Today I am so proud to feature remarks from Dr. Ari Weinzweig and Dr. Paul Saginaw, upon receiving honorary doctorates from the University of Michigan, their alma mater.
“Don’t read what people write about you on social media,” Paul Saginaw said.
I saw Paul at Zingerman’s Coffee last week, just days before he was scheduled to address fifty-thousand people at UM’s graduation. I asked if he was nervous.
“When it was announced that [Ari and I] were the commencement speakers, one of the first comments we read on social media was ‘Wow, whoever was their first [choice for] commencement speaker must have backed out!’”
During the speech, Saginaw told the students that they should equip themselves with a “must-have” list, and that they should gauge their successes not by what they gain or have for themselves, but by what they share with the world.
“When you leave here today with your must-have list…measure your successes not so much by what you gain or accomplish for yourself, but rather what you contribute to others,” he said.
One of the most profound lessons from Saginaw’s speech concerns pursuing joy.
“I believe practicing generosity is the way to joy. It’s free for the taking, or should I say, giving.”
He said that his message didn’t mean that students should vow a life of poverty, and that there was nothing wrong with earning as much as they could, traveling the world or buying a nice car.
Instead, Saginaw told them,
“Just know that these things don’t bring joy like being generous does. Generosity leads to joy. It’s simple and it’s guaranteed. Generosity follows the natural law of the harvest. You reap more than you sow. When you give, you get back more.”
Ari Weinzweig spoke about the power and importance of belief.
“While vision, values, quality, customer service, marketing and making money are all important, we believe that what we believe makes a big difference,” said Weinzweig.
“The beliefs that we choose…will form the footprint for everything else that happens in our lives.”
Three cheers for these two fine men who have done so much for so many people.
Through their beliefs and their generosity, they have raised not only the quality of food to a new level of excellence, but they have set a high-bar for quality of customer service and dedication to the community.
And kudos to the University of Michigan for recognizing their contributions and honoring two of their own home boys.