BRUCE SHEPARD: Mr. Doug Dreier,
Western Washington University
class of 1996, is your
commencement speaker.
Currently residing in Santa
Barbara with his wife and two
children, Mr.
Dreier is in charge
of one of the nation's
largest private collections
of American popular
culture, often dubbed
the Smithsonian of the West.
The vast collection includes
a mind boggling number
of items from film, television,
sports, literature, geology,
paleontology, from a rarest of
all Honus Wagner baseball card,
to the dress that Marilyn Monroe
wore when she sang "Diamonds
Are a Girl's Best Friend."
Responsible for maintaining
and building the collection,
Mr. Dreier also gives tours to
thousands of people every year,
often for charity
fundraising events.
Mr. Dreier was a teacher in
Baltimore and Albuquerque
before coming home to manage
the Dreier collection.
Mr. Dreier is an avid supporter
of Western athletics, funds
scholarships, and a lighting
laboratory in the Theater
Department.
And he sits on the Theater
Department's advisory board.
Please join me in welcoming
a distinguished graduate
and friend of Western Washington
University, Doug Dreier.
[APPLAUSE]
DOUGLAS DREIER: Good morning and
welcome to the Viking family,
friends, faculty,
and staff here today.
My first speech was originally
befitting my performing arts
background, interpretive dance,
but wiser minds prevailed.
To the Class of 2011,
congratulations.
Today marks the culmination
of a remarkable achievement,
the beginning of your
professional lives
and the start of an
exciting personal journey.
I can remember sitting where
you were 15 years ago exactly.
I was about to head off to
the University of Maryland
to obtain a master's in
education and become a teacher.
I couldn't wait to cross
the stage, get my degree,
shake the hand, and celebrate
with my family and friends.
So don't worry, I'll get
you there soon enough.
I'll admit I was surprised
when I was asked by Dr. Shepard
to be your commencement speaker.
My image of a
commencement speaker
is some gray-haired
dignitary who
has done great things
around the world.
I'm 38 years old, and I
run a pop culture museum.
But I thought about it, and
I realized I wanted to do it,
not only because
it's a great honor
and I love Western, but
also because I think I have
something worthwhile to say.
I'm young enough to remember
how you're all feeling right now
and old enough to
share some lessons I've
learned in the years
since I graduated,
lessons I wish someone
had shared with me
when I was in your shoes.
I want to start by offering
you three simple wishes.
They're the same things
I wished for myself when
I sat where you are right now,
and all three of these wishes
are things I've been
fortunate enough
to achieve since graduating--
success, health, and happiness.
Simple, right?
For ages, people
have been trying
to unlock the mystery of how
to achieve these three things.
I'm here today to offer you the
secrets to those in 10 minutes,
and for free.
[CHUCKLING]
The truth is I don't
believe there's
any real secret to achieving
success, health, and happiness.
It's something we're born
innately knowing how to do.
But over time, as life
becomes more complicated,
we just forget.
We get lost in the daily
grind of school, work,
responsibilities, the
daily minutiae of life,
and we forget how to live.
We need to be reminded.
There is no single, correct
path to health and happiness
and success.
Everybody's path is different.
So today, I'd like to share with
you the five simple principles
that guided me to my own
success, health, and happiness.
I hope they will be useful to
you as you chart your own path.
The first principle
is take chances.
I don't mean diving off cliffs
or swimming with sharks,
but that could be fun.
I mean push yourself to
do new things that scare
and intimidate you, to
do something every day
that forces you out
of your comfort zone.
I can attribute
every good decision
I've made to taking a chance.
One of the first was
coming here to Western.
Bellingham is a long way off
from Los Angeles, California,
where I was raised.
I didn't know a soul.
It was scary, but I've
never regretted it
for a single moment.
I love the experience
I had here in Western.
I also took a chance when I left
the safety of a teaching job
in New Mexico to move
back to California
and be near my family.
It was scary to think of leaving
the very comfortable life I had
built for myself, but
I knew in my heart
that family was the most
important thing for me.
And as a result, I got
to be close to my family
and closer to the woman
who would become my wife
and the job of my dreams.
Speaking of my wife, if I
hadn't have taken a chance,
I wouldn't have met her.
We met Hannah on
a blind date that
was not supposed to happen.
[CHUCKLING]
My normal instinct
is to decline,
because who wants to
go on a blind date?
But I thought about it, and I
figured at worst, it's traffic
and bad conversation.
At best, it's a future.
So I took the chance,
and it worked.
And seven years
later, I'm now married
to the partner of my
dreams, with two children
and one more on the way.
Thank you very much.
[APPLAUSE]
So don't be afraid to
take that leap of faith.
Sometimes you'll fall
flat on your face,
and other times you'll succeed.
But either way,
there's a reward.
You learn from the mistakes, and
you flourish in the successes.
You'll become more
confident and ready
to tackle the next obstacle.
