Colin Powell's Address (January 18, 2009)

General Colin L. Powell Former Secretary of State gave an hour address beginning at 8:00 am on January 18, 2009. Below I have tried to capture snippets of what he said based on the notes I took while he spoke:

"All people fail, even leaders fail, every day. The important thing is to analyze and understand the failure and correct it. Take the blame and fix your failure and learn from it. Then bundle up this failure and throw it over your shoulder and don't look back. Look forwards and think about today and tomorrow, don't look into the past. Always look through your front windshield and not the back"

"You don't know where life is going to lead you, but don't worry about it. For now, gather all the education you can. Learn to love, to serve, to live and to work. Once you have done that, reach down, reach back and reach across to serve others. Put service in your heart and make it an essential part of your being."

"Live lives of moral and physical courage. You develop a reputation whether you know it or not. Work hard to become a person people see as trustworthy with integrity and respect. "

"Believe in yourselves, in the depth of your heart and soul."

"Understand your strengths and weaknesses as a leader. You have to have people who tell you what you are good at and what you are not so good at. When I was Secretary of State I had a private cellphone that no one had the number to except those who were very close and dear to my heart. No one had permission to answer this phone under any circumstances. After every decision I made and public appearance I would get calls on this phone. My trusted advisers - my friends, would tell me how I was doing. They would tell me what I was doing well and not so well. You need people in life and as a leader to tell you when you have no clothes on. Well I didn't quite mean it that way, being naked, but I am sure you understand what I mean."

"Build on your strengths, compensate on your weaknesses."

The general gist of his speech:

The general gist of Colin Powell's speech was to enforce the importance of being the youth of tomorrow. He talked about the importance of leadership and the key characteristics of a leader - trustworthiness, integrity, and respect. He explained that to be all that you can be you must believe in yourself completely and down to the very core, with no doubts. He explained how we all have doubts and insecurities but that the should no get in the way of all that you can be.

For me, what really motivated and inspired me was the way in which he spoke about his success. He explained how he grew up in the Bronx, with little money and opportunity. How, he never dreamed of becoming all that he is and that at age 10 he dreamt of being a teenager not of being Secretary of State. Colin explained how he was an ordinary boy from an ordinary family but he did extraordinary things. Most importantly, Colin explained that you don't have to be a genius to be successful, you just have to want to be successful and you have to fight and try and believe in yourself with every fibre in your being.

Overall, hearing him speak was the most moving and motivational 1 hour of my time in Washington. He inspired and empowered all of the youth who attended this conference to do more and be more and to believe in ourselves.

His address was also very funny and captivating and it was a pleasure to hear him speak.