In this commencement address, Ash Exantus—known as Ash Cash, a 15‑year banking professional, personal‑finance author, and media personality—welcomes the graduates of Murry Bergtraum High School’s Business Careers program. He opens by acknowledging the ceremony as the start of a new chapter, then shares his own life story: raised in a single‑parent home in New York housing projects, told he would end up dead or in jail, and later rising to become a vice‑president at a major financial institution, author of two Amazon best‑sellers, and director of financial education at Bank Mobile. Cash emphasizes that success hinges on mindset, personal responsibility, and preparation meeting opportunity. He distills his message into a ten‑step framework for the graduates: (1) Find your purpose, (2) Face your fears, (3) Fail hard and fast, (4) Push your limits, (5) Kill the devil’s advocate, (6) Follow your gut, (7) Improve your surroundings, (8) Make a commitment, (9) Take massive action, and (10) Dream big and live bigger. Throughout, he uses energetic, motivational rhetoric, interspersed with audience prompts, to inspire the class to view obstacles as temporary and to take ownership of their future. The speech concludes with a challenge to the graduates to believe in themselves, act boldly, and never become their own obstacle.
Chapters
Ash Exantus, aka Ash Cash, is a 15-year banking professional, personal finance expert, motivational speaker, and the author of 2 Amazon bestselling books, Mind Right and Money Right: 10 Laws About Financial Freedom, and What the FICO? 12 Steps to Repairing Your Credit. Hi, I'm Ash Cash. Widely recognized for his passion for financial literacy and entrepreneurship, Ash is on the forefront of a movement that is encouraging individuals to be socially and financially responsible. Ash has been featured on popular national media outlets such as CNN, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, American Banker, CNBC, Black Enterprise, Essence Magazine, Ebony, BET, PIX11 Morning News, and countless others. Ash is currently the Director of Financial Education at Bank Mobile, the first all-digital, no-fee bank in the country. He has also lent his expertise as a personal finance expert and contributing writer for Experian, Credit Karma, Radio One, The Huffington Post, MSNBC, and allhiphop.com. He is the host of his own radio show titled The Ash Cash Show, which airs every Saturday at 1 PM on WHCR 90.3 FM New York with a current reach of 2.2 million listeners. Please welcome Mr. Ash Cash.
Welcome. Put the mic down because I got a loud voice. Uh, welcome students, faculty, parents, grandparents, alumni, friends. Graduates, today marks the first day of the rest of your life. And I know all of you are breathing a sigh of relief because it's finally over, but sorry to say that it's just the beginning. But it's the beginning in a good way. Today is the day when we not only celebrate your graduation, but the day that we continue, or you continue, to make your dreams come true. For the past few years, each of you embarked on a journey to be the best you that you can possibly be. And at this point, this moment, this very second, we know for sure that you've survived. So round of applause for you guys. No matter how you judge your journey, today gives you the opportunity to do it better than you've ever done it before. Yes, we know it wasn't easy, but will it be worth it? You better believe it. Under no circumstance should you allow any of your past difficulties or hardships to stop you from continuing to reach your potential. In fact, today you have proved that any obstacle that stands in your way will not succeed. You made it. You are officially undefeated in the game of life, and as you continue to journey to your next step, you must never be your own obstacle. As mentioned, my name is Ash Cash, and I am who they call Mr. Mind Right, Life Right. I live by the creed that says, change your thoughts, you change your circumstances, which means that it isn't what happens to you, but how you view and react to what happens to you that determines whether you're successful or not.
Yes!
