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REMARKS FOR THE FRANCIS MARION COLLEGE
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Thank you, Dr. Stanton.
[Handwritten addition: Feel like I am coming home—Boone & Pickens from S. Carolina]
I [Text stricken: like] [Handwritten addition: love] speaking on college campuses. . .more than 60,000 students in past three years.
What I see with today’s young people is a new entrepreneurial spirit. [Handwritten addition: Look the same from coast to coast—have the same goals—good standard of living. . .]
New breed. . .you are the leaders of tomorrow. . .it excites me for our country’s future. [Handwritten addition: not 59 year olds. . .tell war stories. . .pass on some wisdom.]
[Text stricken: [Handwritten addition: Wish I could roll back the clock—did go all the way back—that’s how excited I am about our future.]]
More opportunity today than ever. . .cutting bureaucracy. . . [Handwritten addition: getting back to basic principles that made this country great.]
The best thing I can do for you today: [Text stricken: give tips that] [Handwritten addition: share some thoughts on what] helped me succeed, gave me a happy life. . . [Handwritten addition: simple things that have served me well. . .]
[Handwritten addition: Get prepared. Your degree proves you are prepared.]
—Assess the risks
—Assess the prospective awards
—Keep it simple
Be willing to make decisions. . .most important quality in a good leader:
—Avoid the “Ready-aim-aim-aim-aim” syndrome
Be patient. I have to remind myself and our people at Mesa about the old adage “Patience is a [Handwritten addition: great] virtue.”
Be realistic. . .Dream, yes, but don’t be a day dreamer.
Learn from mistakes. . .not just a cliche. Could be the most important [Text stricken: tip] [Handwritten addition: advice] I give you today.
[Handwritten addition: Remember the doors—fingers]
Don’t look to government to solve problems. . .the strength of this country is in its people.
[Handwritten addition: Stay fit—don’t want to get old and feel bad!]
Practice moderation. . .balance home life and work; the key is organization.
[Handwritten addition: Plenty of time for play—but plan it.]
If you’re organized, you’ll find time for everything you like. . .take as big a bite of the apple as you want. [Handwritten addition: —That’s what is great about America.]
Keep success as well as failure in perspective:
—Don’t ever get to the point where you can’t go back to eating hamburger
Most important. . .always play by the rules:
—Never think you have to cheat to win; you don’t even need to bend your principles [Handwritten addition: —sports]
There’s a lot of talk about an ethics crisis in America:
No ethics crisis. . .[Handwritten addition: if anything] its a leadership crisis.
It all goes back to the top.
You must lead by example. If you cheat anywhere along the line, you’ll end up paying dearly for it:
—But most of all, you won’t feel good about yourself
In a nutshell, if you keep fit, work hard, analyze well, and play by the rules, I promise you you’ll [Text stricken: make money] [Handwritten addition: be successful] and have a ball doing it. . .[Handwritten addition: Now go out and get ’em!]
Thank you.