Thank you Daron, professors, faculty, and staff.

I am
honored to be here with the 2017 graduating class, and
to your families and friends who have supported you.

A little background of my story, because understanding

others stories and sharing our own story is a way to
pause long enough to listen and learn.

Before I had the good sense and luck to move to Texas

32 years ago, I was born one of 11 children in an Irish
Catholic family in Detroit where faith, fun, and a little
dysfunction were common place. My parents were
Republican and I grew up in a very conservative home.
When I was 12 years old Watergate occurred and I
became fascinated. I watched the hearings daily and I
was entranced.

One branch of government was attempting to hold the

most powerful person in the world accountable. The
judiciary did their part ensuring that the laws were
adhered to and justice was followed. And as important,
a free press, mainly Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
of the Washington Post, doggedly followed this story
day in and day out to try and uncover what was going
on when many werent paying attention. It was then I
decided I loved politics and wanted to pursue it as my
professional purpose in life.

My first vote was for Ronald Reagan in 1980 and I

became a Democrat in college. I worked on campaigns
at all levels as a volunteer or intern, as a lowly paid
worker, and at times a fulltime job. Later on through
personal relationships and respect I had for then
Governor Bush of Texas I became a Republican. I
worked on his two campaigns for President, becoming
his chief strategist in 2004. I had reached the height of
my profession.

Along the way I started a few businesses as an

entrepreneur, and through much turmoil in my life and
much reflection having lost a son and a daughter and
having my oldest son serve two tours of duty in Iraq,
became disenchanted with both major parties like many
Americans today and jettisoned a career I had built for
more than 30 years. I am now a vehement independent.

I come here not in a narcissistic or arrogant way to tell

you what to do because of how smart or successful I
might be, but to humbly relate to you some things I have
learned along the way that might possibly help you in
the bright future that is ahead for each of you. I learned
through this journey called life it was my losses and
hurts that taught me the most, not my victories.

I brought two books today that I believe are important

to touch on and reflect at this moment in America and
our world.

The Constitution and Declaration of Independence, and

the Bible.
The second paragraph of the Declaration states in part:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are

created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to
secure these rights, Governments are instituted among
Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed, --That whenever any Form of Government
becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the
People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles
and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We are in a time of historic-accelerated change,

incredible disruption, a loss of faith and trust in nearly
every institution, especially our federal government,
and a crucial inflection point of who we are as a nation.
I know many of you are concerned, scared, frustrated
and possibly angry as you look at current events. Very
valid, however I think this is an incredibly exciting time
in America, and I am actually hopeful and optimistic
because I know we have faced times like these before in
our history, and we came through this because of
leaders like you who stepped up to rebuild and repair
what is broken.
I am sure you all are aware of Abraham Lincolns house
divided speech in 1858 when the country was going
through immense change and was polarized and
divided and seemingly broken. In fact, eight years
before Lincolns speech, Sam Houston, the founder of
Texas, spoke of a nation divided.

Each of these great leaders was actually quoting from

the Bible, the words of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew:
Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation, and every city or house divided against itself
will not stand.

So what do we do? The first thing we must do is to

diligently pursue the truth wherever it leads something
I trust you learned here at the University of Texas. We
are at a time when the health of our democracy is in
serious question. We cant seem to come together as a
nation for the common good. We attack each other, we
dont listen, we put on a red or blue jersey and refuse to
build consensus. We have become tribal, and anywhere
communities are tribal, democracy has a hard time
succeeding. To thrive we must get to the common
good, but first we must have a common set of facts.

Some people look at the truth in an absolutist way it is

black and white, there is no listening to others,
intentions are questioned, and there is a belief that the
truth always was, is and always will be and there is little
openness to others. Other people are relativists saying
there is no truth your truth is your truth, and mine is
mine, so there is no point in trying to discover the truth.
I believe the search for truth is a paradox. In an
uncertain world, theyre are truths to be discovered.
But it is a lifelong pursuit and it can be incredibly
difficult at times.

