"Never Give Up On A Dream and Always Give Your Best" - Speech

I have come to understand some things about dreams and why they are so important - they are real and they are a guide on the paths that lead to one's destiny.

I have heard so many stories of how people had dreams of achieving a particular feat while they were yet young, and they went on later in life to do much more than they imagined. I don't want to go on and on about this for now but I will sure return to share about the importance of dreams and their impact in helping you get to where you desire.

I recently had my graduation ceremony after working hard to obtain a degree in MSc Electrical Power from Newcastle University, UK. To God's glory, I triumphed and I am thankful to God, my friends and family without whom my success story becomes incomplete.

Before you say I didn't invite you for the graduation, relax! Graduation ceremonies in Obodo Oyinbo (White man's land) is not a gele-tying – well, with the exception of my mom who tied gele – and boxes-of-rice-and-drink-surplus occasion. In fact the whole event lasted about 45 minutes and the reception that followed only had snacks, fruits, tea and drinks offered to guests and graduates. 

Wait! Did I mention my Professor made a comment about liking my mom's hat? I couldn't help but laugh within me. Well, technically speaking, a gele is a type of hat. If I can't prove it, I know my professor can!

Before I go on and on about the ceremony, and make this article excessively long, I'll talk about the Student Orator's speech of the day. A Student Orator is the graduating student given the opportunity to give an uplifting speech during the ceremony. I was privileged to be given the role. I was allotted 5 minutes to deliver the speech so I had to make it as concise and relevant as possible. I personally feel the speech could have been better if I had more time but then, the shorter the better.

Anyway, here is the speech below and this is the link to watch the video of the entire ceremony. Graduation Ceremony Video

******************************** SPEECH **********************************

Graduates, guests and esteemed scholars of Newcastle University.

I am thankful for the opportunity to address you today on behalf of my fellow graduating students.

I believe dreams are a window through which we can have a view of the future we would like to feature in. Coming to Newcastle University is a proof of this as I had actually seen myself through my dream window studying for an MSc degree in a UK university over a decade ago.

As my dream was becoming reality, the window became covered in mist: the mist of financial support as I almost wouldn’t have made it here were I not to have received the Newcastle University Nigeria Scholarship; the mist of doubt and wonder if I’ll ever meet the standards of a top-ranking global university and the mist of coping outside the shores of the only environment I know as home. I never gave up on wiping off that mist so as to retain my vision through this dream window and that’s why I’m here today.

The past year studying with different people of different backgrounds gave me the opportunity to learn, relearn and unlearn. We shared ideas on different issues as we spent long hours either sitting behind computers in cluster rooms or in the library devouring textbooks and lecture notes. We pitched our tents in different corners in the library, sometimes ate our meals with one eye whilst trying to read through a book with the other.

We also learned and experimented beyond the walls of our lecture rooms. I personally learned to try out new dishes as I dined with my friends from different parts of the world. I would greet my Chinese friends saying, “nín hǎo,” and thank them by saying “xiè xie.” It is only when they want to keep talking in Chinese they realise I had literally exhausted my Chinese vocabulary. All of these experiences have formed who we are today.

Having now graduated, I reflect upon my time here at Newcastle University and how much impact it will have in my future undertakings. I may have doubts as to where the paths I choose to tread may lead me and I am sure the same applies to some of my fellow graduating students seated here. One reassuring quote that clears that doubt, ironically, is printed on the Hadrian Bridge linking Robinsons Library which I have always walked past throughout the year without understanding. It reads, “Listen - Time may sing you like spring, leaves, where ever you are and spin you there. Inside out.”

I still do not fully understand the quote but it inspired a few thoughts: If time swings you to pursue your Ph.D., be the one to have that ground-breaking achievement that will contribute to the technological advancement of humanity. If you are spun to starting your own company, spin the industry to make a lasting impression; and if you’re taking a dream job, be the change agent in that organisation. As Earl Nightingale once said, “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”

Mists may cover our dream windows in forms of disappointments, lack of opportunities, failures and set-backs but we must remain focused on where we want to be and not where we temporarily find ourselves. We must take up similar mottos to that of Walt Disney as he famously said, “Around here, however, we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious… and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Many of us may have come here to Newcastle University to get a degree but we have gotten more than we bargained for. Our curiosity have led us down the paths of greater challenges and it has made us better versions of ourselves. We have been intellectually and academically moulded, morally equipped, socially and culturally empowered. These are the tools required to face our individual futures and we must make the best use of them. Our global perspectives have been changed and we have taken up new dreams. To achieve these dreams, we must keep moving forward. We are only allowed to look back for one reason – not for regret, but to remember the lessons we have learned and how they can help shape our future.

