0 (3s):
Shake the roof, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs On Fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network with great shows like the MarTech podcast today, we'll be sharing a special episode. That is part of a series that we've created of the greatest graduation speeches of all time. There have been some fantastic commencement talks over the past few decades, and we've collected the best of the best for you to enjoy as soon as we get back from thanking our

1 (30s):
Sponsors firing yeah, it's

0 (33s):
Time to stop trading time for money and start reaching more clients and making a bigger impact. And you can do just that with online courses, try Thinkific for free today at Thinkific.com/EOF. That's Thinkific.com/EOF. Are you looking for a proven business coach who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, just like you to increase their profitability by an average of 104% per year, all for less money than it would cost to hire a full-time minimum wage employee schedule your free consultation today with Clay Clark, a former small business administration entrepreneur of the year at ThrivetimeShow.com/fire.

0 (1m 13s):
Welcome to the graduation speech of Howard Schultz, the Starbucks Executive Chairman. And this is at Arizona State University back in 2017. Thank you, President Crow for that generous introduction. I really appreciate our friendship and everything we are doing together. Thank you to the Arizona board of Regents faculty and special guests, congratulations to the graduating class of 2017. And for those who are here to support you on this very, very special day and to our 330 Starbucks college achievement plan graduates. So proud of you who have benefited from the Starbucks and ASU partnership, I am incredibly proud to be your partner.

0 (1m 53s):
Congratulations to all of you. I would like to begin my time with you today by sharing a personal story. Last year, Starbucks coffee opened our first store in South Africa. In Johannesburg. I had never been to South Africa before. Did not know what to expect. Certainly could not have been prepared for the level of poverty. And what I saw in the township throughout the city, we opened two stores in lines, were out the door in anticipation of Starbucks coming to the market. But before we opened the stores, I gathered the 50 young people who would embrace the green apron and represent the company. I sat with them for a few hours. I wanted to hear each of their personal stories as they were sharing their stories with me, despite their poverty, their plight in life, there was so much joy and gratitude in their hearts.

0 (2m 39s):
But what I learned was two things. One, all 50 of these young people had never had a job before they were all unemployed for their entire life. And you should see the self-esteem and sense of security as they were getting ready for their first job. But the second lesson was as they were going around the room and talking to me about their story, I kept hearing an African word had never heard before a word that Nelson Mandela use all the time. The word is Ubuntu. And finally, I got the courage and I asked, what does this word mean that you keep using? They couldn't wait to share it with me in unison. They said Howard Ubuntu Buntu means I am because of you. As I have the honor to speak with you today, I ask you to keep that story in mind, because everything I'm going to share with you today is through the lens of Ubuntu.

0 (3m 27s):
I grew up in Brooklyn, New York in public housing, the projects as it was called back then my parents were both high school dropouts, and they could barely afford $96 a month rent in our two bedroom apartment for my brother and my sister and my parents. However, from my earliest memories, my mother instilled in me, her belief in the American dream and the promise of America that a good education and hard work will open the doors to a better life. And that provides me with an important lesson to share with all of you today, that your station in life does not define you in the promise of America. That is for all of us. When I was seven years old at a defining moment in life, I came home from school one day and saw my father laid on the couch with a cast from hip to ankle.

0 (4m 9s):
He had had a series of terrible blue collar jobs as a high school dropout army vets. But this particular job he had in 1960 was probably the worst. He was a truck driver delivering and picking up cloth diapers before the invention of Pampers. He fell on a sheet of ice and March, 1960. And in the March of 1960, if you are a blue collar worker and uneducated worker, you are dismissed. If you had an accident, no workers' compensation, no severance, no health insurance. And I saw the fracturing of the American dream and I saw my parents go through hopelessness and despair at the age of seven. And those scars, that shame that is with me even today as a young boy, I could have never imagined that I would one day build a company of my own, let alone that that company would have more than 26,000 stores in 75 countries and employ more than 300,000 people.

0 (5m 1s):
But from day one, I really wanted to build the kind of company. My father never got the chance to work for a company that honors and respects the dignity of work and the dignity of all men and women. And that is why we became the first company in all of America to provide comprehensive health insurance, 30 years ahead of the affordable care act, as well as ownership in the form of stock options for all of our employees, including part-time people, because this is my firm belief that success in business and in life is best. When it's shared Starbucks, coffee company went public in 1992. And from 92 to 2006, we were on a magical carpet ride in which everything we did turn to gold, but in 2007, the music stopped.

0 (5m 42s):
We lost sight of our shared purpose and our guiding principles in which growth and success began to cover up mistakes in a disease set into Starbucks, that disease hubris, we lost our way and believe it or not, we almost lost the entire company during this cataclysmic period. I was reminded what it means to love something in the responsibility that goes with it, as well as an understanding that leadership and moral courage is not a passive act. My partners, and I took a personally and we transformed the entire company. We galvanize the entire organization around our core values and servant leadership. Every business, every organization, even every family must be true to its values and reason for being our core purpose and reason for being then and now has always been to achieve the fragile balance between profits and humanity.

0 (6m 30s):
Today, the equity of the Starbucks brand has never been stronger. And our track record of creating shareholder value and social impact over the last twenty-five years has virtually been unparalleled. We have built one of the most respected and recognized brands in the world with the view that today the rules of engagement for business and business leaders have changed that we must do more for our people in the communities that we serve. And most importantly, that not every business decision is an economic one, and that success is not an entitlement. It has to be earned and earned every day through the lens of humility. Only in America can a poor kid from public housing, have the privilege and honor to be the commencement speaker at the largest and most innovative university in the country, Fire Nation, more value bombs coming up.

