CATHEDRAL CITY BACCALAUREATE GRADS EMBRACE CHALLENGE

(CATHEDRAL CITY) – When you fall out of life’s boat, you must be an active participant in your own rescue – and life always comes down to choices, choices, choices.

Graduating 2017 seniors of Cathedral City High School attending their Baccalaureate Service this week accepted those challenges – and more – from SoCal Coyotes Hall of Fame head coach J David Miller, as the keynote speaker encouraged them to live driven, skillful, intentional lives that require no apology.

“The world is in the midst of a technological revolution, an explosion of brilliance and human potential pouring out of the minds of young people exactly like you,” said Miller, a three-time Coach of the Year.

“Young people no longer want to give their dreams to adults they don’t know, they don’t want to work for a company that makes no sense to them,” he said. “The best ideas are yet to come from you. Many we will discover are sitting in this room right now.

“I guarantee you, 20 years from today, the winners in this room will be the ones who were skillful, intentional and on purpose, who were stubborn, the ones who wouldn’t quit, the ones who had the discipline to search for the second right answer, and the ones who kept their moral compass True North.”

The full transcript can be read below.

Cathedral City High School is also the prep alma mater of Nate Lewis, the Coyotes (2012-14) all-time yardage (10,027) and touchdowns (98) leader, who went on to star at Dixie State before a brief appearance with the San Jose Sabercats (AFL). Another notable CCHS grad is Timothy Bradley Jr., WBO light welterweight champion of the world.

On the field, the perennial champion SoCal Coyotes – America’s #1 Developmental Pro Football Program™ – are in their fifth year, and 10th season. Off the field, the non-profit sports leadership organization touches 30,000 youth annually through clinics, camps, workshops and symposiums.

-Ron DiGrandi ([email protected])

-2017 CCHS BACCALAUREATE ADDRESS TRANSCRIPT-

IT’S AN HONOR TO BE GIVEN the opportunity to share with each of you today – as you sit, just days away, from embarking on the greatest journey of your life – your first steps in society, as a trusted adult. The impact you soon will have in your family, your community, and the lives of those around you may begin with the decisions we start making tonight.

In the next 10 minutes, I quickly want to equip you for the journey – and ask that you remember just three simple things. First, God is in control. Second, stand on the truth. Third, don’t be afraid. That’s your life compass. True North never changes.

And if you stay on course, you’ll live a productive life that is always Above the Line – skillful, intentional, and on-purpose. At all costs, you’ll avoid a life that is Below the Line – one that requires apologies, blaming, complaining, or excuses.

YEARS AGO I WENT whitewater rafting near the Grand Canyon. There was a big giant sign that read ‘if you fall out of the boat, you must be an active participant in your own rescue.’ Suddenly, the lazy river of high school has turned into churning whitewater of college. You are going to fall out of the boat. And when you do, you must be an active participant in your own rescue.

Rescue, not failure, is usually up to you. Scientists, in fact, have now given a new name to the deaths that occur in surgery after something goes wrong—whether it is an infection, or some bizarre twist of the stomach. They now call them a ‘Failure to Rescue.’ More than anything, this is what distinguishes the great doctors from the mediocre doctors. The great doctors don’t fail less. They rescue MORE.

What matters ahead of you will not be the failures. That’s inevitable. But what happens next? A failure often does not have to be a failure at all. However, you have to be ready for it — Will you admit when things go wrong? Will you take steps to set them right? Will you adjust and correct your course? – because the difference between triumph and defeat, you’ll find, isn’t about willingness to take risks. It’s about mastery of the rescue.

IF YOU WALKED IN HERE TODAY WITHOUT any idea about the majesty of God, we must begin with fear of the Lord – respect for the God of the universe, your Creator, your Savior – and obedience to HIM is the only way all this occurs. We must believe the very first four words of Genesis 1:1, that in IN THE BEGINNING GOD, and build from there.

Before we go any further, every person here today must know that you, and only you, can choose JESUS, and that peace and stability can only come when we choose to align ourselves under the comprehensive rule of God. We must be reminded that every human has a flight path, a PURPOSE, a trajectory, a DESTINY, from birth to eternity, where our Creator wants us seated with HIM at the throne of GOD.

As we sit here today, the entire difference between the life we’re about to lead when we leave here is going to be choices, choices, choices – obedience to God, or disobedience – and it’s always, always, up to us – it’s our choice.

IN JUST A MATTER OF DAYS, you will be a college freshman. You will discover dreamers, and doers. Remember that all dreams require doing. While you still discover what your passion may be, the truth is you don’t have to know for a while. But you have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something productive, keep seizing the next opportunity, keep your mind fresh and clean and open to something new. It doesn’t have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Just refuse to sit on the sidelines and watch the band go by.

THE MORE YOU LEARN, the more you earn, so commit right now to graduating from some form of college. We are in the midst of a technological revolution, an explosion of brilliance and human potential pouring out of the minds of “kids” who look exactly like you, young people who don’t want to give their dreams to adults they don’t know, entrepreneurs who don’t want to work for a company that makes no sense to them. The best ideas are yet to come. Many we will discover are sitting in this room right now. And look around – I guarantee you, 20 years from today, the winners in this room will be the ones who were skillful, intentional and on purpose, who were stubborn, the ones who wouldn’t quit, the ones who had the discipline to keep searching for the second right answer, the ones who kept their moral compass True North.

WHAT I REGRET MOST IN MY LIFE are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, directly in front of me, suffering, and I could have done more, been kinder, or more humble, or more caring, or responded more vigorously. But kindness is hard. In part, kindness comes with age. It might be a simple matter of attrition. But as we get older, we come to see how useless it is to be selfish, to be egotistical, to be proud, to be arrogant — how illogical, really. So don’t wait for kindness. Choose it today. Speed it along. Start right now. Make it part of your truth, part of your compass.

ABOVE ALL, BE THE HERO IN YOUR FAMILY – refuse to be a victim. Eliminate excuses. Refuse to blame your past, or your parents, or your predicaments. Your first few years out of high school are going to be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. It will be difficult, but it’s supposed to be hard. Scott M. Peck, who authored the book The Road Less Traveled, nailed it with the first three words: Life. Is. Difficult. It’s right there, in the crucible, that pressure makes diamonds.

YOU ARE ABOUT TO MEET exciting new people and discover powerful new things. Keep in mind that the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you have no idea yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. Settling means giving in to someone else’s vision of your life. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

FINALLY, BE FORGIVING. In our personal lives, our inner lives, at least, we can learn to live without the sick excitement, without the kick, of having to ‘get even’ with somebody, settle scores with this particular person, or that bunch of people, or that particular institution, or that race or that nation. If we are asking GOD and others for forgiveness of our trespasses, then we must be ready – daily, constantly – to forgive those who trespass against us.

Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.

YOU WILL NEVER TRULY KNOW YOURSELF or the strength of your relationships – until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned.

But ultimately, we are all going to stand one day before our Creator. Only then will we realize the magnitude of our choice today to serve God, our choice to live Above the Line – we had choices, choices, choices – and again and again, when our faith was tested, we made the right choices.

We close where we began. Three things. God is in control. Stand on the truth. Don’t be afraid.

And when you fall out of the boat – and trust me, we all do – be resolved to be an active participant in your own rescue.

May God bless you, and your families, Class of 2017.