Wherever our dreams take us from here, Newcastle University and all the people gathered here today will form a huge part of the success we achieve. We owe that success to our friends seated here today. We owe it to the supportive lecturers who imparted knowledge in us. And more importantly, we owe it to our families who have not only held our hands through this journey but are here today to share of our success and joy. And for these, we will remain eternally grateful.

And finally, to my fellow graduating students: I will like to see the parchments we receive today as passports. Passports to visit our future and explore the options life has to offer – the attractions and the beauty that aligns with our passions, goals and aspirations in life. As we march on in this journey of life, I implore you to keep dreaming and always give your best shot when every opportunity to achieve your dreams comes knocking. Remain curious and there will be no bounds to what you can achieve. As Zig Ziglar said, “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”

Thank you very much.

***************************** END OF SPEECH *****************************

The You In You

Isn’t it a bit absurd to say that there could be a ‘you’ in you? Well, it won’t be at the end of this. Every human is designed with a greater ‘man’ within him but this man in question is by nature, ‘asleep’. I would have said that this man within you is ‘dead’, but by the time you finish reading this, you would be thinking about a miracle to bring him back to life; being asleep, you only need to wake him. The man within will not wake up until you wake him up and what it takes to wake him is determination. Determination here, in a simple sense, means the strong will that motivates you to achieve something.

Ironically, God – your creator – has deposited equally strengthened men within us all, but not all of us become great. What’s the cause of this? Einstein, Newton, Franklin, Socrates, Edison – we both know the names are endless – were great men, but they aren’t different from you and I. Why is this? Like a poet said in a poem, 'The good Lord has sent the fish but we must dig the bait'. God will not wake that great man within you; you have to do it yourself. God has played His part well – putting the man within you, but you must play your own part too – waking him up. That is the bait you must dig.

Benjamin Carson, one of the greatest Neurosurgeons in the world – if not the greatest, was named the class dullard at first until his mother helped him realize the fact about the sleeping man within him. He discovered it himself and how he could be a better person in life and he didn’t just get better, he’s one of the best in his field today. The man within him is not greater than that man within you; it only took him a tangible amount of determination. In his first year in pre-medicine school, he was advised to either drop out of school or take fewer courses. This simply means it’s never too late. He had a great will to live for something and you too can. Get tired of failure and cast out the spirit called average then you’ll find out the most intelligent guy in your class with the highest C.G.P.A isn’t the best after all, or that better colleague of yours isn’t just good enough.

Determination is not how best you can do something; it is how best that thing can be done. There is no end to how much greatness you can achieve in life; time is the only poison that makes us limited and that is why the right time to become better is ‘now’. If you don’t do anything about your enemy called average, you will not achieve anything great in life. You have to think beyond the mental way we visualize the shape of the earth. You need to think outside the box but within the field of reasoning.

It is important to note that there is no one on earth born with special greatness. All great men attained that height they got to with time; they worked their way up there. They simply woke up that great man within them. It is never too late to decide on how you too can attain a great height; the most important thing is finishing well and not the starting time. The effective management of time, understanding yourself and determination will get you there in no time. Just challenge yourself and think about how you can become better in whatever you do.

In Life, never believe that you’re in a competition with others; it traumatizes you. Believe you’re in a competition with yourself; this motivates you. Success is not a factor of the qualities you must possess to succeed; it is a factor of what you can do with the qualities you possess. You have no excuse to fail to succeed. You’ve got all it takes and you must do everything possible to achieve success which includes getting out of your comfort zone. If it takes you to burn the midnight candle, do so. It’s just this one life you’ve got; utilize it. Everybody likes to celebrate successful people, failures are never celebrated.

You know better by now that you can be a better person if and only if you awaken that great man within you. The man within you is crying for help to be awakened, the world is crying for another great man and your creator is waiting for you to discover your true self. It is left for you to satisfy them or continue to live an average life. It’s a decision you must take alone. A great poet and writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 'What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us'. He understands the importance of the strength of the man within every human and he effectively utilized it. You can utilize that strength too. It doesn’t cost much. It’s your turn to be celebrated and now is the time to start working your way up there.

Too many words don’t do the magic, understanding does. I hope to meet you up there, where regrets won’t have to replace fulfillment. You’ve got all it takes. It’s in you.