story of a guru, and it goes something like this:
There was a young person, young man that wanted to be successful, so he went and sort out a guru. When he found this man is his hut and he set out, "What I need to do to be successful?" The guru led him out of the hut into a lake, it was right out in front of them. He took him down to his ankles and this young man was thinking: "This was crazy! I want to know how to be successful!" The guru said, "Come with me a little further". He took him to his waist. See, some people shaking their heads, I think some of you heard this.
He then said, "Come with me a little further," and he got him to come all the way down to his chest. You can imagine, this young man thought this was really nuts. A little further and he had him to his chin, he was about to turn and go back, and the guru said, "Just be patient." He pulled him out, just about here to his nose and he dunked him underwater. Now the young man thought this was a test. So he cooperated for a few seconds and then he realized the grip was tightening, not letting go and he was losing breath, his lungs were crying for air, his throat was tightening, he started to thrash and tried to get rid of the release to get up, get up out of the water. But the guru held him tighter and then suddenly he released his grip, they went back up onto shore. His lungs filled with oxygen, his vision became clear, his throat cleared, and he screamed in protest. And the guru just stood there and watched him till he settled down. And he looked at him and he said, "What were you thinking about and focused on when you were underwater?" And of course, he said, "Breathing". And the guru said, "If you want to be successful, you've got to want your goals as badly as you want to breathe."
Now, what's the moral of the story? First, if you look for success, don't let a guru lead you into a lake. But more importantly, there will be many distractions along the way, smartphones, Netflix, entertainment, even things that are good, careers, but they will distract you from your purpose and your goal in life. Focus on it as badly as you want to breathe, and you will be anything you want to be and go anywhere you want to go.
Now, I know that sounded preachy today, but most commencement speeches are. Steve Jobs, in his 2005 commencement address at Stanford, said the same thing, but a bit more eloquently:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition."
Dearly beloved, this is your thing called life. You get to do it one time. Make it yours. Stay close to your dreams, and pursue those dreams with focus, determination and an eye on opportunity.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this special day with you. Flip it upside down. Now, let's go crazy.
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