 Hello everyone. Thank you faculty, parents, family members, distinguished guests for gathering here today to celebrate the class of 2018. When I was asked to speak at the December graduation ceremony, I was told that the students selected me, which is exactly what I would say if I needed a speaker and a pinch. However, if this is true, I want to send out a most sincere thank you to all the students for selecting me to be a small part of your guys' big day. Fortunately, the administration has the good sense of having someone like Ambassador Bleich to give you real advice, but you know, I swam fast and I've learned a lot of things, so maybe I'll do my best to impart some wisdom. So I grew up in a small town in the Seattle area. I've been swimming for as long as I can remember, and I know my parents would tell each and every one of you that on my first day of lessons, they had no idea what they were getting themselves into. Am I right, parents? Swimming has opened up doors for me that I would never have imagined. I've traveled the world for competitions, I've met and been made fun of by late-night talk show hosts, and almost all the groomsmen in my wife, Stanford, but I love you, honey, and my recent wedding were also swimmers, but most importantly, it brought me to Cal, where you can develop your talent, whatever it may be, and become truly world-class. Now, swimming has also brought me a few moments I wouldn't mind forgetting. There's that time I was rushing during a urine test, and I spilled my cesspin all over the table. Or the time I was super excited to race Michael Phelps in the 100 Free, and I split my suit the moment we bent over to take my mark. Yes, true story. Or the time I chugged a little too much water after a race, and the entire 15,000-person arena had to wait for me to throw it all up behind the podium. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen today. Those aren't the reasons that I'm here. The reason I'm here today is because I've won a couple of these. And winning is awesome, but in the process of swing for these guys, I've picked up a few tips. Hope you don't mind if I share some of those here today with you. First, find yourself a good coach, role model, or mentor. Whatever you want to call that person, they all serve the same purpose. I took the 2007-2008 year off to train for the Olympics. Long story short, I made the team swam pre-limbs and received a gold medal after I watched Jason Lezak run down the French swimmer who had been talking trash all summer. Go USA. I gotta tell you, I felt pretty cool because I had a gold medal hidden in my desk drawer as a 19-year-old. But when I returned to Cal with that gold medal, I brought along a little bit of an attitude. I remember when Coach Dave Durden pulled me to the side after a particularly cold and generally unfun practice, he gently reminded me that what I do and what I say, even my body language, could have an impact on everyone around me. We've all had that teammate, friend, a group member whose negative attitude has affected the entire group, and I was being that guy. Since then, Dave has taught me many lessons in and out of the pool, and each one was something that I would have never caught or been able to work out on my own. Everyone needs kind but critical feedback in order to grow. The second tip I learned is that no one has swum the perfect race. I don't know any swimmer at the highest level who would ever say they swam the perfect race. During the 2012 Olympics, I congratulated my friend after he had just won a gold medal in the hunter backstroke. He said, thanks man, but I took an extra kick off the wall, which means he's a little slow in the transition from the underwater kick to swimming. Apparently next time I needed to tell him he totally blew it, right? In that same vein, no one has ever made the perfect product or launched the perfect business. It may seem overwhelming to strive for greatness or figure out a way to improve on something to perfection, but as with any goal, you have to distill it down to its basic parts. In swimming, that would be something simple, like the timing of your kick or the way you approach the wall, and when you work on that, you get better at it. Then you move to the next thing, and then you work on that, and then the next thing. And before you know it, your consistent approach to improvement pays off in ways you never thought were possible. Many of you will be joining the workforce in the near future, maybe in the form of a small startup, a non-profit, or maybe a big company. Either way, you'll be joining a team with the purpose of achieving some sort of a goal. In 2016, Team USA's goal was simple, win as many medals at the Olympics as possible. From an outsider's perspective, this seems like it would take care of itself. And to be honest, for the most part, it always has. The biggest difference in 2016, though, was that we made a concerted effort to come together and embrace the team aspect of an otherwise very individual sport better than ever before. On TV, it looks like we'd trained together and been best friends for years, when in reality it couldn't have been more different. Just four weeks earlier, 2,000 competitors, the best out of the 400,000 members of USA Swimming, arrived from our respective training locations to compete for a place on the Olympic team. Only 47 athletes were selected, so just four weeks earlier, those people who today look like our best friends were actually our biggest competition. So how did we get so close? It was actually pretty simple, but it still takes effort. We put down our phones during meal times. We made eye contact as we talked to one another, and we did our best to just simply get to know one another. Come time for the Olympics, you could see and feel how close our team was. A really special thing to watch was when a Team USA athlete headed to their race. Everyone would stop what they were doing, cheer for them, and tell them good luck. We were genuinely excited to watch them perform. It was almost like everyone was giving that person their energy, and when it came time for you to step up on the block, you could feel your teammates giving that energy back to you. In a game where the difference between winning and losing can be as little as one one-hundredth of a second, I think every ounce of energy can probably help. So when you join your next team, I'm sure there will be a lot going on, but don't forget to spend some time getting to know those around you. Leave your phone at your desk. Eat lunch with them. Look them in the eye and ask them about their own story. It may pay off in the same way that it did for Team USA. Lastly, if you put yourself out there and you set high goals, you're probably gonna fail. Sorry, but that's okay. My swimming career from 2007 to 2010 was like a dream. I set a higher goal each year and then I achieved it. I started by making the NCAA final, and then I made the national team on a relay, and then I made the international team, and then I finally won the individual events at the international meet in 2010. I could not have asked for more reasonably. Right? I mean shoot. Eight gold medals at an Olympics or something like Michael Phelps, I'd take it, but we're being reasonable. 2011 came then. I was supposed to be this hot shot sprinter who was winning a bunch of international medals at world championships, but that was the first year that I turned professional. I read a bunch of online articles that were trying to predict the meet, and I saw my name at the top. My parents were in the stands, and obviously I wanted to impress them. It was also the first time that I was a sponsor, and obviously I didn't want to let them down. In the end, I placed fourth and fifth in the 50 and the 100 races respectively, which means I did not get to stand on the podium, and I almost lost our two relays. Fortunately, my teammates bailed me out on those, but it certainly wasn't pretty. It was the best possible timing for this to happen, because the thing I learned was that the sun still rose the next day. My family and friends were still in my family and friends, and ultimately the world kept going. I was going to live to compete another day. All that pressure I put on myself to perform was really for nothing. This worked out really well because I was able to see through that noise and just focus on what I could control for the 2012 Olympics, where we ended up having a great meet. So here I stand in front of you wearing this round medallion of a big symbol of this great success, but it's just a medal. Don't get me wrong, it means a whole lot to me, but the reason it means so much is everything that went into earning it. After the 100 freestyle in Rio, when I placed third as the returning Olympic champion, the NBC reporter gave me that side-eye look and goes, well, what happened? Well, I just won a bronze medal, thank you. In my head, I go, Michael, you really blew this for everyone. Bronze medals are cool too. So as you all head out towards your new job or grad school, set high goals. Don't be afraid to invest in them. Find that role model or mentor you need in order to grow and feel free to leave your phone in your pocket for an entire meal or perhaps a speech every once in a while. Thank you all and go Bears.