Earl Bakken
-Businessman
By all reckoning, the bumblebee is aerodynamically unsound and shouldn’t be able to fly. Yet, the little bee gets those wings going like a turbo-jet and flies to every plant its chubby little body can land on to collect all the nectar it can hold. Bumblebees are the most persistent creatures. They don’t know they can’t fly, so they just keep buzzing around.
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Never give in to pessimism. Don’t know that you can’t fly, and you will soar like an eagle. Don’t end up regretting what you did not do because you were too lazy or too frightened to soar. Be a bumblebee! And soar to the heavens. You can do it.
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"Ready, Fire, Aim." This is the approach I have used all my life. There are always decisions to be made. In my experience, it is better not to get caught up in over-analysis of a problem. Many of the decisions at Medtronic were made very quickly. The first pacemaker took only four weeks from concept to first use. The original design was not perfect, of course, but it worked. So if you feel positive in your gut, in your na ‘au, about your idea – do it. Don’t get stuck in the limbo of "Ready, Aim…Aim…Aim…"—and let someone else do the "Firing." Be there first!
Read the full commencement address »
University of Hawaii
Hilo, HI
May 16, 2004
Sent in by: admin
Posted on: 01.02.2006