Lee Corso's Commencement Address at Florida State University, Spring 2012

0:01 Lee Richard Corso you have commanded the admiration of the public and of your peers who describe you as thoughtful forthright and inspiring at the same time you have remembered your alma mater and have served loved and honored Florida State University with passion and respect it is therefore most fitting and appropriate to bestow upon you the high recognition designated by an honorary

0:31 doctorate of Humane letters this ends the reading of the citation therefore on the recommendation of the faculty of Florida State University and by virtue of the authority vested in Me by the Florida Board of Governors and the Florida State University Board of Trustees I Eric J

1:03 Baron hereby confer upon you Mr Lee Richard Corso the honorary degree of doctor of Humane letters congratulations we're proud that you are now even more a part of the seol family and we look forward to working with you in the days and years ahead we are indeed honored that you have agreed to address our graduates and their families on this important occasion

1:37 thank you R thank you president Baron distinguished members of the faculty and staff of Florida State and are members of the class of 2012 in case any of you didn't know it I suffered a stroke a couple years ago I've had I've had a lot of therapy and a s but I might have trouble

2:10 speaking at times so please bear with me congratulations to the class of 2012 I was fortunate enough to be where you are 55 years ago here at Florida St was famous for one thing I Bert Reynolds roommate everybody says so what I said

2:43 so what the guy was so goodlook I us just sent him out for bait he'd go over to the Student Union and he'd brang bring back two girls one was beautiful and was was one was ugly I got the ugly one but I I found out real quick Bert reynolds's ugly girlfriends were getting better than anything I get them home but with my car we kill them

3:14 tassy I have 10 minutes to tell you something of importance that I've learned in 55 years so here it goes first relationships the Ence of life is relationships no matter what business you go into or job you'll have personal relationships is the key and remember be very very

3:44 careful not to be so involved in Social Network that you lose sight of the face-to-face relationships with people that is the key face the face relationships there's a story about the Chinese in a cookie jar thory Chinese put the grandfathers in a ring big room and they put the children around them and they they ask him one

4:15 question and they say grandfather what is the secret to good solid relationships what is his secret grandfather tell us the grandfather says relationships are like a cookie jar if you take a cookie out of the cookie jar and don't put a cookie back in the cookie jar you lead to an empty cookie jar and an empty relationship greed greed will kill you this life I've

4:49 learned to be greedy you're destined to fail in a business World leave a little on the table don't be greedy in your personal relationships don't be greedy remember this because in the future you'll find that every broken relationship you have in this life you'll find out that somebody took the cookies out of your jar you'll end up with an empty cookie

5:21 jar and an empty relationship you got to be very careful what I've learned about the character of people the true test of a human being's character is how we treats people in his life he doesn't use the true test of a human being's character is how he treats people as life he cannot use you know you get in the business world

5:55 everybody treats the presidents and the vice presidents with respect resp and dignity but how do you treat the secretary the guy Parks your car the little lady that pours water into the plants how do you treat those people that's the true test of the character of a human being in coaching everybody treats the first team great but you're judge in my mind and

6:27 how you treat the people that don't play how you treat those guys that don't play is a secret and I tell you one thing I've learned through all these years that people will watch you and they will judge you on one single fact how you treat people in your life you cannot use remember that because that's a big one then I learned and you'll have to

6:58 build a p a a program sometime or a team sometime what I've learned about building a team you surround yourself with good people you win with character not characters and there's a hell of a difference in that S I tell you when things are going well everything's perfect it's all right but when bad things happen characters will all point the finger they never pull the

7:31 thumb and there's a hell of a difference between a finger and that thumb because I play I promise you when bad things happen characters will come out and get you not only that characters will get you beat they'll get you fired characters will not only get you beat they'll get you fired CU they'll all point the f finger nobody pulls a

8:03 thumb now when I was a coach and then and you never get and in your organization you never get rid of a good loyal hardworking dedicated human being they're hard to find like in football you put him a tackle and he can't he can't block the end so moving the guard he can't block the guys in the middle so you put them at Center you can't block the guy in Center so what do you do you

8:36 take them to all the Banquets with you and introdu him that's my football player because let me tell you something you can't find enough good hardworking loyal human beings to associate yourself with and when you find one keep them when I was coaching Indiana I used to have a test I bring all the prospects in

9:09 I watch them I put them on a front row of the basketball game and I'd watch them when the national anthems played I had three kids there had a good book and they said they wouldn't get up they wouldn't stand up they wouldn't even stand up on National Anthem and they would not take their hat offs I said geez I said Pete assistant coach I said you see those three guys he said yeah I want them out of here he said but

9:39 that they can run and they're going to help us win I said I want them out of here by halftime he said what do you mean I said I want them out here if they can't respect our country how do you plan and they respecting our team they cannot be a football player what thank you I I said get him out of here he said great okay got so he won I never saw those guys

10:10 again till the next year we open a season with them and they were on the other team one was throwing the other was catching the other was tackling they beat the crap out of me those three guys beat the crap out of my football team I was devastated I said oh we'll be all right we we get him next year in

10:40 Bloomington same thing happened those three guys running and thrown and Cat and they just beat the crap out of me second year in a row boy I was devastated three weeks later one was called for rape one was caught for assault one was caught for ra robbery and they kicked them off that football team and let me tell you something my friend was a good coach and a coach of that team a young

11:12 guy and they kicked him off the coaching that coach never coached another game in his life never coached another game in his life you know why he prostituted his Integrity to win a few lousy football games by getting those kids on his football team let me tell you you never prostitute your integrity to get a job or to keep

11:45 one and you might be sure thank you I was a head coach for 15 years I never had an NCAA investigator ever talked to one of my players not once in 15 years I'm proud of that the most important blessing I'm going to leave you with as

12:16 follows I was 47 years old as a head coach in Indiana had three and a half years left in my contract I beat Purdue twice in a row which is like beating Florida twice in a row I beat him twice at all and I had material things I had everything a man could want I was the luckiest guy in the world and I got my first break in my life Indiana fired

12:46 me I found about I found out about a newspaper they fired me it hurt but I tell you one thing it killed my family it hurt my family a lot not because he fired me but the way they did but let me tell you something I learned that

13:17 95% of the true friends you have in this life live under the same roof that you do when it got down to it my my family was all I had left and you can't do enough for your family when you think you've done enough do more you can't do enough your family is most important let me tell you

13:47 something I've been fortunate think get a lot of things in my life I have one plaque that sits on my desk it says the coach leag Coro for 25 years of coaching with honesty and integrity you knowbody gave me that my

14:18 family they gave me that flag and I got it it's the only thing I got in importance listen remember never prostitute your integrity to get a job more to keep one and maybe someday you can get a plaque for your family because remember our greatest

14:49 Glory consists not Never Falling But Rising every time you fall class of 2012 good luck and thank you