Success

Success. That one thing which we all fantasize about. Whether it’s having heaps of money or even getting an E in this speech. We all want it. But what do we need to do? Well, listen up. By wanting to be successful more, sacrificing and persevering, you can make the impossible, possible.

How about I start with a story:

Once upon a time, there was a man who went to a Guru to find out how to become successful. So the Guru said: “If you want to be successful I’ll meet you tomorrow at the beach at 4:00am.” Although, the beach was a weird place to find success, the man was ready the next day at 4:00am. The Guru says to him: “Go into the water!” So he goes - Ankle deep. “Go further!” he said. So he did - Waist deep. And further and further, until the water was up to his mouth. Then suddenly the Guru grabs the man’s head and shoves it under water. The man was struggling; he had almost drowned, until finally… the Guru let him go. The guru asked the man, “What did you want to do most when you were held underwater? BREATHE. See, when you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.

But I’m here to tell you that, most of you want to be successful but you don’t want it bad. You don’t want it as bad as you want to game, or as bad as you want to be cool. And you definitely don’t want it as bad as you want to watch TV. But if you’re going to be successful, you have to give up all of these things. That’s right… SACRIFICE... When I was researching, I found out that when 50cent, did his movie he was asked how he works so long without any sleep. And this is what he said: “Sleep? Sleep is for the broke! I don’t sleep. I have an opportunity to make my dream a reality.”

See that is what Sacrifice is – To be able, at any moment, to sacrifice what you are, for what you will become. Sacrifice. I can stand before you today and say that we... do not sacrifice the correct things. For most of you, even when you have to study for a test, you can make sacrifices (click fingers) just like that. But when your favourite show comes on, nothing can stop you from watching it. I am saying to you that if you give up your TV, you would be successful. Because the time you spend on TV, could be used for your success. But your TV is more important to you than your success.

Now if you’re sitting down of there thinking, “What? I’m not going to give up my TV.” Let me just say, you’ve lost already. Let me tell you that you will not be successful. In life you don’t get knocked down and stay on the ground. NO… you make sure that you get back up, and keep moving forward. But you see, you quit before you even started. That’s what this is. This is a soft generation. We are weak. We give up on everything. We have no motivation. We have no dedication. And we have no perseverance. Thomas Edison himself said, 'I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.' We would have given up on the 5th go saying it’s too hard. I dare you to try again for once, stop quitting like your soft and prove this generation wrong.

Let me finish off by saying, there is a big wall in front of us right now. NCEA. Do you think that if we continue working the way we do right now, we would be able to achieve Excellence, let alone achieve at all? Wouldn’t it feel much better if we could say, “I hope I get 100%,” than, “I hope I pass?” These few years are the years that really matter. Our life depends on what we do now. I have given you all that you need to know to be successful. But ultimately it is your choice on what your future will be like.