Tonight I will facilitate my last Blue and Gold banquet as Cubmaster of Pack 442. My only son, is in his last year as a cub scout. I have thought about what to say at this event that will reach boys as young as six and as old as eleven and that will have relevance to them and their families. As a paid professional speaker, I sometimes get more anxious about speaking to this group than I do to hundreds of people – audiences that include industry leaders, Fortune 500 executives, community leaders, or conference attendees. For the most part, they pay attention.  I know what the boys will be thinking about: their awards, the upcoming Pinewood Derby, or more likely what’s on the dessert table. As an Eagle Scout, I try to pay attention to what other Eagles say about their scouting experience and how it shaped their lives. I don’t know if he was an Eagle Scout, but I know John Wayne was a great American. In one of his last public appearances to benefit a land purchase for a Scout Reservation called John Wayne Outpost Camp, John Wayne  recited the Scout Law.  Then he said the twelve points of the Scout Law are “nice words”.  “Trouble is” he continued, “we learn them so young we sometimes don’t get all the understanding that goes with them.  I take care of that in my family.  As each boy reaches Scout age, I make sure he learns the Scout Law.  Then I break it down for him, with a few things I have picked up in more than half a century since I learned it.” Imagine, John Wayne riddled with cancer and close to death explaining the guests at the dinner, what he learned from the Scout Law. This is what he said:

Trustworthy: The badge of honesty.  Having it lets you look any man in the eye.  Lacking it he won’t look back.  Keep this one at the top of your list.

Loyal: The very word is life itself, for without loyalty we have no love of person or country.

Helpful: Part sharing, part caring.  By helping each other, we help ourselves, not to mention mankind.  Be always full of help (the dying man’s last words).

Friendly: Brotherhood is part of that word.  You can take it in a lot of directions but make sure and start with brotherhood.

Courteous: Allow each person his human dignity which means a lot more than saying, “yes ma’am” and “thank you sir”.  It reflects an attitude that later in life you wish you had honored more, earlier in life.  Save yourself that problem.  Do it now.

Kind: This one word would stop wars and erase hatreds.  But it’s like your bicycle, it just no good unless you get out and use it.

Obedient: Starts at home.  Practice it with your family.  Enlarge it in your friends.  Share it with humanity.

Cheerful: Anyone can put on a happy face when the going is good.  The secret is to wear it as a mask for your problems.  It might surprise you how many others do the same thing.

Thrifty: Means a lot more than putting pennies away, and it is the opposite of cheap.  Common sense covers it just about as well as anything

.Brave: You don’t have to fight to be brave.  Millions of good, fine, decent folks show more bravery than heavyweight champs just by getting out of bed every morning, going out to do a good day’s work and living the best life they know how against the law of odds.

Clean: Soap and water help a lot on the outside.  But it is the inside that counts and don’t ever forget it.

Reverent: Believe in anything that you want to believe in, but keep God at the top of it.  With Him, life can be a beautiful experience.  Without Him, you are just biding time.

 The boys may not listen to what I say tonight or care what John Wayne said then. But these words are good for me today and tomorrow. They might be good for you too.

February is Plant The Seeds Of Greatness Month. I’m going to plant a few seeds tonight. One seed I’ll get to watch grow in the months and years ahead. It will take a lot of patience, fertilizer, and care to insure that the seed that I plant bears fruit. Gardening, Scouting, and parenting are kind of like that.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com