The wheelbarrow metaphor — drawn from the story of the Great Blondin at Niagara Falls — became the connective thread of Lewis's entire speech. Blondin had crossed the Falls blindfolded, on a bicycle, carrying a stove, and in chains. When he asked the crowd who believed he could cross pushing a wheelbarrow, every hand went up. When he asked one man to get in, the belief evaporated. Lewis told the graduates that their education had given them extraordinary knowledge — but there would be moments in life when knowledge wouldn't be enough. When your business fails, when your marriage ends, when you're broken and alone on a road in India with a shattered leg (as Lewis himself had been), all that matters is whether you have the courage to climb in and trust the process. Ben, his childhood friend, had gotten into the wheelbarrow when he quit his successful business and started over. Carl, the third friend, had not — and it cost him his life.