Commencement address given by Leslie H. Wexner, Founder, President, and Chairman of the board of The Limited, Incorporated, to the Spring 1986 graduating class of The Ohio State University, Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, June 13, 1986

Wexner, Leslie H., 1937-

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LESLIE H. VJEXNER Commencement Address June 13, 1986 I'd l i k e t o t h a n k t h e p r e s i d e n t o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y and t h e t r u s t e e s f o r p i c k i n g me f o r t h i s r a t h e r s i n g u l a r , unique honor. And I r e f l e c t e d a bout why I was p i c k e d . You s h o u l d know t h a t I was born i n Ohio, r a i s e d , Ohio, a t t e n d e d Ohio S t a t e , g r a d u a t e d from t h e C o l l e q e of Commerce and B u s i n e s s i n 19 59. I 1 e f t l aw s c h o o l two y e a r s l a t e r , n o t by s e l f -d e t e r m i n a t i o n . F r a n k l y s p e a k i n g , i t was t h e r e s u l t o f my own f a i l u r e as a law s t u d e n t . t So, i n r e f l e c t i n g on my s e l e c t i o n today, I f e l t a l i t t l e h u m i l i a t e d a t n o t b e i n g a s c h o l a s t i c h e a v y w e i g h t . And, as many o f you, day-dreaming about what i t would be l i k e t o be s i n g l e d o u t , what i t would be 1 i k e t o speak a t a g r a d u a t i o n l e t a l o n e your own. When the o f f e r was made, I d i d n 1 1 h e s i t a t e . In f a c t , I d e c l i n e d . I f e l t s p e a k i n g engagements l i k e t h e s e s h o u l d be r e s e r v e d f o r p e o p l e of n a t i o n a l prominence, p o l i t i c a l l e a d e r s , i n t e l l e c t u a l s . And as a b u s i n e s s man, I h o n e s t l y f e l t t h a t I was not q u a l i f i e d t o speak t o t h e g r a d u a t e s o f a maj or u n i v e r s i t y . O b v i o u s l y , I r e c o n s i d e r e d . And t h e r e a s o n s were s i m p l e and r a t h e r s e l f i s h . I began t o t h i n k o f m y s e l f , i f you would, k i n d of l i k e a C i n d e r e l l a , dreaming a l l t h e s e y e a r s o f what i t minht be l i k e t o be i n t h i s h orseshoe, t o speak a t a g r a d u a t i o n , and I s i m p l y d e c i d e d t o s e i z e t h e f a n t a s y , t o s e i z e t h e moment. I t h o u g h t s e r i o u s l y about t h e t a s k o f p r e p a r i n g a t a l k . And I 2-began t o s t u d y o t h e r s p e a k e r s , p e o p l e t h a t had t a l k e d a t Gradua-t i o n s t h i s y e a r . The j o u r n a l i s t B a r b a r a W a l t e r s spoke about n u t s . The comedian B i l l Cosby gave a g r e a t comedy speech s p o o f i n g g r a d u a t i o n s p e a k e r s . The v i c e p r e s i d e n t , neorge Bush, spoke about t h e f u t u r e i n terms of o u r a b i l i t y t o master t e c h n o l o g y and t h e w i l l o f t h e p e o p l e . And, as might be e x p e c t e d , a b u s i -nessman 1 i k e Lee I a c o c c a spoke on t h e n a t i o n a l d e b t . So i n t h i n k i n g about t h i n c i s t h a t I c o u l d say, I went t h r o u g h a c o u p l e q u i c k t o p i c s . I t h o u g h t about an analogue, perhaps a funny speech but a p o i g n a n t one, b e g i n n i n g w i t h "we a r e t h e w o r l d , we a r e t h e c h i l d r e n . " I was reminded o f a g r e a t c o i n c i d e n c e o f t h i s day. Today i s t h e J e w i s h h o i i d a y o f shavuot. F i v e thousand seven hundred f o r t y s i x y e a r s ago, t h e p e o p l e o f my f a i t h b e l i e v e d t h a t Moses gave us t h e t e n commandments, men 1s moral r e s p o n s i b i l i -t i e s , t h e m o r a l of mankind. And I becran t o t h i n k i n g r e a t s e r i o u s -ness about a speech f o c u s e d on man's r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t t h o s e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s p r o v i d e . And as I r e f l e c t e d , 1 came t o t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a i - , not b e i n g a s c h o l a s t i c , not an i n t e l l e c t u a l , w i t h o u t c r e d e n t i a l s , not q u a l i f i e d , t h a t i t would be i n