Sunday Bonus Podcast #2-Archives-Lou Holtz Franciscan University Commencement Address

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Barry Show.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm indeed humbled and honored to be awarded a doctor's
degree from such an outstanding university. I say that from
the botto of my heart. I was born in Follsby,
West Virginia, raised in East Liverpoolhio. So I was very
familiar with stut Bill. Nineteen fifty a friend of mine
from follows me named Gino Kotroki played basketball, and that's

(00:23):
when I first started following this fine university. I'm humbled
by receiving this degree. Obviously you didn't check my high
school rank before you decided to do it. I did
the lower third of my high school class. If it
was not for people like me, that could have been
no upper half the class. So now, if you happen

(00:43):
to be in that honors you showed up to listen,
Loo holds, you made a mistake. I want to talk
to the younger women, men and women here. I'm not
gonna appreciate it. I'm not going to lecture to you.
I'm going to talk about things I believe and the
experiences I shared. I'm not going to talk about something
I read about or heard about. These are things I
believe and understand. This. I've been twenty one, you've never

(01:05):
been seventy eight. So no, ten percent of you, I
say ten percent of you won't remember ten percent of
would have said ten minutes after a cent, but for
the next seventeen minutes. I just want to share things

(01:26):
with you. You know how fortunate you are to be
in a great Catholic university to be able to share
your faith in God. Don't ever lose that. There'll be
a tendency to get away from it. We all have
a tendency to think we can do things on our own.
If you want to make God laugh, you tell them
what your plans are. I want to tell you. I

(01:48):
can't begin to tell you how many times I prayed
when Michigan had the ball in our four yard life.
Oh God, you stop, I'm going to change my life.
It's like the guy that was going to on a
important meeting he couldn't find a parking place. He kept
her and finding a panicky he looked up at Heaven.
He said, God, if you find me a parking place,

(02:09):
I'll go to church every day, every Sunday the rest
of my life. I would not drink any alcohol the
rest of my life and just then miraculously a parking
spot opened up. He looked up at heaven. He said,
forget a god, I found one on my own. We
have that. You know. I have a strong faith in God,

(02:31):
and I don't know how people live without it. I
remember we played Miami of Florida. That was a great
game where it was titled to Catholics versus a Convict.
I really didn't like it. I thought that was totally
unfair because not all our team was Catholic. But we
have this big lunch and three thousand people. I go

(02:53):
in and the father gets up and he says, before
I give him vacation, coach, Holdso I want you to know.
I'm a I'm a priest. I'm the team chaplain of
Miami football team. We came up here to beat you,
and I want you to know God doesn't care who
wins this game. Whenever turn came my turn to talk,
I get up and said, I agree with your father.

(03:15):
God doesn't care who wins a game. But I want
to promise you as mother does. So well. See life
doesn't have to be complicated. We complicate life. I'm going
to make five assumptions about the people in this audience

(03:36):
I'm going to assume you want to be successful professionally.
I'm going to assume you want to have a good
personal life. I'm going to assume that you want to
feel needed. Now, I'm going to assume you want to
feel secure about your future. The fifth assumption I'm going
to make is you want to go to heaven. Now,

(03:57):
I'm going to give you a simple plan how to
do all five because you don't have to sacrifice your
religious life, your personal life in order to avess professionally.
It all work together, and don't complicate it. I try
to keep life simple. Do you realize there are only
seven killers of the Rainbow, only seven. Look what Michelangelo

(04:18):
did with those seven killers. There's only seven musical notes.
Look what Betobin did with those seven notes. There's only
ten numbers. Look what Bernie Madoff did with those ten numbers.
The point I make it doesn't have to be complicated. See,

(04:40):
you need four things in your life. If you don't
have any of these four things in your life, you're
gonna have a tremendous void. See, everybody needs something to do.
Number two, everybody needs someone to love. Number three, everybody
needs someone to believe it In my case is Jesus Christ,
our Lord and Savior. But the fourth thing you need

(05:01):
in your life is you need something to hope for.
What do you want to do having hopes and dreams
and ambition? See, I think that is absolutely critical. Don't
make the mistake a maid. I've done a lot of
dumb things. But let me tell you one thing I regret.
We went the university know the name. We took a
program on the bottom, we took it to the very top,

(05:22):
and for nine straight years we went to a January
one bowl of sugar that caught in the origins of
the fist. And nobody's done it before. Nobody's done it
since we put it on top, and we maintained it.
That's the thing I regret the most. See, there's a
real life. But did you're either growing or you're dying.
The trees either growing or it's dying. Soo's grass. Those

(05:45):
a marriage, there's a business, there's a person doesn't have
a thing to do with age. My birthday candles cost
more in the cake. But as every day to do,
am I trying to get better? My trying to prove
We got on top and say you know this pretty
good let's maintain it does not take any risk. We
finished second of the country at Notre Dame. Everybody called
me an idiot guy finished his last in medical school.