The moment you begin to change your thought processes is the moment you begin to live life. But your thoughts are just the beginning. If you do not change your process and begin combining your thoughts with focused actions, you will find yourself running like a hamster on a wheel. I too was once my biggest obstacle. At an early age, I knew that my circumstance was not who I was destined to be. Raised in a single-parent home in the housing projects in New York, we're in the hood, in the PJs and the Jets next to Bando. I was told that I'll be dead or in jail by the age of 25. The only examples that I had of success were drug dealers, athletes, entertainers. I tried my best to find a blueprint to lasting success, but everywhere I turned, I was given a different answer. I eventually read hundreds of books, listened to hours and hours of audios, and started to study those who came before me to pinpoint what did it really take to live a successful life. The one thing that was consistent in most success stories and rang loud and clear was that everyone had an unwavering belief in themselves and a laser-type focus on their goal that eventually brought opportunities where they hadn't even imagined. Some people will try to convince you that depending on, you know, what you're trying to achieve, that there's a blueprint to reach a particular goal. But truth be told, Most people, after believing in themselves and their dreams, have miracles or unsuspecting opportunities that simply fell in their lap. Some may call it luck, but I call it opportunity meeting preparation. If you know what you want and get ready for it as if you know it is coming, then you will attract favorable situations without fail. This is truly the power of belief in oneself, having a positive mental attitude, and taking full responsibility Take responsibility for your life. After years of making many mistakes and focusing on the wrong things, I finally got the secret to success. It was me. And today, it is you and no one else. Yes, there will be people along the way to guide you and show you direction, but ultimately, you are fully responsible for your life. Anyone who embarks on a new personal journey sometimes gets so emotionally attached to their success that they kind of sabotage it before it even arrives. That's what happened to me. But by building a keen sense of who I was, why I wanted success, and how I would feel when I achieved it, I started to attract opportunities most people wait a lifetime for. At the tender age of 24, I became a vice president of one of the largest financial institutions in the world, managing over $500 million in assets for clients. I am the author of 2 bestselling books. I make a living doing what I love to do, and at one point, I was one of the youngest CEOs of a federal agency. My different business ventures not only allow me to help others, but it also affords me an opportunity to build a solid foundation for my family and me. I don't tell you any of this to brag or boast, but I tell you this because once upon a time, and not too long ago, I didn't know where my next meal was going to come from. The shame that I felt as a man was very demoralizing, and many times I wanted to give up.
I'm sorry.
I can continue and tell you about all the many challenges in life, but my belief in God and my belief that life is abundant allowed me the strength to not only— to not give permanent energy to temporary things. Do you hear me? Never give permanent energy to temporary things. I used to dream of a rich uncle or wish my life would have been easier, but truth be told, the good, the bad, and the ugly is what has made me who I am today and who makes you who you are right now. You are special, unique, and can do anything you put your mind to. You simply have to get out of your own way. So today I want to leave you with 10 steps that's going to help you live your best life. You guys ready?
Yes!
All right, so step number 1, find your purpose. He who has a why to live can bear any how. Right? So as long as you understand that why, you understand why you're here, where you're going, you understand that why, you can bear any how. Step 2, face your fears. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. Do not believe the hype. It's okay to be afraid, but just don't let that fear, that, that fear stop you from going after your dreams. Number 3, fail hard and fail fast. Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm, which means that it's alright to fail, but you don't become a failure until you give up. I've actually probably failed at more things than I've been successful at, but if you just keep going and never stop, you will get what you deserve. Step number 4, push yourself to the limits. Compromise is a sign you'll pass on the road to mediocrity. So there's gonna be times that you wanna give up, there's gonna be times that you're gonna have to say, oh, this is all I can do, but keep pushing yourself because you'll be surprised at how far you can go. Number 5, kill the devil's advocate.
Kill the devil's advocate.
Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by those who are doing it. So you know those devil's advocates, those who are gonna tell you what you can and can't do. Do not listen to them. Because your limitations are what you say they are. Number 6, follow your gut feeling. Oprah said, feelings are your— are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system will let you know. So that gut feeling, that thing inside that tells you whether you should be doing something or not, listen to it. 7, improve your surroundings. Be careful the environment you choose, for it will shape you. Be careful the friends you choose, for you will become like them. Number 8, make a commitment. Unless commitment is made, there is— there are only promises and hopes, but no plans. So commit to your success, commit to you, commit to always giving it more than you have. 9, take massive actions. Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle. So make sure that you take massive action. Whatever you want to do in your life, make sure you start now. There is no reason to wait. And lastly, dream big and live bigger. Don't let the low standards and expectations of the world cause you to aim beneath your nobility. Dream big. So there's going to be a lot of people again who are going to tell you what you can and can't do, but dream big and live bigger. So congratulations, Class of 2016! The world will truly throw many obstacles in your way, but you should never be one of them. Get out of the way. If you are still waiting for evidence that your every dream can come true, then you are wasting valuable time. If you still need to be convinced that you have a unique gift, Then you are prolonging your success. There are people both past and present who have proven that anything is possible. Today, it is your turn to make your dreams happen. I dare you to believe enough in yourself to maximize your full potential. I double dare you to stop living in fear of what other people say and think about you. I challenge you Once and for all to have enough courage to take a chance on your success. Life is abundant and you can have anything you want if you believe enough. Dream big and live bigger. It may be scary at first, but what's scarier than that is the possibility of you not ever knowing what the good life tastes like. Nothing can stop you but you. Again, congratulations, Class of 2016! You're top of the town! Thank you.
Thank you.
The difference between a regular bank and a credit union is that a regular bank is a for-profit entity and a credit union is a not-for-profit entity owned by the depositors and the members.
