The Big Rocks of Success

To President Portera, President Emeritus Zacharias, the Board of Trustees, faculty, and the rest of the platform party-but more importantly to the graduating class of 2000, your parents, your family, and your guests:

Thank you for letting me be part of your special day. I'm honored and delighted to share in this remarkable occasion with you. And it is a remarkable occasion.

Remarkable because what you have accomplished-through hard work and sacrifice-has not been easy.

Remarkable because you've come so far and learned so much in your time here at Mississippi State that you truly are different people.

Remarkable because the rewards for being among the learned in society-the rewards for getting to this point-are so much more than you can imagine today.

So before we go any further, it's appropriate for us-your friends, your family, and your colleagues-to congratulate you on this remarkable achievement in your life.

The fact is, many of you have spent the last several years nearly isolated in this haven of higher education. That's one of the best things-and worst things-about college today. It gives you the chance to study and reflect away from the outside influences of daily life. That's the good part. The bad part is that, once you're ready to leave, you sometimes have no idea what's been going on in the world. And it takes a while to catch up.

So what I'd like to do is give you a brief history of the last four years. Consider it a kind of last-minute cram session that will let you go into the world fully prepared for the daily-sometimes hourly-news world you're about to enter.

For example, during the past four years, many of you probably didn't realize that:

Kofi Annan took over the U.N., Jesse "The Body" Ventura took over Minnesota, and Matt Lauer took over the "Today" show.

Michael Jordan came off the court, astronaut John Glenn came out of retirement, and Ellen DeGeneres came out of the closet.

Latin America gave us the Macarena, Asia gave us the flu, and we all got sick of Y2K.

The police searched for Andrew Cunnanan, parents searched for Tickle Me Elmo, investors searched for the latest Internet start-up company, and pro golfers everywhere searched for a way to tame the Tiger.

Daimler bought Chrysler, Exxon bought Mobil, and AOL's in the process of buying everybody else.

Bob Dole's on Viagra, Hillary's on the campaign trail, and something called Pokemon is on TV.

Phen-Phen is out and body piercing's in.

Yeltsin's out and Putin's in.

Newt has left Washington, but Castro's still strong in Cuba-and Strom Thurmond's still in Congress.

The U.S. opened an international space station, the Citadel opened its doors to women, and the all-American sport of baseball opened its season in Japan.

Judge Judy went to the bench, Mark McGwire went into the record books, and the Unabomber went to jail.

A "Candle in the Wind" told us about the passing of an English rose, CNN told us about another tragedy in Kennedy's Camelot, and Jerry Springer's telling us stuff we don't want to know about.

The Senate tried to get rid of the president, Jerry Falwell tried to get rid of Tinky Winky, and we all tried to get rid of the image of Pat Boone doing heavy metal.

Jerry Seinfeld told us he'd had enough, NASA told us about Yogi Bear on Mars, and Will Smith told us to get "jiggy" with it.

Great Britain lost Hong Kong, Howard Stern lost his clothes, Evander Holyfield lost his ear, the Pope lost his appendix, and we all lost a bit of innocence in a place called Columbine.

We thought about JonBenet Ramsey and asked, "Why did it happen?" We were introduced to Dolly the cloned sheep and asked, "How did they do that?" And we remembered Joe Dimaggio and asked,"Where have you gone?"

Lots of people became daytraders. David Brinkley retired from the evening news. And Paul McCartney became a knight.

John Rocker said a lot of things he shouldn't have. Clinton said, "Don't ask, don't tell."

And-finally-Regis asked the question that's on everyone's mind these days, "Is that your final answer?"

About the only thing I didn't mention is how popular-how indispensable-e-mail has become over the past few years. I only mention it now because-probably like a lot of you-I frequently get stories and jokes on my e-mail. And one of those stories is a good one for us to consider today. It involves one of my favorite subjects-a business professor-doing a time management experiment.

It seems that one day the professor gathered his students around him. And while they watched, he filled a gallon-sized Mason jar with about a dozen fist-sized rocks. Then he asked the students a question. He asked: Is this jar full? And everyone in the class agreed that it was.

Then he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of gravel and poured it into the jar. The gravel worked its way down between the cracks and once again the professor asked his students: Is the jar full now? The students weren't so sure this time.

