The Commencement Address

From 10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You by Charles Wheelan (The Wall Street Journal April 28, 2012) - -

1. Your time in fraternity basements was well spent.  (Mine was!!!)
2. Some of your worst days lie ahead.  (And some of your happiest - - regardless of the problem, things will look better the next day.)
3. Don't make the world worse.  (I didn't.)
4. Marry someone smarter than you.  (Wife is a member of Mensa.)
5. Help stop the Little League arms race.  (Son played second base.)
6. Read obituaries.  (I do - - see below for why.)
7. Your parents don't want what is best for you.  (Mom wanted a history professor.)
8. Don't model your life after a circus animal.  (I don't do tricks for peanuts.)
9. It's all borrowed time.  (I passed the "hit-by-a-bus" rule.)
10. Don't try to be great.  (Happy and unique trumps great.)

The material associated with # 6 - Read obituaries:

"They are just like biographies, only shorter.  They remind us that interesting, successful people rarely lead orderly, linear lives."

One final note.  From 0-18 years old, the system tends to want to make everyone the same.  Generally the three P's drive this - - parents, process, and peers.  From year 18 on forward - - the process becomes a quest to be different and unique.