We were privileged to be able to host Old Boy Mr Bart Campbell at assembly this morning. Mr Campbell is currently Chairman and shareholder at the Melbourne Storm, and also of the Sunshine Coast Lightning netball team. He is also Executive Chairman at sports agency TLA Worldwide, a company that along with athlete representation and sports marketing, organises high profile sports events. TLA was responsible for bringing the All Blacks to the United States for matches in recent years.
In his address, Mr Campbell had five key messages for our young men:
(1)
Continuous learning is essential – make sure you carry on your education in
some form after secondary school. All
post-secondary school education demonstrates a thirst for knowledge and this
makes you sought after by employers.
(2) Aim high - dream big and believe you can be
whatever you want to be. Elon Musk and Richard Branson were held up as examples
of people who have followed this mantra.
(3) Hard-work is imperative. There is no
substitute for hard-work in the real world and genuine effort and grit will
help to get you anywhere you want to go.
(4) Perseverance is vital - life is full of ups
and downs, you need to push through the tough stuff and keep going.
(5) Emotional intelligence is important - be
grounded, be able to mix with a wide range of people and be humble. Mr Campbell
gave the example of Richie McCaw talking to the Melbourne Storm players prior
to the NRL final this year and that what stood out most was his incredible
humility. He explained that when signing
players, the Storm do not make promises about improving their playing ability
but about making them better people.
