Speech

As officers, you are about to be granted one of the greatest privileges and most sacred duties that our nation can bestow: to lead American service members.

Learning how to fall teaches you how to land, and learning to land gives you the courage to jump higher.

When falling, the tendency is to tighten up, to brace for impact. But in truth, the safest thing one can do is remain calm — even curious about the shifting world around you.

Limitations set by yourself give you boundaries to respect. But limitations set by others give you boundaries to bust through.

When you are leaping without a safety net, people become your safety net and you become theirs.

The effort is optional, but the truth is sacred, unalterable, chiseled into the stone of the foundation of our republic.

The work that is called for, that we must do, has no expiration date. It is the construction of our more perfect union, and that job will never, ever be completed.

Every day, every year, and for every graduating class, there is a choice to be made: those who embrace liberty and freedom for all, those who won't, or those who are indifferent. Only the first do the work.

When you respect the law and the rights of all — because if you don't, who will? When your food is brought to you, when you thank the server — because if you don't, who will? When you pick up the litter that has missed the recycling bin — because if you don't, who will?

Never be ashamed of trying. Effortlessness is a myth. The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it the most are the people I now hire to work for my company.

My experience has been that my mistakes led to the best things in my life. And being embarrassed when you mess up, it's part of the human experience. Getting back up, dusting yourself off and seeing who still wants to hang out with you afterward and laugh about it, that's a gift.

The scary news is, you're on your own now. But the cool news is, you're on your own now.