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Nebraska’s future is in good hands if we can judge by what I saw this month while speaking to members of the American Legion’s Cornhusker Boys’ State Class of 2009.
There were hundreds of enthusiastic, intelligent, promising young people from throughout Nebraska who were experiencing something that will have a significant influence on them for the rest of their lives. It certainly did on me when I was in Cornhusker Boys’ State 51 years ago.
Boys’ State was one of the top three things that contributed to my life in public service as Governor of Nebraska and as U.S. Senator. The other two experiences that had a profound influence on me also happened as a youth when I became an Eagle Scout and later Governor of the YMCA’s High ‘Y’ Model Legislature.
Lessons Learned
In Boys State I learned about government in a way that cannot be learned in school. At Boys’ State and at Girls’ State you are right there, experiencing what it’s like to actually be in government.
The lesson of becoming an Eagle Scout was to complete something you start. It’s not easy but it’s important to see a difficult task through to its completion.
As Governor of the YMCA’s Model Legislature I learned to pursue my dreams. Being from the small town of McCook I was competing for governor against boys from much larger towns including Lincoln and Omaha which had more voting delegates. Some people were telling me that I didn’t have a chance of winning.
I ran to win but didn’t expect to win so I had not prepared an acceptance speech. What a surprise it was when the final vote was announced and I became governor and had no speech. I wouldn’t make that mistake twice.
Give It Your Best
In 1990, people were saying the same thing, that I had no chance of winning the election to become Governor of Nebraska. They may have expected me not to win but I didn’t expect to lose. It was another case of drawing upon the lessons learned as a youth to give it every possible effort.
I wasn’t prepared to lose but realized that it could happen, however, the most important thing was to give it a try and work as hard as possible. I didn’t want to look back later in life and say what a mistake it was not to pursue my dreams.
Set your goals. Pursue them. Give it your best. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Expect success and then be prepared to live with whatever happens.
If you have the chance to participate in any of these programs for young people I would encourage you to do so. These kinds of experiences can be the building blocks that lead to a positive future.
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