Graduation day
True confession: I didn't attend graduation from Stanford Business School. They mailed me my MBA instead. I hadn't been on campus in months, I was already busy running a brand in Boston, learning more than I could have in school. A generous teacher made sure I got the diploma (and of course, they got the tuition, so it was probably a fair trade).
Today, though, I attended final graduation for my informal free MBA program. You can read some of the student recaps right here. The photo was taken just before I fell in the Hudson River.
I'm thrilled at the new friends I've made (for life, probably) and thrilled at how much they learned, how smart they are and what a difference they'll make in the world. But most of all I'm thrilled that every single one of the nine realized that I had nothing much to do with their transformation, they did. Which means the opportunity is available to everyone, whether or not you get a cross country skiing lesson from me.
We didn't have a fancy commencement with speeches (actually, we had pizza). What we ended with was the idea, "Go, make something happen."
Four words. That's not a lot, but all you might need.