The speech Kirk Cousins gave eight years ago at a Big Ten luncheon while he was still at Michigan State still gets referenced often by those who were there to hear it.
Cousins, now of course the Vikings quarterback, had an even bigger speaking engagement over the weekend: He delivered the commencement address at Michigan State.
The takeaway wasn't quite that if you work hard, you too can someday make $84 million guaranteed. But it was filled with pretty good practical lessons divided into 4 1/2 specific truths he gleaned from the 4 1/2 years it took him to graduate. In particular, I liked the final half-thought about his bonus semester (as transcribed in Peter King's Football Morning In America column):
"Through it all, enjoy the journey. You can prepare for the future today, but you can't live the future today. If your joy in life is always tied to a future experience, you will never know true joy … To quote 'The Office', a show I watched in my years here, Andy Bernard says in the final minute of the final episode, 'I wish there was a way you know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.' "
"Do those four things, while enjoying the journey along the way, and if my life is any example, you'll have plenty of good days ahead. Maybe even good enough to shout at someone, 'YOU LIKE THAT!'"
You can watch the full speech here:
