I am not a
person of many words; those who know me are aware that it is hard for me to
express my ideas in talks or speeches, although I am not afraid of doing it. As
I reflected on the lessons I have learned in my life, and pretended this would
be my ‘’last lecture’’ a lot of ideas came to my mind. I hope I am able to
express them in a way that they can mean the same to you and you are able to
take something home from this today by reading this.
As humans
we tend to shy away from danger and challenges. We are naturally afraid to
fail; however, when we look back at previous stages of our lives we are prone
to wonder why didn’t we take more risks, try more things and even fail a little
more. Don’t wait until that happens, please. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,
but rather learn from your failures. Try, do, and leave the comfort zone.
Don’t be
afraid of being yourself. I made the mistake of being too shy and building a
barrier around me in High School, trying not to lose face. Don’t waste your
time trying to be somebody else, or hiding who you are. You are not here to be
what others want. Don’t be afraid to do the right thing and speak out when
something is wrong. The world is full of people who stay quiet and accept
things as they are. We need more people who are not afraid to be themselves,
speak out and act.
Don’t waste
your time with Television. Read a good book, watch a documentary, take an
online course, visit a museum, and travel to new places. In 10 years you won’t remember what you
watched on TV, but the lessons and experiences you obtain will stay forever.
Now, I
think I’ve talked more than enough about the ‘’don’ts’’. Now it’s time for the
things I would encourage everybody to do: Dream! Dream big dreams and make them
true. Your life is short, so spend it building your own dreams, not your
employer’s dreams. Do what you love, start a business, fight for your freedom.
You deserve to spend time with your family and live a plentiful life.
Start
investing soon. When I was in High School I wanted to do it and everybody
thought I was crazy. Today I do it and they still think I’m crazy for ‘’risking’’
my money. Learn; seek for knowledge, try, fail and repeat. You will reap the
rewards in the future.
Be grateful;
tell your loved ones that you love them every day. Be happy today.
Remember
always who you are, a child of a Heavenly Father who loves you. You have a
great potential to accomplish. You can do it if you start today.