a p p r o p r i a t e , and I would not f e e l c o m f o r t a b l e t a l k i n g t o you o f your f u t u r e , about your r e s p o n s i -b i l i t i e s , about th e c h a l l e n g e s t h a t l a y ahead f o r our g r e a t n a t i o n . What I d i d r e f l e c t on was how I f e l t t h e day o f my g r a d u a t i o n , s i t t i n g where you a r e s i t t i n g t o d a y . And I was t h i n k i n a t h a t g r a d u a t i o n was s i m p l y t h e end, t h a t I was done. I was f i n i s h e d . My e d u c a t i o n was o v e r . And t h a t i n some s i m p l e way, l i f e c o u l d now b e g i n . And t h e more I thought about i t , I d e c i d e d t h a t " g r a d u a t i o n " i s a t e r r i b l e word. I t has such a f i n a l sound. I t i s so t e r m i n a l . What I would s h a r e w i t h you i s t h a t what I l e a r n e d a t Ohio S t a t e i s t h a t e d u c a t i o n i s n e v e r - e n d i n g . And t h a t my r e l a t i o n s h i p , and h o p e f u l l y y o u r s , w i t h t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n w i l l n e v e r end. And t h a t you w i l 1 c o n t i n u e t o l e a r n , t h a t your c o l l e a e e x p e r i e n c e and mine i s p a r t o f a c o n t i n u i n g l i f e e x p e r i e n c e and t h a t you today w i l l b e g i n more c o n s c i o u s l y t o want t o l e a r n , t o want t o grow, t o want t o change. 1 1 v e l e a r n e d t h a t e d u c a t i o n can be academic b o o k l e a r n i n g , o r g a n i z e d , s c h o l a s t i c . And i t can be s o c i a l . I t can be i n t e r -a c t i o n . I t can be o b s e r v a t i o n . I t can be s c i e n t i f i c . I t san be e m p i r i c a l . And i t can s i m p l y be t h e exposure t o i d e a s , t o t h i n g s and t o p e o p l e . That s i m p l e n o t i o n t h a t e d u c a t i o n i s a c o n t i n u i n g p r o c e s s o f w a n t i n g t o l e a r n and a l l o w i n g y o u r s e l f t o l e a r n and w a n t i n g t o grow, t h a t s i m p l e t h o u g h t n e a r l y evaded me. And t h a t c o n t i n u i n g p r o c e s s , t h a t seed o f t h e i d e a , began here at Ohio S t a t e . I f you would, as an e n t r e p r e n e u r , I want t o t r y an exp e r i m e n t today. I t may be a b o l d i d e a but bear w i t h me because y o u ' r e a l l p a r t o f i t . I b e l i e v e t o d a y can be t h e commencement f o r everyone h e r e , whether you a r e a member o f t h e C l a s s o f 1986, a member o f t h e f a c u l t y , t r u s t e e s , f a m i l y o r f r i e n d s . That we can p a r t i c i p a t e t o g e t h e r and sh a r e t h i s e x p e r i e n c e . And so i f we b e g i n by b e l i e v i n g (power outage) e x p e r i m e n t . I a s s u r e you t h i s i s not an e l e c t r i c a l one. The e x p e r i m e n t t h a t I'd l i k e you t o sh a r e i s a p s y c h o l o g i c a l one. And t h e b o l d i d e a t h a t I have i s t h a t I b e l i e v e i t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t today t h i s -4-c o u l d be t h e l a r g e s t commencement c l a s s perhaps i n w o r l d h i s t o r y . That j s, i f e v e r y one o f us, f a c u l t y , f r i e n d s and a l u m n i , a r e b e g i n n j ng, w i l l commit t o commence b e g i n n i n n t o d a y . To s t a r t , t o b e g i n , t o go f o r w a r d and t o t h i n k p o s i t i v e l y about our f u t u r e . Our commencement can be t h e p o i n t from w h i c h a l l o f us measure the f u t u r e , r e g a r d l e s s o f age, sex, degree o r o c c u p a t i o n . So l e t 1 s r e s o l v e , each o f us, as we're s i t t i n g here t h a t b e o i n n i n g today we're g o i n g t o c o n t i n u e t o l e a r n , t o grow, and t o p r e p a r e o u r s e l v e s f o r t h e f u t u r e , t o e n r i c h our l i v e s . And what I would s h a r e w i t h you a r e my own t h o u g h t s . L e t ' s b e g i n w i t h t h i s as t h e p r o c e s s . We're g o i n g t o s t a r t now and we're g o i n g t o t h i n k about t h e g u i d e l i n e s , t h i n g s t h a t we b e l i e v e i n t h a t w i l l g u i d e us i n t o t h e f u