Next, the professor pulled out a bucket of sand and poured it into the jar. And the students watched in amazement as the sand filtered down among the rocks and gravel. And the professor asked again: Is this jar full now?

Of course, the students were believers by now and all responded with a single "No."

The professor agreed and pulled out one last bucket. This one had water and he poured that into the jar as well, filling it up to the very top.

"The jar," he said, "is now full. But what's the point?"

One eager student raised his hand and said, "The point is that, no matter how full your schedule, there's always room for more."

But the professor had another lesson for them. "The point is," he said, "that if you don't put the big rocks in first, you won't get them in at all."

That's a good lesson as you get ready to leave this part of your life behind. As you begin to struggle with the everyday kinds of questions about what direction your life should take. As you struggle-as we all do-on what you need to focus on, and what you can let slide.

Let me suggest that, like the professor, you focus on putting the big rocks in first.

>If you look around you, you'll find your life filled with successful people and potential role models. And you'll find that the one thing they have in common is that they all have those "big rocks" that are important to them.

It doesn't matter if you decide to continue your education in a post-graduate degree or if you decide to join the working world, you'll constantly be bombarded by the little stuff-the sand and the gravel-that life throws at you. But that's not what counts. And it's not what will make you a success. Success depends on the big rocks. Those are what make a difference.

It was some 40 years ago that I sat where you do today. Facing the same sense of uneasiness about my future that you're probably feeling today.

But there were several big rocks in my life that sustained me and helped me.

Family, for example, has been the bedrock I've built my life on. Families are often unconventional, are almost always quirky, and are sometimes even difficult. But in my experience, family is the one constant-is the one big rock-that's always there to support me when I need it most.

My faith is another big rock. I learned a long time ago that having faith in God's grace and will were great comforts. Having faith gave me the constitution, in fact the impetus, to move forward when things looked darkest. You, too, will find that your faith will be tested many times as you move forward. At times, the challenges will come so frequently that you may feel like Job himself.

That's when that big rock of faith becomes so important. And we would do well to remember the words of former President Jimmy Carter, who said: "To have faith in something is an inducement not to dormancy but to action. To me," he said, "faith is not just a noun but also a verb."

The last big rock that I've come to rely on is the one consisting of core values that were instilled in me long ago. Values such as a sense of service to my fellow man, the courage to accept responsibility for my own actions and my own future, and a sense of ethics that underpins everything we do.

Those are the rocks that I put into the jar first. Those are the rocks that I've built a foundation on.

As you start this new phase in your life, let me suggest that you take time to reflect on what your core foundations are. Which rocks will you carry with you into the crucible of life?

I started off today with a review of what's happened over the past four years. And it's amazing to look back and see how quickly the world is moving. The world you're entering is wired. It's connected. It's a 24/7 world with virtually no borders and certainly no lack of opportunity.

To realize that opportunity, however, you must be persistent in your pursuit of new knowledge. As the pace of change continues to accelerate, you must be flexible enough to keep up.

But most of all, you must constantly reevaluate and reaffirm those big rocks in your life that are the most important.

If you do that you will look back on your life and judge success not by the kind of car you drove or the size of house you lived in. You will judge success by the only criterion that really matters-by the difference you've made in the lives of other people.

Earnest W. Deavenport Jr. of Kingsport, Tenn., delivered the 2000 spring commencement address to more than 2,000 graduates. A 1960 MSU chemical engineering graduate from Macon, he is chairman and chief exectuvie officer of Eastman Chemical Co. He also holds a master's degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Deavenport joined Eastman after graduating from MSU and was named president of the company's Carolina operations in 1982. Three years later, he was promoted to assistant general manager of the Eastman Chemical Division and vice president of the Eastman Kodak Co.

In 1989, he became Eastman president and Kodak group vice president. He was a member of Kodak's board of directors until 1993 when he resigned as part of the spin-off of Eastman Chemical.

In 1994, Deavenport assumed his current leadership role. Under his guidance, the company developed an aggressive global growth strategy and today is world leader in the production of polyester plastics packaging.

Last year, he was given the Palladium Award, an international honor presented by the Societe de Chemie Industrielle's American Section for his efforts on behalf of the global chemical industry. He previously received numerous other accolades, including the Kavaler Award, the industry's highest recognition for executive achievement.