Robert Morris University / The House of You Speech
***I want to thank Dr. Stakeley for having me here today. I can’t think of a better place to spend my Friday than right here at Robert Morris University, w/ each of you, *** -PAUSE-
Hi, my name is Justin Hayes, architect of The House of You Brand, including TheHouseOfYou.com, where you can find books, blogs, cases & instructional materials for career preparation, achievement & advancement
The House of You is built on the principle of helping others
For me, I know I did not get to where I am today without the help, motivation & encouragement from champions, like my family, mentors, co-workers, professor’s, doctor’s and former students to name a few.
I challenge each of you to think about what I call Champions4U, those individuals who may have helped you, or in the future may help you.
Help, to me, can be in the form of encouragement and confirmation. I am lucky to have received both, with confirmation being a reminder, that my work is making a difference, such as:
1. When the 1st edition of my book, became a requirement for all Business students at Miami Dade College &
2. When last April I was invited to be the keynote speaker at an end of term Commencement ceremony, when after I was finished speaking, one student in particular approached me and shared w/ me…+
3. And like the following message I received from 5-time NCAA national champion, 6-time gold medalist & 1,100 career NCAA wins, Head Basketball Coach at Duke University,
4. Coach K – Mike Krzyzewski and I quote…
“Justin,
Thank you so much for your note and the copy of your book, The House of You. I truly appreciate you thinking of us. You are right about the main objective of a great university and that is to prepare our student athletes for the work force. Overall, we have done a very good job of doing that but you can always learn how to do it even better. I am sure that your book will help us and appreciate you sharing it with us.
Please take care and again, thank you for your thoughtfulness. I wish you the very best of luck with your book.
My Best Wishes Always,
Mike Krzyzewski”
-If that’s not confirmation of my work making a difference, then I don’t know what is-
So, as I wrote about in a blog post last month titled “Who’s helping you to the Hall of Fame?”
I brought up the notion that a new Hall of Famer spends most, if not all of their induction speech, thanking all who have helped them on their journey, instead of taking sole credit for their achievements.
For you can throw your hands up
You can beat the clock
You can move a mountain
You can break rocks
You can be a master
Don't wait for luck
Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself
Standing in the hall of fame
And the world's gonna know your name
'Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world's gonna know your name
And you'll be on the walls of the hall of fame” like “The Script’s” song
What do your Hall of Fame achievement’s look like? Who are the Champions4U?
Next, I am going to share the 3 Driving Forces that have pushed me Personally & Professionally. And they are:
1. To identify, and maximize what am I good at to the fullest +
2. What I can control versus what I can’t control. (Job interview)
3. And how I treat the outcomes to situation’s as opportunities, rather than setbacks (Babe Ruth)
Now, a lot of what I have shared with you thus far, has been psychological in nature, because what I have found throughout the course of my life, both as a human-being and as a Professional, is that once I got over the fact that I am not perfect, that I cannot control every variable, in every situation, and that if I don’t take care of myself mentally and physically, then it is next to impossible, to help others. It wasn’t until I came to that awareness, I could truly go after the “what”, or my sense of purpose in life, and that “what”, is helping others. Helping others, gives me my prescription for living, and ultimately brings me here today.
If you haven’t found it yet, search and find your prescription for living, because, to be serious for a minute, I wouldn’t be standing here today, if I hadn’t come to that realization almost 2 years ago. It was at that time, I finally had my mental health addressed by Professionals, and NOT the Internet. A lot of it, was my ego telling myself, I was ok, when in reality I wasn’t, and then there was this stigma. Well, unfortunately the stigma is still there, at least for one Life Insurance Company. AIG declined me Term Life Insurance, just two weeks ago, because of my mental health history. Well, that is just fine by me, because I have helped, and will continue to help, the now in the thousands, of students, across not only the United States of America, but the world, with my teaching, speaking engagements and product offerings, even WITH my mental health history.
Oh, and did I mention that NCAA Division 1, Football coaches, Dabo Swinney from Clemson, Lincoln Riley from the University of Oklahoma, Jim Harbaugh from the University of Michigan and that guy Mike Krzyzewski from Duke, have found my work useful, and applicable, to their student-athletes. And this is only a high profile snapshot, of those who have found my work to be valuable.
So, I know for a fact, that my mental health history, has helped me, and NOT been a constraint. Because, I wouldn’t be as ambitious as I am, if my brain did not embrace curiosity, creativity and achievement. So, 1) NO company, 2) NO person and 3) NO second guessing will deny me of my destiny, which is to help and inspire others. That, my new RMU friends, is my prescription for living! What is yours?
Today, I feel better than ever, and don’t take things for granted, like I used to. So, let me be a real life lesson, to never let anyone, even yourself, tell you, that you can’t do something, or you’re not good enough. Because, I am living proof, that you can, and you are!
So, when life personally or professionally throws you a curve ball, do like I did and do, and brush your shoulders off like Jay-Z or shake, shake, shake, shake it off like Taylor Swift.
*Click to the next slide*
I’ve built MY HOUSE, so let’s now BUILD YOUR HOUSE…
Be yourself
Use your available resources
Interview types
Digital footprint
Your elevator pitch
Opportunities
Universal
Reviews
Happy
Offer
Uncontrollables
Skill-set
Execute
In Closing:
1. Leader/Follower, are you the lightning or the thunder? I choose lightning
2. Success doesn’t come over night (Thomas Edison/Albert Einstein)
3. I have my champions and will have future champions as I continue Personally and Professionally, so who are yours? Please, don’t be nearsighted like I used to be, and think that you don’t need any help, to achieve your goals, and help you to the Hall of Fame. Find, be thankful and leverage Champions4U that WILL be there, to encourage and confirm, that what you are doing is positive, valuable and making a difference. And when you get the choice to sit it out, or dance, dance.
If what I’ve talked about resonated with you today, you can pick up a business card and flyer, on your way out, with all my information.
*Thank you! I will now answer any questions you may have*
The author of this blog is Justin Alan Hayes, architect of The House of You and the leading Expert on career preparation, advancement and achievement, including how to maximize your collegiate career and inspiring others to make their dreams come true.
The House of You (https://www.thehouseofyou.com/shop/), has the most epic career preparation, achievement and advancement books available, titled “The House of You'“, which is being used inside and outside of the classroom by Professor’s, students and student athletes across the world, along with Professional instructional materials, cases, and resume consulting.
All rights of The House of You and included content is protected by U.S. Trademark. All rights reserved.
Copying, plagiarizing and/or passing this speech/content/work off as someone other than The House of You and Justin Alan Hayes, LLC is strictly prohibited and will be enforced through any and all legal channels and avenues.