Starting point of greatness

Congratulations are in order you made it. You are a bunch of committed and determined students of the first Ethical entrepreneurship training program offered by mice in the buffalo area. You should be very proud of yourselves.

It is spiritually and professionally enlightening experience for me, to hear your presentations on what you learned during this semester, and how you propose to build a successful business.

There is no greater personal honor for me and for the mice- team, than to have the opportunity to assist you in learning the principals-, which will guide you on your journey into successful business and of life’s teaching itself.

You will recall that during my opening comments at the beginning of the semester, I stressed three key words starting with “success”, “priority” and “character”. And what it could mean to you personally.

Hopefully, the etp and a group of prominent instructors provided you with the knowledge and wisdom, to constantly gauge and measure your success and priorities - as well as the insight and forethought to recognize when and how to change your goals on success and priorities - without losing sight of the true meaning and value of what it means to you.

And the third point I made is “character”, most importantly, at the end of the day, at the end of your working career or at the end of our life the one word that describes who we are, what and how we conducted our business and our life is our “character”. How others will describe and define us and how we have embellished our family name.

Your teachers, coaches, guest lecturers and guest speakers have given you far more than any teaching institution could give you. The diverse group of instructors gave you a more curious mind, an appetite for knowledge and a taste of wisdom. This resulted hopefully in character building through adversity, discipline, through pain, and excellence through winning.

Mice will be a bigger, better influence on your life that any college or graduate school you’ll ever attend. The friendships you made here with classmates and teachers will be deeper and more lasting because of the obstacle course you conquered on your way to graduation. (You are all business partners now)

The old US Army logo “be all you can bee” is truly one of the great guideposts in life and applies to all of us. It reminds me of the Olympics’ logo “cittius” altius” fortius”, swifter, higher, stronger. Anybody who participated in the Olympics is a winner; anyone who graduates from mice is also a winner.

Think of Abraham Lincoln’s defeats: 1, he failed in business in 1831, 2,he had a nervous breakdown in 1836, 3, he failed to get elected to congress six times, in spite of these past defeats, Lincoln did not give up and was elected as president of the united states in 1860. So you can all try to be president of us,

Defeats should be considered as history; victories are for the future.

Don’t worry about the size of goliath, if you’re playing the role of David.

We should think of our life as divided into three parts. The first part is where we learn- one of the places is where you are now. The second part of your life is where you are accumulating worldly goods or spreading knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom comes from mistakes. It is not a sin to make a mistake; it is a sin not to correct it. Uncorrected mistakes only get worst. The third part of your life is where you have a chance to give back more that you received. Never forget the people who helped you on the way up; never miss the chance to give someone younger a brake on their way up. You will be remembered for what you gave –not for what you get.

In closing I will repeat one thought that I like to leave you with:

For a moment Look it my accomplishments, after I escaped communist Hungary at the age 16, I arrived to United States in 1956 with $1 in my pocket, without High School diploma and spoke not a word of English, had no family or friends and zero familiarity with the American culture. After many years of hard work and 12 years of college I have successfully reached my personal goal, the American Dream. If I made the American dream; so can you.

May the Lord always bless all of us.