Patterson tells graduates to imagine life as a game in which they are juggling five balls: work, family, health, friends, and spirit. He wants them to understand a hard truth — that work is the only rubber ball. Drop it, and it bounces back. But the other four are glass. Drop one, and it will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged, or even shattered. Once you understand that, he says, maybe — just maybe — you strive for more balance in your life. It's a metaphor graduates carry long after they've forgotten who gave their commencement speech.