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I have a strong faith in God, and I don't know how people live without it
You know how fortunate you are to be at a great Catholic University to be able to share your faith in God
Don't ever lose that
There'll be a tendency to get away from it. We all have a tendency to think we can do things on our own
If you want to make God laugh you tell Him what your plans are I want to tell you
I can't begin to tell you how many times I prayed when Michigan had the ball on our four yard line.
Oh God you stop I'm going to chang my life
It's like that the guy that was going to an important meeting, and he couldn't find a parking place
He kept circling and finally in a panic. He looked up at heaven and said God if you find me a parking place
I'll go to church every day
Every Sunday the rest of my life
I will not drink any alcohol the rest of my life and just then miraculously a parking spot opened up
He looked up at heaven, and said forget it God. I found one on my own
We have that you
know
Life doesn't have to be complicated
We complicate life. I'm going to make five assumptions about the people in this audience. I'm going to assume you want to be successful
Professionally, I'm going to assume you want to have a good personal life. I'm going to assume
That you want to feel needed
I'm gonna assume you want to feel secure about your future. The fifth assumption I'm gonna make is you want to go to heaven
I'm going to give you a simple plan how to do all five because see you don't have to sacrifice
Your religious life your personal life in order to advance
Professionally, they all work together and don't complicate it. I try to keep life simple
Do you realize there are only seven colors of the rainbow only seven
Look what Michelangelo did with those seven colors. There's only seven musical notes
Look what Beethoven did with those seven notes. There's only ten numbers
Look what Bernie Madoff did with those ten numbers
The point I make is it doesn't have to be complicated
See you need four things in your life
If you don't have any of these four things in your life. You're gonna have a tremendous void
See everybody needs something to do
Number two everybody needs someone to love
Number three everybody needs someone to believe it in my case is Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior
But the fourth thing you need your life is you need something to hope for
What do you want to do?
Having hopes and dreams and ambition
See I think that is absolutely critical don't make the mistake I made
I've done a lot of dumb things
But let me tell you the one thing I regret we once the University of Notre Dame
We took a program on the bottom
We took it to the very top and for 9 straight years
We went to a January one bowl, the sugar, the cotton, the orange, or the Fiesta. Nobody's done it before
Nobody's done it since. We put it on top and we maintained it. That's the thing I regret the most
See there's a rule of life that says your either growing or you're dying
The trees either growing or its dying so is grass so is a marriage so is a bussiness so is a person
Doesn't have a thing to do with age my birthday candles cost more then the cake
But has everything to do with am I trying to get better am I trying to prove we got on top and say you know this pretty
Good, let's maintain it Let's not take any risk. We finished 2nd in the country at Notre Dame. Everybody called me an idiot
Guy finishes last at medical school they call him doctor it doesn't seem fair
When I left Notre Dame, I never thought I'd coach again
Where'd he go from Notre Dame?According to my mother you go directly to heaven and you sit by the Pope you don't coach anymore
And then I went to live in a town where the average age was deceased
And what I found out I wasn't tired of coaching. You have to have something to hope for something to dream
And even though you've done great things so far. What's gonna happen now
I want to give you a simple plan so maybe. You're to follow those five assumptions
This is not some thing I talk about it's something I believe and it works. I wish that had learned it when I was 21
There's only three rules you have to follow
You know we have all kinds of laws, federal laws, County laws, state laws, corporate laws, bylaws and in-laws and outlaws
You only need three laws. Law number one do what's right
Do what's right and avoid what's wrong and if you have any doubt get out the Bible
There's never a right time to do the wrong thing and there's never a wrong time to do the right thing
Just do what's right. I think it's right be honest right be on time
I think it's wrong to practice sexism racism spousal abuse
I Think it's wrong to be bitter. We've all had injustice done
By society, by spouse, by professor due respect professors
I've referring to my own
But you know what don't go through life where you're being bitter before you pass away your spouse has to hire six
Pallbearers because you don't have any friends. Just do the right thing and I think it's also right to have an excellent positive attitude
See ladies and gentlemen enjoy life have fun. You're going to have problems you're gonna have difficulties
That's part of life because you're graduating doesn't mean you are going to have problems
If you have fun doing some people have fun being around
Everyday walked out on football field first thing I said boy
What a great day to work
And I meant it cuz if you have fun being there people have fun being around doesn't mean I don't do dumb things
Now I want to tell you if you want to fail you have the right to fail
That's what's great about this country. You do not have the right to cause other people to fail
Because you don't do everything best your ability when you join a spouse you bring a child in the world
You join the business you join the team you have obligations
Responsibilities and you owe it to other people to do the maximum you can and each everything you do
It's not complicated
Ladies and gentlemen I want you to know this I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I know
I was born in Follansbee, West Virginia
And I went by where I was born last night about 10:30
I was born in a cellar at home
Delivered by doctor McGraw
We had one bedroom for my sister, myself, and my parents
We had a half bath and a kitchen
Seven half years we lived in that place. There was no welfare
There was no food stamps, there was no safety net
But I always had plenty to eat
Because every time I asked for seconds my dad would say no you had plenty
But the reason I was born with a silver spoon my dad had only gone to the third grade that's all the education he had
But why was I born with a silver spoon in my mouth because I taught by my parents
That life's a matter of making choices wherever you are good or bad because of choices you made
Don't blame anybody else
But if you get an education you're willing to work and overcome problems and difficulty in this great country you can amount to something
That's why I was born with a silver spoon. I was in this country, and I was taught personal responsibility for choices you make
When we talk about a commitment to excellence, that's a choice you make. The last rule
Show people you care, when you walk into a room you hey here I am look at me. Nah
Your attitude there you are how can I help?
Ladies and gentlemen I received this honorary doctor's degree not because what I did its what other people did
It's the same thing whenever you receive recognition pass the credit
It's not complicated, but just genuinely caring about people because everybody you're going to meet your rest of your life
Needs a smile, needs a kind word, needs encouragement
They say when you do the right thing
People are always going to be able to trust you. My wife and I have been married because we can trust each other
I never lose the trust
It's the only way people are ever going to trust you if you do the right thing
That's all God wants us to do do the right thing
The second thing is do everything the best your ability because then people will know you're committed excellence you want to be special
Not to say hey Here, I am
But help other people and care about people. See a lot of you are gonna be successful you're gonna
Go make a lot of money and when you die it ends
But hopefully everybody in this graduating class is going to be
significant
Significant it's when you help other people be successful and that lasts many a lifetime after that
I congratulate you again people say would you like to be 21 again?
I wish they knew those three rules when I was 21
I've used him for the last 40 years there's a statue of me at Notre Dame
I guess they need a place for the pigeons to land but
If you go look at it, just look at three words on the pedestal
Trust, commitment, love
Those are the three rules I had for my children, my team. My greatest accomplishment is not coaching, and not TV, not speaking
Greatest accomplishments is my family, and I'm very proud of it
You can't take your money to heaven, but I'll tell you something you can sure take your children to heaven with you
I leave you with this very last thought
You want to be happy for an hour
Eat a steak. You want to be happy for a day play golf
Want to be happy for a week go on Cruise
Now me going on a cruise is like being in jail but you have a chance to drown but
Want to be happy for a month play golf
Want to be happy for a month buy a new car. Want to be happy for a year win the lottery
Want to be happy for a lifetime
Put your faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you very much. God Bless