(06:08):
They call him doctor. That doesn't seem fair. When I
left Notre Dame, I never thought i'd coach again. Where'd
you go from Notre Dame? According to my mother, and
go directly? And haven't you sit by the pope? You
don't coach anymore. And then I went to live in
a town where the average age was deceased, and when

(06:29):
I found out a one target coach. You have to
have something to hope for, something to dream, and even
though you've done great things so far, what's going to
happen now? I want to give you a simple plan,
so maybe you'd have follow those five assumptions. This is
not somebody talk about. It's something I believe and it works,
and I wish I had learned it when I was

(06:51):
twenty one. There's only three rules you have to follow.
You know, we have all kinds of laws, federal laws,
county laws, state laws, corporate laws by law, and then
laws and outlaws. Well they need three laws. Law number one,
do what right, do what's right, and avoid what's wrong.
If you have any doubt, get out the Bible. I

(07:12):
do not think it's right to find a teammates walllot
before he lost it, see as called Steven's son. I
found it, but he hadn't lost it yet. All I understand,
just do what's right. There's never a right time to
do the wrong thing, and there's never a wrong time
to do the right thing. Just do what's right. I
think it's right beyond it's right beyond time. I think

(07:35):
it's wrong to practice sections embraces spouse abuse. I think
it's wrong to be bitter. We've all had injustices done
by society, by a spouse, by a professor. Do respect professors.
I've preferred of my own. But you know what, don't
go through life where you're being bitter, where you pass away,

(07:55):
your spouse has to hire six ballbearers because you don't
have friends. Just do the I think it's also right
to have an excellent, positive attitude, seelane gentlemen, and joy life,
have fun. You're gonna have problems. You're gonna have difficulties.
That's part of life. Because you're graduating doesn't mean you
aren't gonna have problems. And don't tell people about your problems.

(08:18):
Do you know that ninety percent of people don't care
and the other ten percent are glad you got him,
So you're better off keeping there's outject. You're gonna have problems,
but have fun with what you're doing. People's ain't a
Jeff funding the ESPN. Not really. I was up there
in Bristol, Connecticut, which was fifteen minutes from Hartford by telephone,

(08:43):
and I'm on there with a guy named Mark May.
Now I love Mark May, beautiful guy, but we have
a different opinion. He was a player as a coach.
He made suggested I made decisions. He showered after work.
I showered before work. He signed a paycheck on the back.
I signed it on the front. You know, just different opinion.
But you know what, when they turned the red light on,
I was gonna have fun. If you have fun doing

(09:04):
some people have fun being around. Every day I walked
out on football field. First thing. I said, Boy, what
a great day to work. And I'm in it because
if you have fun being there, people have fun being around.
Doesn't mean I don't do dumb thing And sometimes I
wasn't real honest. One time me says I'm about my
golf game. I said, I want you to know I'm
the best golfer at Lake Nona. Well, Late Nona, we

(09:27):
have about fifteen pros grahe mcdowll hendry'stincity on Polter or
just around. Well, I go back every base on me.
You lied on TV. I said, let me tell you something.
Three hundred members know I lied. Three hundred million people
think I'm a hell of a golfer. So I like
a percentage, but just do what's right and don't let

(09:50):
people tear you down. Don't let people. Many years ago,
I take my family down to Orlando, Florida. We have
four children. They're all girls but two and I'm real
that fact. And we're getting ready to play or we're
getting ready to play Florida the Sugar Bowl. So we
go to Orlando, where we had a home, and we
go out to dinner. The waiter came up and he

(10:10):
recognized me, said your new holds head coach of Notre Dame,
are you And I said yes, sir. Now I got
up my pen, thinking he wanted an autograph. He said,
let me ask you a question. He said, what's the
difference between Notre Dame cheerios. I said, I don't have
a clue. He said, cheerios blowing in a bowl. Notre
Dame doesn't. Now these are absolutely truths. It made me mad,

(10:31):
got me a bad mood. And my wife said, you're
gonna let somebody you never met before you never go
to see again. Don Carol think a much. You're gonna
let a brule the evening because something stupid, he said.
And she's right. Don't let other people control your attitude.
That's you. I felt so good. A little bit later,
I called a way to back over and I said, so,
let me ask you a question. What's the difference between

(10:51):
low holds the golf pro He said, I don't have
a clue. I said, a golf pro gives tips, which
he found out when the meal was over. Just do
what's right. Rule number two. Do everything to the best
of your ability with time allotted. You know, ladies and gentlemen,

(11:17):
not all of us be all America, not everybody be
first team. Everybody can be the best you're capable being.
And I want to tell you, if you want to fail,
you have the right to fail. That's what's great about
this country. You do not have the right to cause
other people to fail because you don't do everything best
your ability. When you join a spouse, you bring a

(11:38):
child in the world, you join a business, you join
a team, you have obligation, responsibilities, and you owe it
to other people to do the maximum you can and
each everything you do, it's not complicated. Ladies, gentlemen, I
want you to know this. I was born with a
silver spoon in my mouth. I know that's born and

(11:59):
follows me West Virginia, and I went by where I
was born last night, about ten thirty. I was born
in a cellar at home, delivered by doctor McGraw. We
had one bedroom for my sister, myself and my parents.

