"Take Risks and Have a Lifetime Commitment to Education"

I am honored to have the privilege to speak to this distinguished graduating class of 2007. I have not been to campus in nearly 20 years and this visit brings back some fond memories. Although, I was somewhat disappointed to see that the strip was now a place to drink and partake in other unseemly behaviors, unlike the gathering place for educational debate and a think tank that it was when I was a student here 25 years ago.

I entered SIU with uncertainty but also excitement. My parents did not go to college and neither did most of my friends. I ventured out on my own not knowing anyone here and not knowing what I wanted to do with my career. The only thing I did know was that I wanted to have more options in life and see what the world offered. I was unsure of my ability to pass college level exams and also unsure of the value of getting a college degree.

Learning How to Think

In my first year I questioned the value of an education when seeing the financial costs that I would have to somehow bear and not knowing what the end game would be. My doubt of the value of a college education was reinforced during a science class where the professor explained that only 24 hours following this test we just completed we would forget 50% of what we learned. We lose more information if we head for the bars after the exam. A short period later we would lose another 50%...and the half life of the memorization of information continues until only vague ideas remain. So I thought, what am I doing here? I spoke out to the professor, "What good is this if we don't remember much of it?" He quickly responded, "You are learning how to think." I now look back on his insight with clarity.

Your presence here is proof that you have trained your brain to solve problems, critically reason, and to assemble information and data into knowledge. You may hear things like 70% of the people that get a college degree do not go into the field of work that was based on their major field of study. You are not limited by a major. This is not a trade school. You have trained your brain for critical thinking; this is necessary in every career. After graduating from SIU, although I was still unsure of my future, I was a very different person with more choices and confidence that I could compete in the adult world.

My education was truly a turning point in my life that opened up many new and better opportunities to live life more fully, have confidence to take more risks, and also to give back to others less fortunate. Not only was the education experience here valuable, but I also met some incredible friends and professors. The University is also near and dear to my heart because I was lucky enough to meet a girl here that made me better in almost every way and has been the love of my life and my wife of 23 years now.

An Elite Group

As I look around I see tears of pride on the faces of parents; although, these may also be tears of joy in knowing that the educational expenses are coming to an end. Very few times in life do we experience such a vastness of emotions as we do when we graduate college; excitement, pride, fear, and sadness all in the same short period of time. This is a moment in your lifetime to remember forever, so take it all in.

Congratulations. You have achieved an awesome educational accomplishment. The many hours of study, the dedication and efforts to better yourself has put you in a special class at an opportune time in history. Only 27% of adults in the U.S. have a bachelor's degree and probably less than 5% of the world's population has attained this level of advanced education. You have more education than 5.7 billion of the 6 billion people on earth. That's a great achievement and what also comes with it is a greater opportunity of choices in careers and the chance to create a better quality of life for you and your family. It also comes with some responsibility to help improve the standard of living for the less fortunate around the world.

At no other point in history has it been so important to acquire knowledge. Your generation is fully enveloped into the knowledge-based economy and this 21st century is your time to expand the quality of life around the globe.

The Knowledge Revolution: From "Things" to "Ideas"

Generations past have given greatly and sacrificed much in war as well as hard work to protect the ways of life that we enjoy. They also built a foundation that has led us to this knowledge revolution. This is the third major change in mankind's march to improve the quality of life on earth. The agriculture revolution became a launching pad for wealth expansion as our ancestors figured out how to yield more from the crops and livestock than they needed to personally consume. This allowed other people the time to pursue ventures that also enhanced the living standards for millions of people.

The knowledge revolution we are living in today is multiplying man's intellectual strength just like the first industrial revolution multiplied man's physical strength. It has the ability to significantly improve living standards around the globe at a much faster pace than past revolutions.

Today, only 9% of the U.S. workforce is employed in manufacturing. The U.S. economy is no longer about producing things. It is about producing ideas; the infusion of knowledge into the production process to improve goods and services.

The emergence of the knowledge revolution with the advancement of democracy and freedom around the world is no coincidence. Freedom provides opportunity to do things for yourself and in your own way while doing it, to borrow a phrase from our constitution, in the "pursuit of happiness."

From 1974 to 2001 the number of countries in the world that were considered democracies grew from 39 countries to 121 and now includes nearly 70% of all countries. This occurred over a period of approximately 30 years. Democracy and freedom are essential to improving the quality of life as evidenced by the very high correlation between growth in living standards and countries that are considered free.

The Proliferation of Knowledge

Knowledge is the fourth input to production and wealth. The old text books talk about land, labor and capital as the production inputs. Knowledge is a vastly different input in the production of wealth.

Paraphrasing from Alvin and Heidi Toffler's excellent book, Revolutionary Wealth, "Knowledge is inherently non-rival; you and a million other people can use the same chunk of knowledge at the same time without diminishing it. In fact, the greater the numbers of people using this piece of knowledge, the greater the likelihood that someone will generate more knowledge with it."

• Knowledge is non-linear; a tiny insight can yield huge outputs.
• Knowledge is relational and when juxtaposed with other data or knowledge it attains more meaning.
• Knowledge is more portable than any other product. You can convert it to ones and zeros and shoot it around the world at the speed of light.

Because of the unique leverage aspects of knowledge in the wealth creation process, your generation and the knowledge revolution can exponentially improve living standards around the globe when combined with the expansion of democracy, capitalism and freedom.

As an investment manager focused on growth opportunities, my job is to understand how the world works, what trends are driving living standards, and then invest along those themes for the longer term. Some great growth opportunities are occurring in the global economy and it is likely that many of you will find your career in one of these areas.

Revolutions are occurring in the financial, healthcare, technology, telecomm, education, and entertainment industries as growth in knowledge, global capital pools and higher living standards dramatically alter the landscape. Emerging markets are rising and wealth is expanding globally. Career opportunities have never been better for someone with your level of education.

This past century has been remarkable in the advancement of living standards and it's getting better all the time. Don't accept the negativity of the press and the nightly news. Living standards have multiplied nearly tenfold in the last century and have been accelerating over the last 25 years.

Live Without Fear of Failure

When you venture out into the adult world the "safety net" you can count on is your growth in knowledge and becoming an expert in something. You have finished the first step in the process of your adult lifetime education. This global economy demands a lifetime commitment to education from each one of you and you're off to a great start. One of my favorite quotes from my readings during my SIU days was, "Experience is great but the time it takes devours its value. Education is the answer." In today's economy, as our ex-president once said, "You earn what you learn."

The risk of failure should never stop you. Risk more to make a difference, risk more to reach your goals, risk more to enrich your life's journey, risk more to improve the living standards of those around you. Risk more to start your own business and offer career opportunities to others. Risk more to build capital. Each of us must choose whether to live our lives with the courage to take risks or to just become a bystander in life. Enjoy the journey; you are off to a great start.

Again, congratulations.