t u r e . And i n t h e same s p i r i t I f e e l r e l u c t a n t t o t e l l you what your v a l u e s s h o u l d be, what y o u r 1 i f e ' s p h i l o s o p h y s h o u l d be. But I b e g i n t h e p r o c e s s by t h i n k i n g o f t h e s e g u i d e p o s t s , t h e v a l u e s , t h e t h i n g s t h a t a r e i m p o r t a n t t o you a t c o m m i t t i n g t o b e g i n t o l e a r n . I use m y s e l f as an example. F i r s t o f a l l , I c o n t i n u e t o b e l i e v e i n God. I b e l i e v e t h a t we a r e a r e f l e c t i o n o f a h i g h e r b e i n g and, as such, God has g i v e n us r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s and o b l i g a t i o n , a mor a l code, t h e a b i l i t y t o s i m p l y know r i g h t from wrong. And I w i l l c o n t i n u e t o do my b e s t c o n s c i o u s l y and c o n s c i e n t i o u s l y t o r e f l e c t and a c t i n an e t h i c a l manner. And t h i s knowledge and t h i s p o i n t o f view w i l l c o n t i n u e t o be a sour c e o f s t r e n g t h f o r me. F u r t h e r , I w i l l c o n t i n u e t o b e l i e v e i n t h e goodness o f man. S i m p l y s t a t e d , I -5-l i k e p e o p l e . I b e l i e v e t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f t h e p e o p l e i n t h e w o r l d a r e good. And p e r s o n a l l y , I choose t o a s s o c i a t e w i t h p e o p l e t h a t a r e good, wholesome pe o p l e , p e o p l e t h a t s i m p l y t h i n k about t h i n g s i n t h e r i g h t way. P e o p l e who know r i g h t s from wrong and have the e t h i c , t h e courage t o speak and a c t on t h o s e r i g h t s and wrongs w i t h c o n v i c t i o n . I b e l i e v e i n h i g h s t a n d a r d s and h a r d work. And I commit t o s e t h i g h e r s t a n d a r d s f o r m y s e l f , t o u g h e r g o a l s b o t h l o n g and s h o r t term, w i t h v i s i o n s t h a t have dynamics of c h a l l e n g e and e x c e l l e n c e — n o t p e r f e c t i o n , e x c e l l e n c e . And I am g o i n g t o work toward t h o s e g o a l s w i t h i n c r e a s e d f o c u s , d e t e r m i n a t i o n , c o n s i s t e n c y and endurance. And I i n t e n d t o s e t h i g h e r s t a n d a r d s f o r m y s e l f , c o n t i n u e t o c h a l l e n g e m y s e l f i n a l l a s p e c t s o f my l i f e . I share w i t h you t h a t I b e l i e v e i n r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . I b e l i e v e t h a t each of us has r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . And t h a t t h o s e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s i n t h e i r b r o a d e s t form a r e w i t h us. They s i m p l y e x i s t . They can be d e n i e d , t h e y can be i g n o r e d . But t h e y e x i s t and t h e y a r e w i t h you. F i r s t of a l l , I l i k e t o f e e l good 4bout m y s e l f . As a m a t t e r of s i m p l e l i f e p h i l o s o p h y , I b e l i e v e t h a t God has g i v e n each of us s k i l 1 s and t h o s e s k i l l s s h o u l d be used t o t h e h i g h e s t , b r o a d e s t p u r p o s e s . Those r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s s pread from y o u r s e l f t o f a m i l y , f r i e n d s , community and c o u n t r y . I b e l i e v e i n c i t i z e n s h i p . I b e l i e v e i n b e i n g r e s p o n s i b l e t o t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s t h a t we b e n e f i t -from and t h a t a r e p a r t o f our l i v e s , be t h e y r e l i g i o u s , c u l t u r a l o r e d u c a t i o n a l . I b e l i e v e i n my f e l l o w man, and I b e l i e v e i n t h i n k i n g o f my f e l l o w man. P h i l a n t h r o p h y i s t o o l a r g e a word. I t h i n k i t e x p r e s s e s i t s e l f i n p e r s o n a l c h a r i t y , v o l u n t e e r i s m , -6-s i m p l y c a r i n g about p e o p l e . And I t a k e g r e a t p e r s o n a l p r i d e i n r e f l e c t i n g on my d i s c h a r g e of t h o s e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . I b e l i e v e i n l e a r n i n g . And I i n t e n d t o seek l e a r n i n g and knowledge more