0 (7m 15s):
As soon as we get back from thanking our sponsors, looking for a business coach who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, just like you to increase their profitability by an average of 104% per year, all for less money than it would cost to hire a full-time minimum wage employee Fire Nation meets clay. Clark Clay has been coaching businesses just like yours since 2006. Yep. Even through the great recession and he does it for less money than it would cost to hire a full-time minimum wage employee at a time when Inc magazine reports that by default 96% of businesses will fail. Within 10 years, clay is helping businesses like yours to grow on average by 104% annually. How's this even possible Clay only takes on 160 clients.

0 (7m 55s):
So he personally designed your business plans. Plus Clay's team helps you execute that plan with access to graphic designers, Google certified search engine, optimizers, web developers, online ad managers, videographers workflow, mappers and accounting coaches visit thrive time show.com/fire, to see thousands of video testimonials from real people, just like you, who clay has helped over the years. That's right. Do your research and view thousands, not hundreds of proven, documented and archived video testimonials from real people, just like you at thrive time, show.com/fire. Then schedule your free consultation with clay himself to see how he and his team can help you thrive. One of the number one challenges, entrepreneurs face is figuring out how to scale.

0 (8m 37s):
You don't want to trade your time for money because eventually you run out of time. And when you master your time working one-to-one with clients, what do you do here at entrepreneurs on fire? We've been using Thinkific since 2017 to solve this challenge by delivering knowledge to thousands of entrepreneurs around the world with online courses, as a result, seen a huge lift in revenue without needing to trade time for money, but don't just take our word for it. Sarah Cordiner CEO of main training was also max out, delivering work for her clients. Her options were that she could hire more people, raise prices or introduce online courses to her business. With Thinkific. She has educated over 9,000 students in 131 countries and has increased her profit margin 100% from previous years, all that without trading her precious time, it's time to take your business to the next level, by creating an online course on Thinkific, visit Thinkific.com/EOF.

0 (9m 29s):
That's Thinkific.com/EOF. I stand before you as living proof of the American dream, joining many of your parents, your professors and generations of graduates before you. But today you may question the strength of that dream and the promise of America. That's fair. My generation has not made it easy for you. Our political leaders on both sides of the aisle have not acted with enough courage nor honesty in addressing the long-term challenges we face. They have been more focused on fighting with each other than walking in the shoes of the American people in vitriol rules. The day in Washington, I'm extremely optimistic, especially when I look out and see you because the future is not up to them.

0 (10m 12s):
Not up to Washington. It's up to you. This milestone in your life may come with some anxiety about what tomorrow holds. And you may have questions that only time can answer. But as a young man who wants sat nervously at his own commencements, I encourage you to always trust yourself and be mindful of these three. And during questions, how will you respect your parents and honor your family? How will you share your success and serve others with dignity? And how will you lead with humility and demonstrate moral courage. You're leaving this campus as the best prepared generation in the history of our country. You each possess entrepreneurial spirit, the passion and the commitment to create the future you deserve. However, don't stop there.

0 (10m 53s):
Try not to rely on what you have learned in the classroom. Someone of your compassion, your curiosity, your empathy towards others, in your commitment to service, give more than you receive. And I promise you, it will come back in ways you couldn't possibly imagine. Each of you is here today because of someone else, a parent, a sibling, a teacher, a neighbor, a mentor, someone who had faith and confidence in you. Like my mother had a knee in nurtured your dreams. As you leave here today, take a moment to think of those who have come before you, who have helped you along the way, who are at your side today. If they are here, embrace them and thank them for the gift of education and for the support and love they have given you, your generation can bring people together like no other.

0 (11m 34s):
You can innovate, create and lead. Your generation will transform our economy and create millions of new jobs. You will develop cleaner energy. You will make it. So racism only exists in history books. Yes, you will. You will be the generation that teaches the people that we are at our best. When we recognize respect and celebrate diversity, you can and will your mark on our country and our shared humanity, dream big, and then dream bigger, a more innovative dream, a more inclusive dream. All of you will preserve and enhance that promise of America. The promise that propelled me out of public housing, the promise that will propel you forward regardless of the color of your skin, your religion, your gender, your sexual orientation, or your station in life.

0 (12m 15s):
Please remember that ASU is because of you. You are because of ASU. We are because of each other. Ubuntu, Ubuntu, Ubuntu yes. Say it with me. Ubuntu, Ubuntu, Ubuntu go forward and continue to make your parents and your family proud. God bless you. And thank you and congratulations to the class of 2017. Thank you. Ubuntu thank you.

1 (12m 41s):
Fire Nation its time

0 (12m 42s):
To stop trading time for money and start reaching more clients and making a bigger impact. And you can do just that with online courses, try Thinkific for free today at Thinkific.com/EOF. That's Thinkific.com/EOF. Are you looking for a proven business coach who has helped thousands of entrepreneurs, just like you to increase their profitability by an average of 104% per year, all for less money than it would cost to hire a full-time minimum wage employee schedule your free consultation today with Clay Clark, a former small business administration entrepreneur of the year at ThrivetimeShow.com/fire.