Graduation

In a free and compassionate society, the public good depends on private character. That character is formed and shaped in institutions like family, faith, and the many civil and social organizations.

Our Founders rejected both a radical individualism that makes no room for others, and the dreary collectivism that crushes the individual. They gave us instead a society where individual freedom is anchored in communities.

To make a difference in this world, you must be involved. By serving a higher calling here or abroad, you'll make your lives richer and build a more hopeful future for our world.

Wealth isn't measured in bling and Bentleys. It's measured in the richness of the human spirit. It's measured not in what we take from this world, but what we give to it.

The world owes you nothing. You will only get from life what you invest in it.

Don't be afraid of change. If something is truly not working and you have sincerely done all you can do to make it work, chuck it and start over.

Self-confidence — quiet self-confidence — is the key to winning. A quiet, deep-seated belief in yourself and what you stand for. Cockiness has nothing to do with confidence.

Process without purpose is pretty much the definition of bureaucracy. Never let the how get in the way of the what.

Your personal integrity is always in your own hands and can never be taken from you. Only you can give it away.

Ease up on yourselves. Have some compassion for yourself as well as for others. There's no such thing as perfection, and life is not a race.

If you have to be perfect, if you have to make a hundred on the test, you may not take the test.

Feel life in all its pain and mystery. If you can't feel pain, you won't feel joy, either. There's plenty of time to be comatose, like for the rest of eternity.