The Power of Commitment

I just want to share which are just

a brief story about when I was growing

up because there was a point in time

where I was a little bit younger a

little bit younger than some of y'all

and then one morning I I ran up to my

mom and my dad I said I know what I want

to be when I grow up

just as our friend of looted - earlier

my mom looked at me my dad looked at me

a little bit puzzled and they're like

what has our son come up with and I said

I know what I want to be I said I want

to be a fireman that way I can save the

world and I know that's gonna be my

destiny my mom looked at me and she

smiled my dad looked at me and he nodded

and then about a week or so later to my

surprise I was gifted my very own shiny

red fire engine ooh and then and then

after that point then I would run around

the house say and I would go put out

imaginary fires sometimes in my room

other times in the kitchen and even

sometimes depending on how bad it got

sometimes there are some fires in the

bathroom if you know what I mean and

then I was just so excited to put out

these fires I was so excited to run

around all the time but then I started

to realize that wait a minute

firemen actually running the buildings

that are burning right right

then I thought I said I don't know if I

want to put myself in that kind of

danger so that might not be the job for

me

then I started thinking whoa well what

else can I do if I don't want to be a

fireman anymore then my brother my

brother and I happened to be watching

the few movies at the time we saw a few

hockey movies and then we started seeing

these NHL players everything I've ever

seen NHL players I love it and then you

see these NHL players skating on the ice

Shh

they made it look so cool I said wait a

minute I said dad wait a minute I said

the fire the fireman was cool but I said

I have another idea I said dad we have

to go to the sporting goods store

because my brother and I are gonna go to

the NHL so you have to get us some

hockey sticks that's what has to happen

right you tell your parents this is what

has to happen because I'm going to the

NHL so my father my brother me we

powered into his 1995 Chevy Suburban

with the blue stripes and then we headed

out made our way down to the sporting

goods store and then we came out with

our very own hockey sticks whoa wait a

minute wait a minute then we headed home

because my mother had already purchased

us some rollerblades at that time so we

were out in the driveway and we were

playing street hockey going back and

forth and this was so much fun said oh

yes the NHL

that's what's definitely gonna happen

because there are no other options at

this point

duh and then I started watching the NHL

a little bit closer and then if any of

you have seen the NHL by show of hands

any of you ever seen hockey it's rough I

started saying wait a minute these guys

are these guys are actually fighting and

it's not fighting like wrestling they're

hitting each other for real said no

hockey

ooh violent sport and I don't even not

ice skate guys so I said no no more

hockey for me what am I gonna be is the

million dollar question what am I going

to be when I grow up now what am I gonna

be such a difficult question and I know

y'all hear it all the time just as we've

been talking about all day what are we

going to be when we grow up right

successful there's so many different

things there's so many different choices

there's so many options that we can be

and y'all as I'm standing on this

extremely large red circle before you

today and as I'm looking at y'all's

bright eyes I'm looking at your big

smile

some of y'all had the opportunity to

talk to outside I want to let y'all know

that y'all helped me realize what I want

to be when I grow up because as I'm

looking into the audience and some of

y'all want to be doctors some of y'all

might want to be lawyers somebody

earlier I talked to my man said he wants

to be entrepreneur and sell his shirt

line and then I realized that what I

want to be is I want to be an individual

who has the ability to look y'all on

your face and I want to encourage you to

do what you really dream about I want to

be a speaker that's what I want to be

when I grow up because I want to

challenge you students of TEDx here

today if your dream is big enough for

you to dream it then there's a way for

you to obtain it and I believe in each

and every one of y'all here today I'm

not sure if you want to be a fireman or

a woman I'm not sure if you want to be a

hockey player entrepreneur I'm not sure

what you might want to be but I want to

let y'all know that as I'm looking out

into the audience and as I'm seeing

y'all's faces today because I'm also in

grad school as well and in grad school

we write papers raise your hand if y'all

write papers

okay okay in there and then if you have

to take tests say yup one more time one

more time if you if you have to take

tests say yup I know it's tough guys and

girls it's tough but believe me I want

to I want to let y'all know this today

because when I'm when I'm having those

long nights where I've looked at my

paper three and four times and I'm

exhausted

you ever get exhausted write in the

paper you're exhausted then you want to

study and then you don't want to study

you're like I'm done with that I don't

want anything to do with that anymore no

thank you

test no thank you but yeah when I get to

that point I then began to think about

each one of y'all and I get I began to

