Billie Jean King
-Tennis player
... the most important words that have helped me in life when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong are "accept responsibility." "Accept responsibility." And I'll give you an idea. Like in tennis, every ball that comes to me is a decision. Do I slice it, do I hit cross-court, do I hit topspin, do I hit sidespin, do I lob? What do I do? But I have to accept responsibility for that. And that's where sports teaches us to put it on the line, so to speak, and live it.
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... when you dream your dreams, make sure you integrate all these parts so you have total fulfillment. Do you remember it? Come on! Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual! And as you leave today, to go on, I don't want you to forget your friendships.
And here's something that is so important, particularly in business. Your friendships, your relationships, your networking, and your mentoring. If it hadn't been for a friend, I would have never played tennis. It was the last sport I ever played. I played every other sport before I played tennis. All team sports. Always a team sport.And a friend of mine, Susan Williams, in the fifth grade, said, "Do you want to playtennis?" And I said, "What's tennis?" So my friend Susan Williams brought me to tennis, and at my first free lesson at the public park, I decided I wanted to be the number one tennis player in the world. But if it hadn't been for Susan, I wouldn't have gotten there.
So don't lose your friendships and your acquaintanceships that you have here today. Don't ever lose them. They'll be part of your networking as you get older. It'll be important. Find a mentor. Find a mentor and be a mentor. Give back. And when people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say "Why?", say "Why not?" As you heard from your student speaker Litza [Melendez], she dreamed about being the student speaker here four years ago as a freshman. And her dream came true today, and I congratulate her.
My younger brother Randy Moffatt was a major-league baseball player for twelve years, most of those years with the San Francisco Giants as a relief pitcher. He was cut from his high school team and told he was not going to make it. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school team and told he would not make it. You want to be like Mike? Why not?
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So remember to dream, and then to go out and act.
Read the full commencement address »
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
May 21, 2000
Sent in by: admin
Posted on: 03.22.2006