Ken Donaldson: D.W. Waters Graduating Class and I Dare You…Too!
Filed under: Ken Donaldson's Blog, adversity, boundaries, communication, differences, humor, keynote, life purpose, marry yourself first, mental health, relationship, work life balance
Ken Donaldson Keynote at D.W. Waters Graduation
I had the privilege and honor on this past Thursday evening of delivering the graduation keynote for the D.W. Waters class of 2010.
Just to give you a little insight, D.W. Waters’ motto is “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish that counts!”
No big deal, right?
Wrong!
This is a WAY special class…check out their enrollment criteria:
• At least 16 years of age
• At least one year behind in school
• No record of severe discipline problems
• Wants to focus on a chosen Career Cluster at DWWCC (D. W. Waters Career Center)
• Willing to commit to workplace training (OJT)
These are the students who make “high risk” look like every day living. For whatever reason (pregnancy, emotional and/or learning challenges, abuse, etc.), these courageous young people chose to continue on.
Most of them were so far behind that they couldn’t even imagine catching up, much less graduating.
And it would have been easier to quit!
A group of about 12 students sang the musical selection for the ceremony, I Believe I Can Fly. A perfect song for the students, the school and the event.
Here are the lyrics in case you’re not familiar with song:
“I Believe I Can Fly”
~R. KELLY
I used to think that I could not go on
And life was nothing but an awful song
But now I know the meaning of true love
I’m leaning on the everlasting arms
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
See I was on the verge of breaking down
Sometimes silence can seem so loud
There are miracles in life I must achieve
But first I know it starts inside of me, oh
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
Hey, cause I believe in me, oh
If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there’s nothing to it
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
Hey, if I just spread my wings
I can fly
I can fly
I can fly, hey
If I just spread my wings
I can fly
Fly-eye-eye
Anyway, I thought long and hard about what to say to them.
So I decided to dare them…yes, I simply dared them…
I dared them to find and be the greatness that they truly are.
I dared them to find their unique purpose and live it every day in every way.
I dared them to find their own personal soul food and to continually, without fail, feed their spirit.
I dare them to figure out, set and maintain the boundaries that will empower them, to say a resounding “Yes” to all they do want, need and desire, and say a resonant “No” to all they will not tolerate.
I dared them to realize that the world needs them today more than ever, and the answers to the world’s problems will not come from Washington or Hollywood, but rather, from each and every one of them.
I dared them to surround themselves with the people who love them, accept them and encourage them, and to step away from those who don’t.
I dared them to tell themselves, time and time again, that they are deserving, gifted and of great value, and to say that to themselves as their powerful and affirming mantra.
I dared them to realize that life is full of unexpected challenges (I mentioned this as a very young child in the audience began to express herself in a very assertive way!) and one of the greatest gifts we can all give to ourselves is the gift of humor, which allows us to be flexible and fluid as we navigate down the river of life.
I dared them to remind that person in the mirror of their greatness, their importance, their value and their purpose, time and time and time again.
Yes, I simply dared them to be great.
Them, their parents, their friends, the teachers, and everyone else who was there on Thursday…I dared them all.
But the greatest dare I addressed was the dare to myself…to live what I said; to practice what I preached; to be the model of the dare.
What about you…have you dared yourself lately?
I dare you…
PS I hope to have a video of the whole presentation soon…I think it’ll worth watching…stay tuned!
Ken at D.W. Waters with another Marry YourSelf First fan!
Marry YourSelf First!
Feel free to leave a comment or two…
Ken Donaldson Says: Your Net Worth Equals Your Self Worth Plus Your Network…
I am a member of a professional
business networking group, BNI:
Business Networking International…
http://www.bni.com/
With thousands of chapters, it’s
the biggest networking group in the world.
So, why did I join earlier this year?
Here’s one reason:
Last year BNI passed 5.6 million referrals,
which generated over $2.3 billion dollars!
Yes…I wanted to, and continue to want to,
grow my business.
But that’s not the real reason I joined…
the REAL reason I joined was simply to
make connections.
And I know, after all these years,
the more connections I have,
the more business I have,
and the more money I make.
BUT…it wasn’t all about the money…nope!
I knew that BNI ran a “very tight ship”,
meaning that they were structured
and organized, and they challenged their
members to “raise the bar” on themselves.
I needed that challenge…
and I’m so happy I’ve taken it on.
BNI has extraordinary education programs and
they have a system that operates under
one simple formula: Givers Gain!
You know, like “Pay It Forward”,
“You Reap What You Sow”, etc.
I like that because that’s how I run my business today.
For years I ran it the other way
(or, better put, it ran me!):
Go chase down the business and
get as much as I could from it.
Nothing wrong with that model,
but I found when I just simply
do the “right thing” and
give all I can, and
be smart about my business,
I am rewarded…abundantly!
PLUS, I am now getting ready to
launch a new program –
1M×3: 1 Million Times 3–
that is based entirely on the
Givers Gain philosophy.
1 Million Times 3:
Sell 1 Million Books
Raise $1 Million for Charity
Donate 1 Million Books
(Read a brief overview at
http://kendonaldson.com/1mx3/ )
So I figured getting involved with
an organization that promotes,
practices and teaches the Givers Gain
philosophy would be the
place for me to be!
Plus, since I’ll need many people involved to make this work,
I knew that the people I meet in BNI would be the perfect
people to make connections with!
So…I would like to personally invite YOU to a BNI meeting…
Go to http://www.bni.com/ to find one near you…
check it out…
tell them Ken from Tampa, Florida sent you!
Better yet, if you live in the Tampa Bay area,
I’d like to invite you out this Thursday (10/15), as I’ll be
giving my 10 minute “Zero to Hero” talk.
Every week a couple members have the chance to
share with the chapter how the chapter can
best support them.
I plan to share a bit of my personal story
(the VERY condensed version) and then share
the 1M×3 program with the members and invite
them to support the program.
Here’s our chapter info:
http://bnisuccessmasters.com/
If you can make it, that would be great…
FYI: there is a small $5 fee for the room.
If you can’t, you’re welcome to come out any
Thursday morning and check it out.
I’d love to have you join me.
Regardless, know this: Your Net Worth
equals your Self Worth plus your Network.
Think about it!
Ken Donaldson answers your questions here…
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Ken Donaldson, MA, LMHC
The HEAD Coach
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