Grade 7 Farewell Dinner

November 26, 2015 | Boys’ Preparatory

We hosted our Grade 7s for a farewell dinner as they leave the Boys' Prep and continue their schooling journey. Here are a few focus points from our Headmaster's address at the dinner.

The Four Agreements are:

1. Be Impeccable with your Word:

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to put yourself or others down. Instead as you start the new journey make it your mission to say something positive to somebody every day.

2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.

3. Don’t Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Four simple but powerful agreements that if you stay true to them will change your life forever. The second thing I want to share with you are 5 of the most powerful quotes taken from the writings of Dr Seuss.

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”

This is one of the most popular quotes by Dr. Seuss, and perhaps it’s because it is so true, and such a witty way of saying it. There really isn’t anyone out there that’s more you than you are. It’s something that can be said about you for your entire life. No one else can think for you, can do your work for you, and experience happiness for you, it’s all up to you, and you put your own mark on your life. So go and life live to the full.

“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!”

It’s funny to think about thinking. It seems like it’s something that just happens on autopilot, and not something that you can control. Realising that you’re actually in control of your thoughts, and you can think deep thoughts or not-so-deep thoughts, happy thoughts or sad thoughts on command, it becomes clear that it’s your responsibility to think the thoughts you want to think. Seuss seems to be encouraging you to think in all sorts of different ways, and different directions so that you can find those really amazing ideas.

Go and think differently we are all waiting to see which one of you will blow the world away with a new idea.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Here’s a clever rhyme to get you motivated, realising that things get done in the world by people who care, who try, and who give their best to what they’re doing. Look around and you’ll see that if no one cared an awful lot, not much would get done, and nothing would have ever improved. It’s easy not to care about things, because a whole lot of things need changing and it can be overwhelming. But if you focus your attention on one thing that needs improvement in your own world, you can make a measurable difference just by amping up the amount of care put towards it.

Go and make that World of Difference, we believe in you.

“And will you succeed? Yes you will indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)”

Of course there are no 100% guarantees in life, but when you have a positive mind set like the one this quote instils you’ve got a pretty good shot at getting it right. Success begins in the mind, and if you go in with a defeatist attitude you’ll surely come up short. Just think of what you could accomplish if you had the belief that you would succeed. You don’t need to be completely assured of success, it’s good to have a bit of a possibility of failure or it wouldn’t be interesting.

Just go into it with the confidence that there’s a high chance of success for you and you will be 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

Here’s a nice breakdown of what it takes to get places. The brains in your head give your body the direction it needs to take you where you want to go. You just have to know where it is you want to go. Determining your destination is priority one. What the brain can dream up, the body can fulfil as long as there is a strong determination and a clear vision of what it is that is wanted. The great part is that this is all up to you - you have plenty of choices, and there are countless directions in which you can head.

So, in conclusion, gentleman, if you remember nothing else I want you to try and remember the final line of this now very famous quote:

 “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs

Gentleman go and be crazy go and change the world. God speed.