a g g r e s s i v e l y . And t h a t educa-t i o n , t h a t l e a r n i n g i n i t s b r o a d e s t sense, be i t c l a s s e s , i n books, o r g a n i z e d academics, i n d i v i d u a l c u r i o s i t y , e x p e r i m e n t a -t i o n , o b s e r v a t i o n o r j u s t l e a r n i n g s i m p l y from l i f e ' s e x p e r i e n c e s . Knowing t h a t t h e w o r l d i s always c h a n g i n g . And i f we s t u d y h i s t o r y , our own and t h e w o r l d ' s , and r e f l e c t on t h a t h i s t o r y i n an i n t e l 1 i g e n t way, perhaps i t w i l 1 g i v e us i n s i g h t s i n t o t h a t f u t u r e we a r e a l l 1 i v i n g i n . I f i r m l y b e l i e v e t h a t i f we s t o p l e a r n i n g , we s t o p g r o w i n g . And when we s t o p g r o w i n g we b e g i n t o d i e . I b e l i e v e i n a c c e n t u a t i n g t h e p o s i t i v e s , e l i m i n a t i n g o r s i m p l y i g n o r i n g t h e n e g a t i v e s , t h e d e t r a c t o r s , t h e e n v i o u s , t h e j e a l o u s , t h e d o u b t e r s , t h e n a y - s a y e r s . I b e l i e v e t h a t one l o o k s a t r e v e r s a l s , o r s h o u l d l o o k a t r e v e r s a l s , as a l e a r n i n g e x p e r i e n c e , not d w e l l i n g on m i s f o r t u n e o r f a i l u r e but t r y i n g t o l e a r n as much as p o s s i b l e from e v e r y n e g a t i v e and moving on. And when f a c e d w i t h d i s a p p o i n t m e n t o r f a i l u r e , a l w a y s g e t t i n g b e t t e r , never a l l o w i n g y o u r s e l f t o get b i t t e r . And I b e l i e v e one s h o u l d always e n j o y a l l t h e p o s i t i v e s , t h e s u c c e s s e s . I t h i n k i t ' s i m p o r t a n t t o know when you a r e w i n n i n g and when you have won, enj o y i n q e v e r y moment i n t h e s u n s h i n e and remembering them and s a v o r i n g them as an energy f o r f u t u r e s t r e n g t h - r - - p e r h a p s , s i m p l y t o l a u a h and l e a r n , t o l a u g h and have fun when t h e o p p o r t u n i t y i s t h e r e . - 7 -Most o f a l l I b e l i e v e i n dreams> which means I b e l i e v e i n t h e f u t u r e . Not s u p e r f i c i a l daydreams but I b e l i e v e r a t h e r by f o c u s i n g p o s i t i v e l y and w o r k i n g toward my g o a l s t h a t my dreams, your dreams can come t r u e . I b e l i e v e i n t a k i n g t h e r i s k o f dreaming, p l a n n i n g , t o imagine, t o making a p e r s o n a l commitment t o y o u r s e l f f o r t h a t f u t u r e . And then w o r k i n g w i t h a l l your h e a r t , a l l your s o u l and a l l your p a s s i o n , showing enthusiasm, demanding e n t h u s i a s m o f y o u r s e l f , and t a k i n g t h e r i s k t h a t i f t h o s e e f f o r t s t h a t you muster don't l e a d t o a s u c c e s s t h a t you're not a f r a i d , t h a t you've shown t h e enth u s i a s m , t h a t you've made t h e commitment, and t h a t you've s i m p l y t r i e d . t Today i s c l e a r l y a dream come t r u e f o r me. To speak a t my u n i v e r s i t y , t o speak i n t h i s h o r s e s h o e . And what I commit t o you i n t h e e x p e r i m e n t t h a t I t a l k e d about, i s t h a t I would hope somehow ever y o n e o f us here today, t h i s day perhaps e v e r y week, e v e r y month, e v e r y year, perhaps on t h e a n n i v e r s a r y e v e r y June when t h e a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h i s commencement, t h i s b e g i n n i n g , comes around, my c l a s s m a t e s o f 1986 and a l l o f us c o u l d remember t o b e g i n , t o r e c o n s i d e r , t o a p p r a i s e t h e f u t u r e , t o e v a l u a t e what we b e l i e v e i n , t o d e c i d e what we a r e g o i n g t o do, and t o b e g i n t o do i t , a c c e p t i n g t h a t we never g r a d u a t e , t h a t we o n l y g e t t o b e g i n . And t h a t each o f us can and w i l l be what we b e l i e v e and what we i n t e n d t o do. C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s on your commencement. 

Commencement Address

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