Cook closed by acknowledging what he said most commencement speakers avoid: failure. He told the graduates he had made far from great decisions, had his share of personal challenges and hardships, but after many miles on his journey, recognized that each difficult period passes — and with each, 'we exit stronger and wiser.' He urged them to paint the grandest vision for their lives, prepare, trust their intuition, execute relentlessly, and not get distracted by life's potholes. His final instruction was to carry the Auburn spirit forward and find joy not in reaching some distant destination, but in the journey itself.