think John if you quit right now while

you're studying for this test

if you quit right now in the middle of

this paper then when you go out and

speak to those kids and you encourage

them to chase after their dream you

encourage them to do what they feel

they've been made and meant to do when

you quit you're giving each and every

one of these smiling faces permission to

quit too so as I'm looking at your on

y'all's faces and I know y'all have

heard it raise your hand if you've heard

y'all and leaders of the future

regularly have you heard y'all the

leaders of tomorrow y'all have y'all

have I know y'all have but I want to

challenge out with something else I want

y'all to know something else today from

the bottom of my heart I don't let y'all

know y'all leaders of today are leaders

of right now do you I believe that say

it like you mean it they all believe

that so y'all as I'm encouraging you to

pursue your dreams as I'm encouraging

you to chase after what you know you

want to be because some people might

look at y'all they might say wait a

minute John these are kids

it says Ted X kids these are kids they

don't know what they want to do they

don't know what they want to be I look

at them in the face I say wait a minute

slow down slow down my man excuse me

ma'am wait a minute these are leaders

and understand that

every one of them are leaders I believe

that they have certain passions that

they're geared toward and driven toward

I believe that each and one each and

every one of them have certain desires

student clubs that they're a part of

particular classes that they think that

when they want to pursue after that's

what I say I say wait a minute

take it easy on these leaders because

the future is literally in their hands

and they're controlling our destiny

right I love it I love it so like like I

said before I just want to give y'all

some applicable tips because I can give

you encouragement all day but if I don't

give you any tips that's not going to

help get you anywhere so the first tip I

want to share with y'all today is as

you're going out and as you begin to

have these things that you're passionate

about you're excited about the first one

says do your research research like we

talked about before it's not necessarily

fun for class at times but like I said

before if I never did my research about

being a fireman and I saw they're

running in burning buildings I never

would have realized that that wasn't for

me

so therefore when y'all begin to do more

research then you start to figure out

what things you might have an interest

in what things you don't want to do at

all and then you get to find out earlier

so that's even better and then secondly

you have to apply yourself like somebody

said earlier the information you hear

it's always great but when you take that

information you hear it and then you

directly apply it into your life for you

and your situation then it makes it more

sense and then it makes more sense and

then you can begin to ask people like

teachers like mentors different

individuals like that you can say hey

can I come to work with you for a day so

maybe I can see if I like doing what you

do for work and if not you're like I

don't want to be a banker like the

gentleman said earlier because you tell

us the people the same thing every day I

don't know maybe maybe not right exactly

and then lastly as you can see I'm up

here this is passion this is raw passion

like this is raw passion this is where

raw passion looks like ah I wake up in

the morning like that this morning wrote

the best ah

this more this morning I woke up and I

was a lion I was aligned because I knew

I was gonna get the opportunity to talk

to y'all and when you get to that point

that's what that passion looks like

because you're excited about doing

something you're driven by doing

something but then passion if it's not

tied to a commitment I didn't have a

commitment to those things I have a

commitment to y'all and I'm excited to

be here with y'all and then if you tie

the passion with a commitment and then

if you're not having fun doing what it

is that you believe you want to do I

would challenge you are you even meant

to do that thing and really quickly I'm

I'm really done but I want everybody to

stand up everybody stand up everybody

stand up stand up stand up stand up

stand up stand up everybody hold up your

right hand hold it up high

hold it up high hold it up high and I

want you to repeat after me because

that's like I said before we have to

make a commitment so today is the day I

want y'all to make a commitment because

when we make a commitment then we have

something that supports us because other

people around us see we made a

commitment they're like I can trust you

I'm gonna back you up I'm gonna support

you right so everybody pay up to me say

I will make a commitment one more time

like you believe it I will make a

commitment everybody have a seat

everybody ever see and I want to

encourage y'all today

I would encourage y'all today despite

whatever commitment you've made before

today you might have committed to

something than you might have said

that's not for me I want to challenge

you today to go back and revisit that

commitment or gonna make another

commitment and I want to see y'all be

great I want to see y'all do whatever it

is y'all are passionate about doing but

you got to do your research you got to

apply yourself and then TEDx kids have

fun thank you

you