HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 22, 2015 – Persevere through hardship and impact our world in measurable and meaningful ways.
That is the message that Wes Moore, best-selling author, social entrepreneur and Army combat veteran gave to High Point University students, faculty, staff and members of the community on Sept. 21. The first event was “A Conversation with Nido Qubein,” a question and answer session filmed by UNC-TV that will air at a later date. During a second event, Moore addressed HPU students, faculty and staff.
“I don’t know if you can have true success without understanding what failure is and what failure looks like,” said Moore to a crowd in the HPU Hayworth Fine Arts Center. “Because if all you have seen is success, it means you haven’t really reached hard enough, you haven’t really tried hard enough.”
After losing his father at a young age and facing many challenges while growing up, overcoming adversity inspired him to live his life to its fullest potential because to him, “potential is universal.”
“The things that have been the most useful for me are the things that have really pushed me,” said Moore. “Anything that I got easily, it usually was never worth my time.”
Moore’s first book, “The Other Wes Moore,” became an instant New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-seller. His second book, “The Work,” provides the theme for HPU’s Common Experience, which encourages students and faculty to engage in discussion, intellectual inquiry and experiential activities throughout this academic year.
“Be prepared, be diligent and block out the noise,” said Moore. “You’re surrounded by people with ideas who will tell you what to do, and if you’re not thinking seriously about what breaks your heart and what you’ll give your everything for, you’ll never find the answer to the question, ‘Why am I here?’ Because every second you don’t do that, you become extraordinarily ordinary.”