Good Morning.

I am both honoured and flattered to have been asked to speak at this wonderful occasion. I congratulate each of you and your teachers. Your achievements in the realms of enterprise are being honored here today at this prestigious event and it is a wonderful way for the school and community to recognize and celebrate the choices, and the sacrifices, you have all made.

I was invited here today by a former teacher of mine Kate Kenny. Now perhaps that might give you the impression that I must have been some kind a teachers pet or dux of the school. Actually it was quite the opposite and I'm sure Kate would back that one up! I was not a particularly gifted student or a quick learner; in fact I had to attend extra classes after school because I was considered to be a "slow" learner...

However one of my proudest memories from my school days was receiving a prize alongside the brighter sparks in my year for "Most Effort" ... I sometime feel as if nothing has changed ... If the British music awards ditched out awards for "most effort" I'm sure, I'd be in the short list!

I am not a singer songwriter who has had number one hits on the radio everyday, drives around town in a limo or indeed, even knows where my next paycheck will be coming from, but no one could ever accuse me of lack of effort, especially when it comes to trying to pursue my dream against the odds.

I believe that is the reason I am up here right now talking to you and that is the message I want to convey to you this morning; PERSISTENT EFFORT despite the odds, the critic, the setbacks, obstacles and delays that will be inevitable when you pursue your dream. As an example, the music video you watched just there...well it took THREE attempts to receive a government grant for $22,000 and if you saw the application form for it..well it was enough to make you run a mile... but eventually through persistence I was awarded the grant!

Having the dream is the easy part, having the courage to back it up by PURPOSE and EFFORT, when it seems like the world is against you, is the hardest part of the journey to fulfilling your dream.

Thomas Edison said "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

...Believe me there will be many times when you feel like giving up, when the effort required to keep going is simply overwhelming and giving up... SEEMS like the easier option.

The only way to achieve success is to take SMALL actions EVERYDAY, persistent DETERMINATION. In the end, they all add up, even the ones that trip you up and cause you to fall flat on your face.

But don't expect a free ride. Having talent and a dream is only a TINY % of the BATTLE to making your dream become a reality. Perhaps you think you lack talent... that's OK perseverance and patience and team work that is what allows people to be successful..not talent.

Michelangelo said "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius."

It is the JOURNEY that is important NOT the DESTINATION. You have to enjoy the LEARNING PROCESS because you can not expect to know it all over night. It takes time and DETERMINATION TO SUCCEED.

Just because you have a talent or a desire for something, doesn't give you the right to walk out into the world and have people REWARD you or APPLAUD you. Sooner or later the world will demand that you know your stuff and have done your homework ....You can cheat on a test but it will only sustain you for so long.

In my own business, the top 40 charts are full of "one hit wonders" young kids who appear out of the blue, the supernova stars that burn bright... and then it's gone... career over, burnt out because they got caught up in the quick reward, or other people were backing up their songs vocally, musically and pulling the strings..They did not understand the harsh reality behind the business they where in, the pit falls, and determination it takes... to keep on top of that dream ........Before they have even had a chance to enjoy their success... it's gone and their careers are over.

Well they had better have something to fall back on, like an education and self determination. Sadly many of the worlds "WOULD BE" stars and entrepreneurs left school early, thinking that they had enough talent to make it in the world, with little or no effort put behind it, believing that the world somehow owed it to them. Well it DOESN'T and it WON'T... it's up to YOU and the EFFORT you are willing to put into it all.

Dreamers without purpose and lacking in effort can be likened to driving in a strange town without a road map: you'll wind up somewhere; it just might not be in the best part of town...!

School should be much more than just getting straight A's. It should be a place where you can receive good guidance as to career choices; it should be a supporting, nurturing environment where you can start to work on a road map that can help you unlock your own unique gifts. I wish projects like "Determined to Succeed" where available when I was at school...it affords fabulous opportunity for you all.

Most teachers understand that we can't be good at every subject ...I certainly wasn't... but what EVERYONE and every GOOD teacher will respect and respond to THROUGHOUT your ENTIRE LIFE is EFFORT.

Everyone will have their failures along the way, what they thought was a well mapped out road to success will have to be ALTERED, it is also worth keeping in mind that what we dream or desire to become isn't necessarily what we're DESTINED TO BE and one should be prepared to accept alternatives.

John Lennon sang "life is what happens when you're making other plans"

I myself changed course a number of times and I'm not finished. Although I was primarily focused on the arts, I took a few jogs along the road of self discovery. First I wanted to be a dancer but to study dance you needed to have confidence at a very young age, an audition was to be booked at the London Contemporary Dance School and I backed out because I didn't believe in myself enough...I allowed fellow pupils to crush my confidence. Then when I wanted to play the piano like Elton John, I took piano lessons and failed my grade 2 piano... I thought I'd never recover.. I cried for a week because, I was told by a teacher that I would never is able to play the piano...ÝI thought my life was over....well more FOOL her because my passion was deep and I taught myself ...here I am now playing with people from orchestras and I can't even read music!

However, knowing that the arts where notorious difficult and always lacking funds, I decided to go to college to study Fashion Design, again it was artsy but there were other jobs less glamorous, that I managed to do, to support myself with my education ...mainly fashion retail.. a far cry from being a singer songwriter but it DID finance my albums. Without that education, I doubt I'd have been able to do what I am doing today. ..I didn't have a fancy record company paying for it all, the day job paid.

Don't give up on your self and your dreams because without them, you lose what is in essence you; your own UNIQUE quality, you have your dreams for a reason but keep them FLUID and changeable, EXPERIMENT. There will be critics, harsh ones and sometime, sadly, those will be the people closest to you. Remember DO NOT allow SOCIETY to DICATE what being successful is..for some it is just simple SURVIVAL...

There's a story I love that about a wee frog that fell into a jug of milk and despite his efforts to clamber, he just couldn't get to the top of the jug. Determined to do something rather than nothing to survive, he thrashed around and around despite the odds of ever reaching the top and hopping out. Well eventually much to the surprise of the frog... the milk changed into cream, then butter and became thick enough to give him a secure platform from which to leap.

Even when you THINK your efforts are NOT making a difference they are, the platform will be ready when you are, then you can jump to great heights... but not without trashing around for a bit in the unknown... finding your feet.

What you should be most proud of today is not the actual reward itself, but what you had to do to get it.

Ý

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The reward of a thing well done is to have done it." Any recognition is just the icing on the cake, not to be expected but DEFINITELYÝto be enjoyed.

Enjoy today because you DESERVE it...The Saturday mornings that YOU got up and painted, studied, danced or did enterprise work or community work, rather than staying in bed...( when that was what you REALLY wanted to do ...it's what I still want to do..or go out to play with your friends) ...well it will suddenly seem worth it!

I hope like the little frog you'll all thrash around out there giving it your "MOST EFFORT" (my English teacher would love that one..) find your feet and leap to your own great heights in life.. what ever those may be.

Above all NEVER crush another persons dream...it's a surefire way of knowing you are not putting enough effort into fulfilling your own.

Congratulations to you all for this honour! Enjoy it because you know it took it took EFFORT!