So do something every
day that scares you,
whether it's speaking in
public, confronting opposition,
or learning a new skill,
because if you don't challenge
yourself, you'll never grow.
My second principle is do what
you love and love what you do.
A recent study
showed that Americans
spend the majority of their
day working and commuting,
an average of almost
nine hours a day.
After that, they spend the
most time sleeping, about
eight hours a day.
So that means the
average American
spends 56% of their
awaking day working.
If that's the case,
then it makes sense
to spend the majority
of your day doing
something you truly believe in,
something that inspires you.
For me, it was studying English
and theater here at Western.
Some argue those aren't the
most useful two degrees,
but I disagreed.
They were my passions, and they
shaped me for my current job
as a curator of a museum.
On any given day, I can go
from discussing first editions
of Dickens, Poe,
or J.K. Rowling,
to the importance and popularity
of Will Ferrell costumes from
Elf, Anchorman, or Ricky Bobby--
Talladega Nights.
[CHEERING]
More people are
interested in those.
[LAUGHTER]
By following my passions
and doing what I loved,
I found a very
fulfilling career.
Everybody is good at
something, and when
you're good at something, it
gives you confidence, pride,
and satisfaction.
If you can turn what you
love into your career,
you'll always be successful.
The third principle
is balance your life.
And earlier, I said I
wanted to wish you health.
And I don't mean 5%
body fat, radiant skin,
and the ability to run a
marathon, although I do
wish those things
for all of you.
What I mean is a
healthy life balance.
As we climb the
ladder in our career
and get caught up
in the rat race,
it's easy to lose sight of the
things that are most important.
It happens to all of us at
some point in our lives.
We find ourselves
in a predicament
where the demands of
our career, family
cause us to neglect
our own needs,
but we can't perform
best for others
unless we're taking
care of ourselves.
If you find yourself
in a job where
you're compromising your health,
family, happiness, or values,
it may be time to reconsider
your employer or your career
choice.
But first, take a
good look at yourself.
The problem may be that you need
to reconsider your priorities.
In my life, I've noticed
that the people who
are most successful are the
ones who have lots of interests
outside their work.
In order to perform the
best you can at your job,
you need to be able
to relax and recharge,
with your friends and family.
You need to be able to engage
in the things in your life
that remind you why working
56% of your day at work
is worthwhile.
So keep a healthy balance.
The fourth principle is plan for
tomorrow, but live for today.
So many people spend their
lives planning for their future
that they forget to
live in the present.
Sure, it's important to plan,
just not to the exclusion
of enjoying the
here and the now.
There's a quote from the old
Western movie star John Wayne.
He said, "Tomorrow is the
most important thing in life.
Comes into us at
midnight very clean.
It's perfect when it arrives
and puts itself in our hands.
It hopes we've learned
something from yesterday."
In my opinion, that's the key
to living a fulfilling life--
waking up every
day and remembering
that each day is
a precious gift,
and we owe it to
ourselves and the people
we care about to view each
day as a new opportunity
to be better, live
larger, and give more.
At home, in my office, I
have a small piece of art
on my desk that says,
"Anybody can slay a dragon.
Try waking up every morning
and loving the world
all over again.
That's what takes a true hero."
Every time I look at that,
it puts everything right back
into perspective.
So as you graduate
and leave Western,
try to take that one important
piece of your time here.
Try to retain some
of that carefree,
live-in-the-moment attitude
that you probably had here
as a student.
Remember that it's possible to
work hard and play hard too.
The last principle is give back.
We're all a part of a larger
community that nurtures us,
but it works both ways.
We need to nurture our community
in order for it to thrive.
I stay involved here at
Western and donate money
because I credit the school for
so much of what I've become.
It will always be a part of me.
I enjoy being a
Viking so much, I
went and married a Danish woman.
[LAUGHTER]
Go Vikings.
And I like the idea that maybe
through my contributions,
I could impact the life of a
student here in a positive way.
At home in Santa
Barbara, I volunteer
on boards for several
nonprofits that
support kids and education.
It makes me feel good
that I have something
to offer my community,
and it's rewarding to see
how those groups can help
the people around me.
So I give back,
and so should you--
to Western, to your community,
to your planet, to whomever
and whatever makes you happy.
And giving back doesn't
have to mean money.
You can donate your
time, your hard work,
your special talents, or just
your enthusiasm for a cause,
because sometimes those things
can do more good than money.
So there you go, my secrets
to attaining health, success,
and happiness--
take chances; do what you
love; balance your life;
plan for tomorrow; live
for today; and give back.
I hope these principles
are something
you can use and
build upon as you
chart your own successful path.
Your degree from
Western is a great start
on a promising future.
The foundations you've laid
here as a student will take you
places above and beyond
your imagination,
and the friendships and
memories you've made here
will be with you for life.
I know.
May it be a life filled with
success, health, and happiness.
Thank you, and congratulations
again, Class of 2011.
[CHEERING]
BRUCE SHEPARD: Thank you, Doug.
