Mike Tomlin
Mike Tomlin frames his commencement address as a pregame speech to the graduating class, acknowledging that graduates are distracted and may not remember his words. He offers advice for playing the 'game of life': recognize and thank those who supported your preparation, trust your training, and understand that early successes or failures don't decide the outcome. He urges graduates to give back to their communities, play with integrity, and continue dreaming big while committing daily to make those dreams reality.
Key moments
- 01 Framing the speech as a pregame talk drawing on his coaching experience
- 02 Thanking parents, friends, and loved ones as the graduates' support team
- 03 Reassuring that 'the first five minutes never decides the outcome of the game'
- 04 Mandating graduates to keep dreaming big and give back to their communities
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Mike Tomlin at Saint Vincent, 2008
A coach's commencement address about remembering what lasts, defining success, doing the work, serving others, and carrying people with you.
Speech arc
- 01People first
Opening move
- 02Work ethic
Speech beat
- 03Define success
Speech beat
- 04Humility
Speech beat
- 05Gratitude
Speech beat
- 06Relationships
Speech beat
- 07Service
Speech beat
- 08Carry people
Final charge
Memory: The speech points back to the day
Tomlin opens by admitting graduates may not remember the address itself, then redirects attention to the people, sacrifice, and shared work that made commencement possible.
Real audience
He names families, friends, faculty, and the Saint Vincent community as part of the achievement.
Humility
The speaker lowers the stakes of his own advice so the graduates can notice the day around them.
Charge
Remember the people and moments that made the milestone real.
Tomlin opens by admitting graduates may not remember the address itself, then redirects attention to the people, sacrifice, and shared work that made commencement possible.
Success: Define the target for yourself
The address frames success as personal, changing, and morally loaded; graduates have to define it rather than accept surface markers or inherited scoreboards.
Moving target
What counts as success changes as people grow and gain responsibility.
Ownership
Graduates are urged to pursue success on their own terms and be willing to revise it.
Warning
Chasing status without purpose makes the goal too small.
The address frames success as personal, changing, and morally loaded; graduates have to define it rather than accept surface markers or inherited scoreboards.
Work: Love the climb, not only the top
Using a coach’s lens, Tomlin distinguishes wanting the result from embracing the daily discipline, repetition, and discomfort required to earn it.
Practice
The route upward is built from ordinary work done consistently.
Discipline
The climb can be lonely and demanding, but it is where character forms.
No shortcut
The top is not separated from the process that gets you there.
Using a coach’s lens, Tomlin distinguishes wanting the result from embracing the daily discipline, repetition, and discomfort required to earn it.
People: Carry the people who carried you
The speech repeatedly returns to relationships: family, mentors, friends, and classmates are not background scenery but part of the graduate’s foundation.
Gratitude
Thank the people who invested belief, sacrifice, and support.
Connection
Success should strengthen relationships rather than isolate the winner.
Return
The graduate’s task is to give back from a place of earned perspective.
The speech repeatedly returns to relationships: family, mentors, friends, and classmates are not background scenery but part of the graduate’s foundation.
• Key takeaways •
Remember the day
Connects to work ethic.
Define success
Connects to success.
Do the work
Connects to gratitude.
Stay humble
Connects to humility.
Thank your people
Connects to relationships.
Lead by service
Connects to service.
Closing charge
Tomlin’s closing ethic turns achievement outward: gifts and status matter most when they improve life for other people.
Leadership is measured by impact
Purpose
Achievement becomes meaningful when it serves something beyond ego.
Legacy
A life is measured by who is lifted along the way.
Practice
Lead by staying grounded, thankful, and useful.
Tomlin’s closing ethic turns achievement outward: gifts and status matter most when they improve life for other people.
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Transcript
The previously catalogued transcript link is no longer live and is queued for re-sourcing. A video of the address is available above.
Machine transcript available for archive analysis; it is unverified and may contain transcription errors. Machine transcript source ->
Provenance
BROKEN transcript link (checked 2026-06-26): returns 404 Not Found. Provenance: Imported from NPR commencement archive; cross-referenced with Open Commencement DB
NPR archive last updated in 2015; destination availability has not been exhaustively rechecked | Open Commencement DB transcript; not independently verified against the original recording | Transcript URL dead (returns 404 Not Found); video fallback present
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