Congratulations Dover High School Class of 2026!

Congratulations to Dover’s Class of 2026. Go be the next generation of leaders, thinkers, and doers. But most importantly, be good human beings.

Be Selfish with Your Admiration

When I was a young adult, I used to see successful people as role models. I wanted to be successful too, and I wanted to be the kind of successful person that behaved with integrity. I’d be one of the good ones. The people I worked for at any given time were “nice” to me, so I assumed they must be “good” too. Sometimes, that was true. Other times, not so much.

Early during my career in adulting, the most important thing I learned was how to know the difference. I’m still learning. Among life skills, learning to be selfish with your admiration is a big one. When you believe that someone you admire is a “good” person, you’ll believe all sorts of things. In your life, you’ll meet plenty of people who are nice to you and incredibly successful, but cruel to others.

That’s what you really need to watch. How do your role models treat people they don’t like, or don’t even know? If the answer is “awful,” that’s a legit red flag.

My generation has mastered the art of cruelty to others. And I hate to put this on you, but you need to do better. Do not just give away your admiration. There’s that saying, “Never meet your heroes.” Well, becoming them is worse. And the more successful you get, the harder you’ll have to fight to remain capable of self-reflection.

Be Good to Others

As measured by his accomplishments, power, influence, and wealth, Elon Musk is arguably the most successful person in the world. SpaceX and Starlink have done incredible stuff. On the other hand, he said, “The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” That’s just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard exit a person’s mouth — and that includes my mouth. I say dumb stuff all the time.

But empathy is the very foundation of a civilized society. Were it not for empathy, you would not have received your high school diploma. After all, why serve the next generation at large when you can simply extract all of the world’s value and only take care of those who are immediately important to you?

The world is not “you or them.” It can be “you and them.” That doesn’t mean everyone should be equally successful, regardless of their life choices. Make good choices, work hard, get rich. Buy a boat. But understand that you can achieve success without punching down. You can be good to others — not just financially, but in spirit. Ask yourself: “Will the choice I make today make someone else’s life worse tomorrow? Am I the type of person who wants to make someone else’s life worse? And if so, why do I want to harm them — and will it really make my life better somehow, or what do I expect them to learn from me?”

The bare minimum is just leaving someone alone, even if you don’t like them. Don’t punch down. Instead, stand up against those who punch down.

We are each of us measured by how we treat others. I said earlier, my generation hasn’t done a great job of this. We’re going to be on the bad side of several documentaries. You will do better, so go out into the world, Class of 2026! Don’t just do good. Be good, and be good to each other! If you can do that — and I believe you can — you really will make the world a better place.

:: Bret