I have recently come to the realization that I probably won’t ever get invited to be the commencement speaker at my alma mater or any other University for that matter. Today, (Sunday May 12, 2012) is graduation day for many of the colleges and Universities in this area and around the country. This prompted me to think about what I might say to graduating Seniors based upon my own life experiences.

First of all, I don’t think I could give a great and profound speech like this guy gave at Stanford a few years ago. What I would tell graduates in to be fearless and not be afraid to make mistakes. Those that don’t make mistakes are not taking risks or trying hard enough.

Thomas Edison is credited for saying. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” That is a great quote and one that I have found myself believing in while I attempt new adventures. I have failed at many things, but from each failure I have gained knowledge, wisdom and an understanding that just because something didn’t work, that doesn’t mean to get discouraged and quit. That only means to try harder to find something that does work.

Everyone makes mistakes. Some make more and large mistakes than others, but making a mistake is not the problem. Everything is fine as long as you learn from your mistakes. If you continue to make the same mistake over and over without learning something from your mistakes and not taking a different route, well then that is insanity.

Recently, while dining out with friends, I told our waitress to be careful because my check card and another diners at the table looked similar. She responded by saying “Don’t worry, this isn’t my first rodeo”. I laughed because she meant she had been serving a while and knew well enough not to make the mistake of mixing up the credit cards.

To all the new graduated out there, you will make mistakes and you will probably go down the wrong path a few times, but eventually you will find a career that you are good at, passionate about and one that will take you to amazing places. Then one day, you can tell people who question your experience and wisdom that “This isn’t you first rodeo”.