And in that journey we have to examine our own biases

and our prejudices. We each have them. You and me.
We get them from where we were born, what color our
skin is, what sex we are, the families and faiths we were
raised in, and yes, even the college or university we
attended, and now graduate from.

It is imperative we look at ourselves in reflection and

contemplation before we take action to understand our
own biases, so that we can search for the truth as
objectively as possible. And then not just consume
information from sources that merely confirm our own
biases. Technology today with multiple cable channels,
the Internet, blogs, etc allow us to stay in our silos and
not see other viewpoints or aspects of the truth that
disagree with us. That spells for trouble, and an
increased tribalization of the world.

Holding the Bible here, I think of the Ten

Commandments, which gave people for thousands of
years a guide to moving through life in a just and loving
way. I want to relate to you today, not Commandments,
but Ten Commitments that I suggest we each try and
live as we move out into our missions of making this
planet a better place. Though I know your parents
would probably still like me to mention Honoring your
father and mother, I am going to go in a slightly
different direction than the stone tablets Moses carried
down from Mount Sinai.

First, let us pursue meaning or purpose before we

pursue happiness. It is through finding our authentic
mission that we will find joy and happiness. And a life
of mission is not without pain or hurt, but it is one that
will touch your heart and soul. As the poet Mary Oliver
wrote, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and
precious life

Second, your mission will be found in your frustration.

As you watch the news or listen to others, what makes
you frustrated or angry? What upsets you in a profound
way? That is a signal of what your mission should be.

Third, money and power are not wrong in themselves.

It is how we use those things that determine whether
they are constructive or destructive for humanity. Like
fire or water, money and power can warm us and our
fellow humans, or light the way, or satisfy our thirst, or
they can destroy like a wild fire or a flood.

Fourth, chose love over fear at every opportunity you

can. At each important point in life, you will have a
choice between responding to love or fear. Choose the
path of love.

Fifth, make choices of overwhelming joy. Much of your

life happens to you, and you dont always have a choice.
Those choices that you do have, like your purpose or
profession, or who you are in relationship with, make
sure it is so over whelming that it moves you. Dont do
fifty fifty balance sheet analysis or you will end up
feeling hollow.

Sixth, integrity matters, in your personal life and in

leadership broadly. As Gandhi said, you will find joy
when what you think, what you say, and what you do is
in alignment. That is integrity.

Seventh, pursue diverse sources of information and

knowledge. Get out of your silos. Too often I look at the
bookshelves of leaders, and those shelves are filled with
information that is 90% one area or one subject. Push
yourself to examine truths in all aspects politics,
business, philanthropy, spirituality, and even sex.

Eight, think big, and act small. All too often we dont set
a big enough goal for ourselves and we are satisfied
with accomplishing too little. And we also dont see the
incredible power of acting in the smallest circles of our
life to bring about real change.
Nine, we can only bridge the divides in our world if we
figure out and bond with people on shared joys and
sorrows. You cant break an emotional connection
someone has with a president or a party or a policy with
a rational argument. Relate to people first in the depth
of their joys or sorrows.

Ten, and finally, let us recapture faith and patriotism in

this country. It has been held captive for too long by
small groups of people who only define it in a limited
and judgmental way. If someone tells you that in order
to love God or your country, you have to hate someone
else, they are neither a patriot nor a person of faith.

Those are my ten commitments, what might yours be?

I would like to end with the last words from the

declaration of independence: with a firm reliance on
the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge
to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred
Honor

We each have the opportunity to follow the lead of our

Founding Fathers of this great Republic, and make a
new America. Whether it is through government
service, politics, business, or social entrepreneurship,
we can become the 21st Century Founding Fathers,
mothers, sons and daughters of an America that works
for all. We each have the power to reform and recreate
our nation like others before us did, and we are in a
unique moment where Americans are hungry for it, and
we have the ability to do it.

I am excited for what you might pledge your Sacred

Honor to, and what you can do for Texas and America.
Thank you and may God Bless and keep you.