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James V. Kimsey
Founding Chairman,
America Online
As leaders you don't have any excuses and you can't sort of point to other people, or external circumstances because as a leader it's your responsibility to understand external circumstances, and there are no excuses. You either take the hill, or you don't take the hill, and if you get all your people killed, then you're wrong. And, there are no excuses. There are lots of companies on the corporate American landscape that are gone because of external circumstances and the CEOs of those companies have always been able to offer excuses, but I think it's very, very important for all leaders to understand that they stand at the end of the responsibility chain and it is as Harry Truman wisely put it, "The buck stops there." It's an important concept for people to understand.
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James V. Kimsey
Founding Chairman,
America Online
One of our very strong initiatives is to make America Online one of the world's most respected companies. It has had maybe a reputation of being somewhat too slick by half. Cleverness might have been a core value because you've got a lot of bright kids that want to show how smart they are. And, we've taken a different tack now in that we started a foundation that I chair. We want to take the highest sort of moral ground on all issues, so that we get the trust and respect of people, and don't find ourselves in a Microsoft position, being favorite targets of legislators and regulators.
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B.B. King
King of the Blues
I think that I know my job pretty well, but I always think this way -- now it's not false modesty or anything -- I'm never any better than my last job. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? In other words, I don't always think that I've got it made and, "Hey, I'm B.B. King!" So and so. Never that. Never that because the people put you up there and they can cut you down like that. It's just like the great God, this great spirit. We live and we die and I'm talking about if you die naturally you never know when it's going to be. It can happen any time. So, I think in a way that we're here -- I've heard people use the word, "on borrowed time," but I don't know about that. I don't think I borrowed it, but I think that I'm here and just as easy, cannot be here. So, I never think that I've got it made. I've known people that had a little money and overnight something happened -- insurance no good -- and what little money they had - bam - it's gone.
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B.B. King
King of the Blues
I knew Duke Ellington. I knew Benny Goodman. Those are just a few of the people that I tried to pattern my life after, after trying to be a musician. I still have that old code, don't smoke, don't drink on the bandstand, don't swear on the bandstand where I am. Never. The people are the most important things that we have so you must treat them like they are who they are, and that's the way I've been all the time, no drugs, no liquor. Even when I was drinking, don't bring no liquor on the bandstand, never. That's the way I've always been.
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B.B. King
King of the Blues
B.B. King: I think I would go back to what my teacher told me in a way, but quite differently. I would say, "Get high off your music. Don't use drugs of any kind. Please don't smoke because that will mess up your vocal cords for your singing. Be a person. Just as you want to be loved, love them. Always respect the people that come to hear you play. Try your best to please these people, but then you've got to live in the neighborhood. Try to be a good neighbor. Play your music. If you're a student, if you're going to college, major in music, minor in computers so if your music don't work you can still have a job. Lastly, you might become very good at what you do, a lot of people do, but everybody is not going to like it, so if you can't make a living at it go back to your minor." That's what I would tell them.
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Coretta Scott King
Pioneer of Civil Rights
On March 31st, 1968, just four days before Martin was assassinated, he delivered his last sermon, entitled "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution," right here in this cathedral. In the sermon, Martin inspired us with his unshakable faith in the triumph of good over evil, and he said, "With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair the stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discord of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood." And so today, I want to challenge you to make a courageous commitment, not only to achieve personal success, but to use your success to help create this beautiful symphony of brotherhood and sisterhood, and if you embrace this challenge with prayer and faith and determination, you will surely succeed, and the 21st Century will become a glorious new age of peace and progress for all humankind. May God bless you all and give you the strength to fulfill your dreams. Thank you.
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