(12:21):
We had a half bath and a kitchen. Seven and
a half years we lived in that place. There was
no welfare, there was no food stamps, there was no
safety net. But I always had plenty of deed because
every time I asked for a second, my dad had said, no,
you had plenty. But the reason I was bored with

(12:42):
this overspoon my dad had only gone to the third grade.
That's all the education he had. But why was I
born with this overspoon in my mouth? Because I taught
by my parents the life's the matter of making choices
wherever you are good or better because the choices you
made don't blame anybody else. But if you get an education,
you're willing to work and overcome problems and difficulty in

(13:04):
this great country, you can amount to something. That's how
I That's why I was boor a silver spoon. I
was in this country and I was taught personal responsibility
for choices you make. And when we talk about a
commitment excellence, that's a choice you make. And the last
rule to show people you care. You walk in the room, jarga,

(13:26):
Hey here I am looking at me? Is no rat too?
There you are? How can I help you? See? My wife?
God bless her. My wife is a stage four cancer survivor.
The weight went from one eighty niney gave her ten
percent chance to live. I'm happy to report my wife's
doing well. Now. I don't even pray for her anymore.
I pray to her. I mean, she's a saying, but

(13:51):
we're opposites night and day. She said, opposites attract and
then attack. But she's also she left me. She we're
opposite you. She doesn't have a sense of humor, but
she left me. And note a couple of months ago,
said Louis can't please everybody in the world, so I'm
gonna stop trying. I'm going to focus on pleasing one
person a day. And the day's not your day. And
Lamar doesn't look real promising either. But she is my

(14:15):
best friend. We've been married fifty four years. I said, yeah,
I got I got a golf course. And I said, yeah,
I'm married my best friend. The guy said, your wife's
not your best friend. I said yes. He said your
dog is. I said no, you're wrong. He said you're wrong.
He said, try this, then lock your wife and your

(14:37):
dog in the trunk of the car, come back in
two hours and see which one's happy to see you. So,
but my wife never does interviews. She done one interview
in her life because I asked her, what did you
learn from having cancer? She said, I learned how much
my family loved me. Now we didn't love her anymore,

(15:00):
showed it. Why does somebody have to go through some
like that before we realize how important we are, Lady
and gentlemen, I received this honorary doctor's degree not because
what I did, because what other people did. That's the
same thing. Whenever you see recognition, passed the credit. It

(15:20):
was not complicated, but just genuinely cared about people, because
everybody you're going to meet the rest of your life
needs a smile, needs a kind word, needs an encouragement,
because say, when you do the right thing, people are
always going to be able to trust you. My wife
and I have been married because we can trust each other.
I never lose the trust. But the only way people

(15:41):
are ever going to trust you if you do the
right thing. That's all God wants us to do. Do
the right thing. The second thing is do everything that's
your ability, because then people will know you're committed deck scence.
You want to be special, not to say hey here
I am, but help other people and caring about people.

(16:01):
See a lot of you. You're going to be successful.
You're going to go make a lot of money and
when you diet ends, but hopefully everybody in this graduating
class is going to be significant. The significant is when
you help other people be successful, and that lasts many
a lifetime After that. I congratulate you again. People say,

(16:23):
would you like to be twenty one again? I wish
I knew those three rules when I was twenty one.
I've used them for the last forty years. There's a
statue of VI at Notre Dame. I guess they need
a place for the pigeons to land. But if you
go look at it, just don't look to look at
three words on the pedestal, trust, commitment, Love. So those

(16:43):
are those three rules I had for my children, my team.
My greatest accomplishment is not coaching, not TV, not speaking.
The greatest accomplishment was my family, and I'm very proud
of it. You can't take your money to heaven, but
I'll tell you something. You can sure take your children
to heaven with you. I leave you with this very
last five, very last boy. I want to be happy

(17:11):
for an hour, beat a stake. I'll be happy for
a day, play golf. Want to be happy for a week.
Go on a cruise. Now to me, going on a
cruise like being in jail, tipe. You have a chance
to drown, but that's the time. I'll be happy for
a month, play golf. I'll be happy for a month.
By new car, We'll be happy for a year. With

(17:33):
the lottery. I want to be happy for a lifetime.
Put your faith in Jesus Christ, Thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
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(18:04):
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(18:29):
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(18:52):
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(19:17):
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