Success starts with you.
[Music]
i’ve loved the jedi the sith
darth vader yoda and when i was thinking
of something to write for this talk
i kept coming back to star wars and
that’s when i started to realize that
wow star wars and success go hand in
hand
but before i talk about star wars
modeling success we need to figure out
what success even means and why it
matters
hi my name is grace jose and here to
talk about what success means to me
for some people success could be being
the wealthiest person in the room
or maybe the person with the highest
grades but for me
i have a very different version of
success my success is to be a better
version of myself
because success starts with you why does
this matter
well when society promotes a
one-size-fits-all version of success
people believe they’re not successful
every time you’re judged
on your grades athleticism job title
financial status
or even your physical appearance you are
misled to believe that those define you
but back to the big question what does
all this have to do with star wars
and how does star wars model success
well if you’re familiar with star wars
you probably know what a jedi is and
what they stand for
jedis are galactic warriors who stand
for the light side of the force and the
good in the galaxy
despite the jedi’s few flaws over time
they start to improve themselves and
grow in their knowledge of the force
the jedi became more and more successful
in what they strive to do
and over time their self-improvement had
paid off when they defeated the dark
side
the jedi also have set of rules that
they follow that are called the jedi
code
now unlike the jedi i don’t wield a
fancy lightsaber or live in a galaxy
full of aliens
which is why i made up my own jedi code
for my success
code number one is to set goals for
yourself and have a vision of what you
want your future to look like
by setting goals for yourself you are
getting organized and prepared
these are fundamental things for any
successful person to follow and learn
as an example a goal that i have for
myself is to be successful in
entertainment and performance arts
it’s something that allows me to channel
my creativity and it’s something that i
enjoy to do
so i envisioned what i wanted and i
started to take the steps i needed to
achieve that vision
since the age of seven i’ve attended
acting camps i also took triple threat
acting classes to help my stage
presentation
and to this day participate in theater i
have a vision
and so do you so take the steps that you
need to achieve that vision
code number two is for you to learn and
grow from your mistakes and difficulties
by doing this you are moving through
obstacles in life building resilience
and pushing on
you’re also becoming more and more
successful and becoming a better version
of you
now theater might seem fun and easy to
you but it is not without its own
hardships
in some of the musicals i participated
in there were kids who were better than
me
and for me that was extremely
intimidating for example
i remember auditioning for winnie the
pooh musical when i walked in
i could see all the kids staring at me
out of everyone there
i looked like a complete newcomer i
didn’t know half the name of our dance
dance steps i couldn’t sing as well as
some of the kids there and on top of all
that
i stuttered and tripped on my words a
lot during auditions
at that point i could have done one of
two things i could have walked out
and given up because what’s the point in
even trying
or i could choose to push through and
follow my dreams
which is exactly what i did now don’t
get me wrong
not everything went the way i planned
there were times where it was still very
scary and intimidating with such
talented kids around me especially since
unlike me
it was very rare for them to mess up but
i did my best to push through
and i know if i could do it you can do
it too
code number three is for you to be a
force for good well what does it mean to
be a force for good
it is a mentality in a way of life that
will help you reach success
this idea that you will bring others up
with you on your personal journey
it is a process of helping others
because you know that you cannot always
do it on your own
and helping others is helping yourself
start by putting at least one good
action in this world
you putting at least one good action can
start a domino effect and can encourage
others to help too
that way you will not you are not only
improving yourself but improving others
finally make positivity a mantra in your
everyday life
you would be surprised about how
contagious a good attitude can be
your attitude can determine your
altitude
i learned this while i was participating
in soccer
there were many times where me and my
team face challenges like for a while
one of my teammates had a medical
condition that prevented her from
playing
losing one of our best players
definitely took a toll on how we played
at that point almost all of our
attitudes were at slowest and we were
not hopeful for our season
but i remember coming to practice one
day and seeing one of my teammates smile
from ear to ear she was an optimistic
person
who always had a great attitude her
positive mentality and will for bringing
others up with her on her personal
journey
became a force for good for our team she
taught me that my mindset can have a
positive effect on others
and i’ll always remember that so dear
fellow and future jedis
i hope my jedi codes help you reach your
success
make sure to remember to envision your
future grow from your mistakes and
become a force for good
good luck and may the force be with you
you