Robert Kraft's message to graduates of Yeshiva University was simple: dream big and make the world better every day. In his commencement address to the class of 2016, Robert stressed the importance of chasing your "wildly improbable" dreams and making a positive impact daily, even if some days it is a small token of kindness.
"I'm not a Starbucks guy. I'm a Dunkin Donuts guy, but I like to pay for the coffee of the other folks behind me in line," he said. "It typically costs me less than $10 and makes the other people feel good, but more importantly it makes me feel so good, and random acts of kindness change the world one person at a time."
While Robert touched on the small ways the graduating class can make their "corner of the world" better, he also spoke to the importance of not giving up, even if the odds are against you. That is something he knows a thing or two about.
His dream? Owning the New England Patriots.
"A number of factors made that dream wildly improbable. No. 1: I didn't come from money. No. 2: I had no connection to the world of professional sports or the people in it. No. 3: Some of the greatest NFL teams are never sold … Yet I used to sit in the stands of the old Foxboro Stadium with my sons on Sunday afternoon, and it struck me how the team was mismanaged," he said. "Sitting there in the stands, I would dream of what our family would do if we only had a chance to own the team. As I said, it was wildly improbably that we would get to own it, but not impossible."
We all know that not-quite-impossible dream came to fruition, and 21 years and four Lombardi trophies later, it's still going.
Among his closing words, Robert challenged the graduates of Yeshiva to do the same, to push themselves and to see beyond the small picture.
"Think big. Make it a wildly improbable dream that motivates you, one that wakes you up in the morning ready to attack your day, to persevere and persist until you accomplish it," he said. "Dream a big dream, a bold dream. Don't play conservatively between the 40 yard lines. Don't just play it safe."
You can watch Robert's full remarks in the video below.
