Government and Community Relations
Speeches and Presentations
Monroe Community College’s 46th Annual Commencement Address Lauren Dixon Founder and CEO, Dixon Schwabl Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, Rochester, N.Y. 05/28/2009 Good Evening Everyone! Everyone who is graduating STAND UP! By a show of hands … and I want to see both hands …. Who knows what they are passionate about in life? Okay … sit down! My message tonight is all about passion! It is a message for those who KNOW what their passion is and those who DO NOT … YET! I’m talking about … unbridled passion …. boundless enthusiasm passion …. and most importantly the tenacity and drive and “pants on fire” passion that makes things happen!!! Twenty years ago I graduated from college with a degree in broadcasting and a minor in French, Spanish, Italian and German! My first job was at Channel 13 (Rochester WORK) as a reporter … then an anchor … and PM co-host. My passion for broadcasting and languages helped me reach my goals. Ten years later, I discovered a new passion … advertising. So, I started an advertising business. I had never taken a business course, started the company with no loans, no employees, no office, no clients … and a whopping $22.11 in my checking account! What I HAD was “Pants on Fire” Passion x10 for advertising and marketing! Can I share a secret that I haven’t shared with anyone except my 6000 new friends here tonight? For 30 of my 50 years of life … I lived with feeling that I wasn’t “smart enough”. I was not an honors student, I was an average student … I lived with feeling I wasn’t from the “right family”. I came from a lower middle class family from Cheshire … population 250 including dogs and cats … we couldn’t afford name brand clothes … my mother made all of my clothes because we couldn’t afford them. I lived with the feeling I wasn’t pretty enough … tall enough … or thin enough! And, maybe some of you have had those same feelings. Not to worry … The great thing about being “50 something” is the realization that all of those things that had haunted me … those “fears” … is what has motivated and driven me to be my best. So let’s get back to YOUR passion. What’s Pants on Fire passion? It’s what you think about all of the time …. It’s what makes you smile during the day … It’s what intrigues you ….. what inspires you … what makes you do a “happy dance” from time to time! Today, you may think it could be a “job” … or maybe not! When you’ve identified your passion it is not a “job”. When you’ve identified your passion … you’ve found your journey called life! You will never once look at your watch at work … you will find yourself daydreaming about your passion on the weekends or at night! You will wake up in the middle of the night and write sticky notes to yourself and paste them on your mirror! One thing I know about PASSION is that it is NOT going to knock on your door one day and bless you with the Magical “Passion” Fairy Dust and tell you what your passion is! No Way! Doesn’t happen! The exciting part is that you get to go on the amazing journey of discovering for yourself what YOUR individual passion is! Wow … it’s an amazing ride. Here’s my advice: 1.) Set big hairy audacious goals! Twenty years ago when I started our business I wanted to create a business that was the “best” place to work! Who knew 20 years later it would be ranked the #1 best company to work for in America for goodness sake! 2.) Don’t let “no” stand in your way! One of my mentors once said to me, Lauren you have to kiss 20 toads before you get the handsome prince! That means you will get 20 “no’s” before you get a “yes”! So … I went on my merry way actually being okay with the word “no”… because I knew I only had a few more before I would get a “yes”! 3.) If you are starting a business Hire People Much Smarter than You! That was my dad’s best piece of advice! We all have different strengths and weakness … right? Understand what yours are and hire people who bring in skills that you may not have! 4.) Seek Change! Embrace Change! Change is Good! Most fear what they don’t know! Shadow and Intern … for FREE! And do this non-stop! Find out from others in different fields and specialties what they do and how they do it. Experience what they experience so that you really know if this is or could be your passion. The truly exciting thing about your journey is that what you’re passionate about will change. At 20 my passion was journalism … ten years later it was owning a business! Trust me, if my math teacher knew I was running a $130 million dollar company, he’d be rolling over in his grave! I would have been the last on his list to be doing what I’m doing right now. 5.) Exceed Expectations! No matter what you do … go above and beyond. Whether it’s doing an internship … or going to your new job the first day … figure out how you are going to “wow” the people around you! You’ll surprise yourself on how fabulous you can be and you’ll create an experience unlike any other for the people you touch. 6.) Give Back! This is the most important point of all! Anne Frank said, “No one has ever become poor by giving”. There are almost 5000 not for profit organizations in our region that you can give back to. There are many that you can either give time and resources to in an effort to make Rochester a better place! So here’s your final assignment Class of 2009! Now, even though you’re graduating, I want to give you one last assignment. It’s not a paper, not a written test and you have the rest of your life to complete it! Your assignment is this: Find your passion – use it to change your world. It happened for me, it happens for thousands of people each day, and I know it can happen for you! Ok … show of hands … who’s ready to change the world? |
