Blake Burge

In 2011, Denzel Washington was asked to give a commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania. Although the entire message is quite good, a single 54-second segment changed the way I think about life...

When you remove quitting as an option from your mind, progress becomes inevitable. A simple question that has helped me: "If stopping were impossible, if I had no choice, what would I do next?" Crazy how that reframe expands your thinking on the path forward.

A major cheat code in life: Being a pleasure to deal with. Kind when others aren’t. Calm when things go sideways. Reliable under pressure. Intelligence alone is overrated. Be someone who lightens the load for folks around them. People value people who make their lives easier.

Truth: Worrying is a fool's errand. It gives you something to do, but nothing to show for it. It’s a treadmill for the mind. You move a lot. But go nowhere. Redirect the energy. The same brain that builds worst-case scenarios can build best-case plans. Big difference.

Underrated life skill: Be a multiplier. Teach what you know, spotlight others, connect dots. With no strings attached. Ironically, it's one of the fastest ways to level up your own life as well. Want more success? Be the reason someone else gets theirs.

Underappreciated fact: There's no limit to how many times you can start over. For most things, you don’t get just one chance to figure it out. You get a hundred little chances to try again every single day. The next attempt starts the second you decide it does.

The most powerful decision you can make in life is to choose "again". Do the workout, again. Eat the right food, again. Get up early, again. Be kind, again. Trust, again. So no to things that aren't a fit for you, again. A lot of progress is hidden in repeating the right things.

A major cheat code in life: Realizing someone has to be the exception. Someone beats the odds. Someone breaks the cycle. Someone builds a life no one saw coming. No rule says it can’t be you.

The only advice anyone really needs: Show up on time, with a good attitude, and do what you said you’d do. That’s it. That’s 90% of winning in life.

We take too much for granted. Some people wake up to war. Some people wake up in pain. Some people wake up alone. If you woke up safe, loved, and able to chase something you care about, you’re already ahead. Gratitude hits different when you zoom out. Perspective is everything.

Underrated social skill: Letting someone have their moment. One-uppers are exhausting. Real confidence lets others feel seen, heard, celebrated. Don’t hijack the story. Don't bring it back to you. Secure people don't steal attention.

A major cheat code in life: Choosing curiosity over defensiveness. You don’t get smarter by protecting your ego. You get smarter by asking better questions. “What can I learn here?” will always take you further than “How do I prove I’m right?”