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>> By the authority vested in me by the Senate
of York University I hereby confer on you the Degree
of Doctor of Science honoris causa
Admitto te ad gradum. Congratulations.
[ Applause ]
>> Thank you Chancellor, Mr. President, Provost,
Chair of the Board and Faculty, and greetings
to all my fellow alumni, graduands, guests and friends.
I'm ecstatic to now call myself an alumnus
of the great York University.
As you heard, I do have some other affiliations
with other universities but in the bright glow
of this occasion I can't remember their names!
What I'm about to say has no relevance to you today.
Good opening line eh?
But although you are in the euphoria of your victory
in graduating, there will come a time
when you will wish you could remember what I'm
about to say today.
As a matter of fact, there may even be a time tomorrow morning
when you wake before dawn that you wish,
that you will wish you could recall them.
Because, you see, over the years, the words I'm
about to say to you became my own form of a mantra.
It would appear to someone who came from another planet today
that my life has been a life of only successes, it has not.
It's also consisted of many failures,
but don't ask me to recount them.
I don't remember my failures.
I tried to adopt Babe Ruth's motto: Don't let the fear
of striking out get in your way.
But strike out I did, and I want
to leave the young people here today, my fellow graduands,
who hold our future in your collective hands
with a few thoughts about the fear of failure.
It's often said that Canadians are risk adverse,
and that our fear of failure is a serious impairment
to being an innovative and entrepreneurial country.
I am hardwired in my DNA to think positively,
and I've had great teachers who have tempered that with the need
for care and wisdom in applying that optimism.
People like John Evans, Ken Knox, and Lou Siminovitch,
Joe Rotman, President Shoukri and Paul Cantor, my darling,
Angie, my wonderful family and so many others.
They taught me to consider, but not be deterred
by the pessimists, to think nobly, to want to do good.
They followed the advice of Hoshang Akhtar who said;
An intelligent fool can make things bigger,
more complex, and more violent.
It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage,
to move in the opposite direction.
They all have courage and genius to spare.
They refused to be deterred by naysayers and, at times,
moved their personal universe in opposite directions.
It has become popular to quote a famous line
from the movie Apollo 13, Failure is not an option.
Well, I'm here to tell you something
that intuitively you already know,
failure's always an option!
Always a possibility!
Because nothing is certain, adopting the notion
that failure cannot be an option dooms one
to never attempting anything audacious or transformational.
Fearing failure is not an option,
if you are to make fundamental change
or challenge the common view.
Remember, the common view is usually just common,
it's the uncommon view that gives the possibility
of transformational change.
If you attempt something that's uncommon, audacious, grand,
or transformational and you fail, you will know
that you tried to do something noble and great.
If you fail, you will only be disappointed you didn't succeed.
If, on the other hand, you never attempt it, you will always live
with the regret that you didn't have the courage to try
and possibly, but only possibly fail.
You'll make failure certain
if you never try because of your fear.
Fulton Oursler said; Many of us crucify ourselves
between two thieves, regret for the past,
and fear of the future.
God gave us nights for a reason.
For some, it's to cower in the darkness regretting the failures
of our day and paralyzed by our fears
of public failure on the morrow.
He didn't mean it for that purpose I don't think.
It's a time to dream new dreams, of things great to accomplish,
and paths around obstacles put in the way by our opponents.
It's a time to refill our tanks of courage,
to get above the traffic of our lives
and see paths no one else sees,
paths to accomplishment, roads to victory.
And we should find -- --
and should we find that the road ends,
we need to recognize it has, and choose a new road
to an even more audacious and noble goal.
Winston Churchill said: Success is going from failure to failure
without losing enthusiasm.
Because, you see, our lives don't begin
and end with a project.
We are lives, not projects.
Our goal in life should be to leave the world a better place
by giving and creating for other's benefit.
That takes a lifetime of trying.
I said trying, not always succeeding, but trying.
Having the wisdom to know when,
for circumstances beyond our control,
and that's the operative phrase, beyond our control,
the project has failed.
And then to honorably move on.
Don't wallow in regrets.
Take a night of dreams.
Refill your tank of courage.
Drain the engine of fear.
Articulate a vision.
Recruit the team.
Empower them, and share the vision.
Ignore the commonly held view and educate yourself
with the fantastic possibilities.
Get the facts right.
Understand the road to success and learn
from your past successes and failures,
then rise in the morning with the faith that you can succeed.
Winston Churchill never admitted allowing fear
to enter his heart.
In 1940, just having taken over the Role of Prime Minister
of a threatened Empire he said; I take up my task
with buoyancy and hope.
I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered
to fail among men.
At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say,
come then, let us go forward together
with our united strength.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, when faced with the supremacy
of the Soviet Union in space said in his famous Man
On The Moon speech; For while we cannot guarantee
that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee
that any failure to make this effort will be our last.
We take an additional risk by making it in full view
of the world, but this very risk enhances our stature
when we are successful.
We, in Canada today, in many ways, are in the best
of all times possible.
We have progress and science and engineering,
education environment and the arts,
it's nothing short of spectacular.
We have enlightened administrations
that embrace innovation, and in my world of science,
gives support to truly transformational models
of translation medicine, like Mars, and the Ontario Institute
of Cancer Research, that a time were only our dreams.
On the other hand, we have chaos on the world,
it's almost unprecedented.
Financial collapse is a, is a real possibility.
Collective plans to lead us out of this morass are no apparent
in the wisdom of a fearless Winston Churchill
like figure seems far away.
And although Canada appears to be an island of stability
in this sea of chaos, we have deficits facing both government
that appears to be an obstacle to any great
and audacious solutions that would depend
on government alone to deliver health.
But there are solutions.
And the economy will strengthen.
And deficits will end.
And so it may be time for us to collectively welcome the night.
When regrets will not be tolerated,
but rather we will dream dreams of great and glorious futures
of noble schemes and roads to success.
To rise tomorrow with hope, enthusiasm, a plan,
and with the courage to fail.
And, in the end to make this province, this country,
and this world a much better place.
A better place because of what you, the Class of 2011 will do,
and will contribute to this great land.
Thank you, my wonderful and proud alma mater.
And tonight, may all of you have spectacular dreams.
Thank you.
[ Applause ]