Taking Responsibility | Sam Montag | TEDxTheWestminsterSchools
[Music] [Applause] beep-beep-beep your alarm clock rings to wake you up do you get up walk downstairs to the kitchen and start making pancakes for yourself then tell your sister or brother to cook the pancakes for you later when your parents try them and tell them how good and tell you how good they are you take all the credit for making the entire meal know when you are driving to work do you start driving then stop and pull over and have your passenger drive the rest of the way there for you then when you get there take all the credit for the driving know when you aren't working on the report at work or school do you start that report then stop and have someone come in and finish the report for you then when you get that a plus or the client signs with you because of that report you take all the credit for writing it no people just don't do that my name is Sam Montague and I'll be talking to you about how you should always finish what you started and you should only take credit for what you do too many people these days will start something then stop and have another person come in and finish it for them and then take all the credit for it in fact we have almost all started something and not finished it whether it was cleaning your room but stopping and ending up having your parents finish cleaning it for you I know that's happened to me when everyone grows up they have to take care of themselves your parents can only do it for so long so will you go to the store and not buy and you think because your parents used to buy everything for you let me give you a hint No what about going to a restaurant would you go to that restaurant but not but just sit there as everyone else orders because you used to go to the restaurant but you wouldn't be the one ordering your parents would be again no but it isn't just kids adults too we'll start something then stop and take and have someone else come in and then at the end of it take all the credit for it in fact adults will make their kids and sometimes even their friends finish what they started it's just not right especially for the adults they are setting some of those bad examples for us cute kids and we cute kids need to do something about it so considering myself a cute kid I have decided to take a page of the adult book from now on I will never go to Spanish class again instead of me ma my good friend Jimmy mcdougal we're going to Spanish class for me see Jimmy is much better at Spanish than me I will go to math while he goes to Spanish now I'll still get the grade that he gets I just want you to work for it now of course I'm kidding but in some scenarios like that people wouldn't be kidding such as American league pitchers hitting a major league baseball major league baseball has a role that pictures in the American League are not allowed to hit now I believe a pitcher should hit or play offense and pitch play defense but because the pitcher doesn't hit you would think he gets paid less right no what about the designated hitter they must get paid less again No so do you see any pitchers in the National League having someone hit for them like no but what about shortstops or catchers or some other position in the American League they also don't have someone hit for them so why should only a pitcher the American League get one are they better than all the other players but I'm not saying I'm exactly perfect either see four years ago when I got a dog I promised my parents I would feed her as much as them four years later I haven't fed them in all of about two months and you don't even want to look at my room you would literally think a herd of elephants ran through it chasing a basketball but people should start taking responsibility for what they're doing they should finish what they started whether they like it or not why because it's right you should never stop a school sports or a work assignment ever you need to use all your ability to finish what you started don't stop and work on another assignment don't procrastinate just do it I wrote four different speeches before I wrote this one but I didn't just write the beginning of each speech I wrote the entire speech even though was one of the hardest things I had ever done so I now bow in front of my parents too but I will not let Jimmy MacDougall go to my Spanish crosses anymore I will also try to clean my room a little bit better but you guys and gals also need to finish what you started so please please the next time you start something finish it thank you and have a great day [Applause]