"You stand before a field of freshly fallen snow..." With those words, Anderson Cooper reminded the class of 2006 of Yale University that upon graduation, the slate is wiped clean, and, quoting Lawrence of Arabia, "nothing is written" yet about their future paths.
I attended his address as part of the festivities surrounding my daughter's graduation. When combined with my travel to my own Princeton reunion and helping with the Habitat for Humanity Bicycle Challenge as it wheeled through Sewickley, blogging has been light of late.
I truly enjoyed Mr. Cooper's speech. He spoke with humor and humility and from the heart. While not specifically addressing the notion of entrepreneurship, he endorsed the entrepreneurial spirit, by recalling how he had secured his first reporting gig:
"Like many of you, I have a liberal arts degree, which is to say, I have no actual skill. And I majored in political science [cheers]. You’re excited about it now, but believe me, it doesn’t go very far. It means you can read a newspaper, but other than that, I’m not really sure...
The one thing I knew I liked was television and particularly television news...I figured okay, I’ve got a Yale degree, I’ll go give that a shot, I’ll apply for an entry-level job at ABC News, a gopher position. Like I’m totally qualified for this: answering phones, I’ll go do whatever Peter Jennings wants. I could not get this job. It took six months; they strung me along; I did interviews. I could not get the job...
But it actually was the best thing that ever happened to me. I decided that if no one would give me a chance, I’d have to take a chance, and if no one would give me an opportunity, I would have to create my own opportunity.
So I came up with this plan to become a reporter. I figured if I went places where there weren’t many Americans, I wouldn’t have much competition. So I decided to start going to wars...It was a very simple plan,...moronic, but it actually worked...just two years after doing this, of going on my own and going into wars, ABC News called me up and offered me a job as a correspondent...
For me, it was a lesson: two years before I tried to get an entry-level job and I thought that was the path, because that was the path that everyone took. And had I gotten that job there was no way I would have had the opportunities that I had; there was no way I would have seen the things I’ve been able to see...
When I was graduating and trying to decide what to do with my life, I really felt paralyzed because I thought I had to figure it out all it once. I had to pick a career and start down a path that I’d be on for the rest of my life. I now that it totally doesn’t work that way. It certainly didn’t for me...
My friends who are happiest now are the ones who kept taking steps based on what they felt right and what felt like them at the moment. If I had gotten that job on the set of ABC News there’s no telling where I’d be now.
When I started going to wars I had no clear goal in mind. There was no path that promised me success or job security. But I was listening really to myself and followed my passion, and I’m more convinced than ever that if you do that, you will be successful. I’m not talking about rich — perhaps you will be — but you’ll be fulfilled, and that’s the greatest success you can have..."
For the full text of his address, visit 2006 Commencement :: Class Day Speech :: Yale University
