Ann Romney - Whatever You Choose to Be: Eight Tips for the Road Ahead

2015 Ann Romney.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may bereproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher, Shadow Mountain. The views expressed herein are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of Shadow Mountain.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Romney, Ann, 1949 author.

Whatever you choose to be : 8 tips for the road ahead / Ann Romney.

pages cm

Text of a commencement address given on May 2, 2014 at Southern Utah University.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-1-62972-014-2 (hardbound : alk. paper)

1. Conduct of life. 2. Baccalaureate addressesSouthern Utah University. I. Title.

BJ1589.R66 2015

170'.44dc232014044952

Printed in the United States of America

Publishers Printing, Salt Lake City, UT

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Foreword

Mitt Romney

I have to tell the truth: it wasnt Anns intellect that first attracted me to her. She was simply the most beautiful girl in the room. She had come to the dance with another guy. I approached him with an offer: Because I live closer to Ann than you do, why dont I give her a ride home for you? His agreement sealed one of the best deals Ive ever made.

That was almost fifty years ago. Today, shes still the most beautiful girl in the room, but shes also the most impressive. I watch her speak to audiences of all kinds, guide charities to new and more productive courses, and champion new avenues of medical research. At the 2012 Republican Convention, she was the standout. She combines unique insights and wisdom with empathy and charm. Im profoundly impressed with the woman I love.

Anns life has been a combination of blessings and challenges. She grew up in a loving home, obtained a college degree, served in her church, and raised a family of five rowdy boys. It seemed like a charmed life. But in 1998, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Through medical treatment, vigorous exercise, reflexology, blessings, and prayer, she has pushed her disease into remission. Now, with her founding of the Ann Romney Center for Neurological Research, she has gone from one of the wounded to one of the warriors.

Her writings in this book capture some of the lessons from a life that has been lived in full: mother, wife, educator, politician, athlete, first lady of her home state, leader in numerous charities, presidential race campaigner, and best-selling author. Yes, she is all those things, and to me, she is so very much more.

Introduction

Commencement is both an ending and a beginning. There are so many possibilities and opportunities ahead, with a lifetime of important achievements, exciting adventures, and meaningful relationships. And, perhaps for the first time, the next steps in your life are not set out for you on a predetermined course. For some people, that thought is exhilarating; for others, a little less so. You might feel as if youre a train thats been going full speed ahead and suddenly... youre out of track.

I remember how I felt at my college graduation. It was the end of the turbulent sixties and the beginning of the troubled seventies. I was already a new wife and mother. I remember having a clear realization that I had no idea what was next for me. Perhaps you feel that way as well.

It has been said that we live in troubled times. The economy is anemic and good jobs can be hard to find. But this I can tell you with certainty: there is adventure ahead. My guess is that most of us older folks would gladly trade places with you, if we could. At this stage of your life, the future is thrilling and filled with potential.

There is much I could share with you about the road ahead, but I would like to offer eight simple pieces of advice that I wish someone had given to me at my graduation. May God bless you to make the choices that will bring lasting friendships, earned successes, and enduring happiness. A new adventure awaits: whatever you choose to be!

Your friends from college will last a lifetime. On the other hand, Im sorry to say that much of what you have learned will not.

I took Latin for three years. My dad also took Latin. After all his years of study, he said that he remembered only one simple phrase, which he learned in the first week of class: Agricola Portat aquam. Funny thingafter my three years of Latin, you know what I remember? Agricola Portat aquam. My kids laughed when I told them that story. But you know what they remember from their Latin? You guessed it: Agricola Portat aquam. (Translation: The farmer carries water.)

One of our sons favorite comedy sketches was by Father Guido Sarducci from late night TV. He said he was going to start a five-minute university. In five minutes, he said, you could learn everything that the average college graduate would remember five years after graduation. For example, from his economics course, a student would only need to remember one phrase: supply and demand. From his course in business, all you would need to remember was this: buy something and then sell it for more than you paid for it. For Spanish class, he boiled it down to this: Cmo est usted? followed by muy bien. And by the way, his five-minute university cost only twenty dollarsa real parent pleaser.

In reality, youll certainly need to remember more than what Father Sarducci predicted, but while your academic lessons grow foggy, your friendships can remain bright. As a new graduate, I imagined that my friends from high school and college would inevitably be supplanted by new people I would meet. How wrong I was! My high school and college friends have brought me a lifetime of association and enjoyment far beyond anything I could have imagined.

For example, Lynn Moon and I played field hockey together and rode horses together. She even went out on a date with Mitt before I did. Weve stayed close for over forty years. She and her husband were some of our strongest supporters in our political campaigns.

Your wealth in life will not be measured by your balance sheet because you cannot take it with you in the end. Lifes wealth is comprised of the friends and family you hold dear. Do what it takes to keep your relationships alive and well.

If you want to get ahead, if you want to achieve true success, do someone a favor. In fact, do favors for lots of people. Some of the most successful people I know are those who go out of their way to do nice things for other people.

Joe ODonnell is one of the most successful and powerful people in Massachusetts. Because he got into Harvard on a football scholarship, he figured there was no way he could compete with other Harvard graduates in the business world. But there was something about Joe that was unique: he naturally went out of his way to help others.