Fortunately，many of you have already figured this out.I understand that nearly 50percent of Duke undergraduates study abroad，which is terrific，because the future is definitely，as we say now，global.
In my current job，I spend a lot of time traveling to places like India and China and Russia，and I’m confident that many of the major developments that will affect us all in the future，are going to occur in these and other emerging markets around the world.So，my advice is to be flexible，be open to everything the world has to offer，and be global.You‘ll be amazed at what you can learn，and how you can contribute.Another thing I got wrong when I was sitting in your chairs 32years ago was what a truly huge role that technology would play in our personal lives，in our professional lives，in our society.
Think about it，400years ago today，Captain John Smith landed in America，met Pocahontas，and，well，you know the rest.It took months before he could get a message back to England：“Have landed in Virginia.Send more beer.”Now，you all out there，today’s graduates，you send messages sometimes around the world，instantly，with a few keystrokes.Some of you，admit it，some of you are text messaging even as I speak.“Uh，five B‘s，what is he talking about？”
The advances in technology in my business life are especially exciting.For example，now，for the first time in my almost-30-year automotive career，I can really see a future for automotive transportation that will consume less，not more，petroleum，and emit less，not more，carbon，and yet still allow U.S.and global consumers to buy the cars and trucks they want，at affordable prices.When I say this，I’m thinking about the exciting future that we have in the U.S.with bio-fuels，or E-85ethanol，made from corn and，in a few years，from cellulose，and then electrically driven cars and trucks powered by advanced batteries，or hydrogen fuel cells.All this thanks to amazing advances in technology.
And so my second piece of advice for you，in whatever field you enter，medicine，education，business，government，is to embrace the opportunities that technology will provide you to help solve the challenges we face as a nation，and as a world.Another thought I want to offer is a simple one-which is that each of you by virtue of graduating from one of the elite universities in the U.S.，indeed in the world，has great capabilities.I urge you to use those capabilities fully.In my experience，in life and in business，in dealing with education and working with government leaders，there are actually lots of really smart people out there.What distinguishes those who are truly leaders，those who really contribute in government，in medicine，in education，in business，in the arts，is passion and enthusiasm.You see，being successful in any field，is hard work.Being successful requires not only that you learn everything you can about your chosen field，but that you apply your knowledge with a passion and enthusiasm that affects others，and engages them as well.In today‘s highly collaborative workplaces，few great things are accomplished by individuals alone.Just like in college basketball，you need great teams，and you need people who can inspire those teams，and lead those teams，to greater heights.Enthusiasm is contagious.Your goal should be to start the epidemic.But，I should tell you，that even with knowledge，passion and contagious enthusiasm，you are going to face some tough challenges in some tough days.
A year-and-a-half ago，some of the so-called“experts”were claiming that General Motors was headed for bankruptcy，and I ought to be fired.Those were some tough days for me.Even great institutions like my，and now your alma mater，Duke University，encounter challenging times，like over the last year.But the real successful people，the real contributors，the really great institutions，like Duke University and General Motors，have another important characteristic，which is persistence and resilience.No matter how great the challenge，no matter how dark the future seems，the best people，the really successful people，simply do not give up.
I suspect most，if not all，of you，will encounter challenging moments in your careers and your lives，because，I have to tell you，life is not a series of grand slam home runs，there will be moments of great challenge for you.So my advice is simple-go at life every day with passion and enthusiasm，and when challenges arrive，simply do not give up.Ultimately，your success in your career，and in your life，will be significantly determined by how you handle the challenges，and what you accomplish despite the hurdles you will inevitably encounter.And in the category of brutal truths，let me offer this-there used to be a television advertisement that asked，“Who says you can’t have it all？”And then effectively said that you can have it all.Well，that advertisement was wrong.The real truth is that you can‘t have it all-at least not all at the same time.
In my experience，the really successful people are those who establish clear priorities in their lives，who understand that they can excel at only a handful of things at any one time and then go after that chosen handful of priorities with single-minded passion and enthusiasm.In my case-at this point in my life-my priorities are pretty simple，family and friends，General Motors，and several charitable and educational activities，including Duke University.Unfortunately，that’s about all I can do，if I want to do things well.
Sure，there are other things I‘d like to do，but they’ll have to wait.I figure I can learn to play the piano and improve my golf game，or，if you ask anyone who‘s ever golfed with me，begin my golf game later on.And，as you create your own priority lists as you go through life，I’d encourage you，among other things，to make sure that you keep“giving back”to your community high on your list.
