Rule No. 4: The world is full of cheats, liars, lazy bloodsuckers and people who cut corners. If their house gets in your way, burn it down. Surround yourself with people of good will, character, intelligence and integrity who are also on a path to be the very best. Success breeds success.
Tens of thousands of young people will soon toss their graduation caps into the air and begin their pursuit of their own unique American Dream. That’s cause for grand celebration.
Though I’m not a college graduate, I did graduate from the School of Hard Rock and Knocks and Common Sense some 50 years ago. With my trusty Gibson Byrdland guitar and a wall of amplifiers, I hit the road and received a Magnum-Cum-Very Loud Degree in logic, work ethic, pragmatism and pure animal tenacity.
As your not-so-humble Motor City Madman, I’d like to offer a few words to these new college graduates – words that no tenured professor ensconced in an ivory tower could possibly have taught.
Rule No. 1: Success has nothing to do with money. Nothing. Success is the unrelenting, dogged persistence to be the absolute best you can be at your chosen profession. Good is never good enough. Money always comes looking for the very best. Burn that into your psyche.
Rule No. 2:There are no guarantees and there never have been. The only guarantee is the gratification that comes from relentless effort, hard work and sacrifice, and even that is difficult to lasso in this tight job market. May I recommend following the U.S. Marine Corps mantra that has served all successful Americans forever: Improvise, adapt and overcome.
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