Western Canada Graduation Speech 2015
Christian Bagg
Good morning faculty, graduates, proud parents and bored siblings.
I have never really be fond of the term “don’t be afraid to fail” or “don’t be afraid to succeed” I think
we should rightfully be afraid of the first and obviously content with the second, the closest thing to
those sayings that may ring true in my life would be “don’t be afraid to try” because its only if you try
that you can even cross the threshold of failing or succeeding.
I graduated from Western Canada over 20 years ago, I was a marginally motivated student whose
grades spent most of their time hovering around 60% or as they say at Wisewood “the honor roll”. In
fact I still have bad dreams where I miss the math final and can’t remember where the school is.
Luckily their selection process for this address had nothing to do with my past academic accolades
and, that no one gets to proof this speech for ‘grammaring’ .
Like some of you I had no real plan for what I was going to do when I left high school and as it turns
out, that’s OK. The Sherpas cinema video clip that some of you saw the other day was made by
Western grads who had no plan other than to be ski bums when they left school, now they have their
movies available on Netflix, obviously not a goal they could have had leaving high school 20 years ago,
before your TV shamed you by asking “are you still watching”.
Even my own sister, another western grad rivalled my apathy for higher learning, struggling through
high school and her university undergrad before piecing it all together and getting a PHD in
philosophy and a Law degree, now she could actually convince you that 2 plus 2 equals 5, I haven’t
won an argument with her since the late 90’s.
In both cases there was no epiphany, no movie style montage where they just became successful but
years of trial and error, mistakes and successes and effort, lots and lots of effort.
Effort is the key, it’s the key to success it’s the key to failure, it’s the key to self-worth and it’s the key
to happiness. Without effort life is a joke with no punchline. Trust me, you want a punchline.
It’s through trying that you find out what you’re good at and what makes you happy.
When I left Western I had no real plans, I wasn’t particularly worried but nor was I particularly
motivated I ended up getting a job as an apprentice machinist, at the time it was just a job, a way to
pay for lift tickets and bikes and that was OK, looking back that was when I truly developed my love
for the outdoors, something that would help guide my life to this day.
For three years after high school I actively worked and passively learned while training as a machinist,
it was the mountains where I thrived, I was young and strong and utterly indestructible.
It was April 28 1996 snowboarding at Sunshine Village when my indestructibility was put to the test.
In a split second of airborne confusion I landed upside-down from 30 feet, I blew up three of my
vertebrae leaving me instantly paralyzed as I slid to a stop.
It’s hard to find an analogy for what paralyzing yourself is like, in one day all your foreseeable plans
are cancelled, you don’t go back to work, you’re put in a strange place with strange people where you
have no control and you don’t know when you get to leave. I guess it sounds a little like prison but
when you get paroled you can’t walk and your shoes last a really, really, really long time.
Though it’s an interesting story I won’t get into the specifics of my long road to recovery, if you were
all newly paralyzed I think it would be valuable but seeing as you’re not Ill skip ahead to the parts that
are relevant to your lives.
What’s relevant is that an unforeseen obstacle arose in my life and I had to deal with it, I didn’t get to
research or train for it beforehand, it was forced on me and my reactions were the only thing I had
control of.
If it hasn’t already, this will happen to you, the path you think you are on will be altered, some minor
and some majorly and your only option will to be to deal with it.
No matter what happens to you know that any action is better than inaction. Trust me.
I had to take stock of what I had to work with, what was left of my former self that I could use to
move forward, I had a love for the outdoors, that was my motivation, I was two years into training as
a machinist, that was my skill and if they say that necessity is the mother of invention I had that in
spades.
In two years I went from identifying myself as a snowboarder to identifying myself as an inventor, not
a great identity if you’re trying to get girls but more useful if you’re a paraplegic trying to get up some
stairs.
As time went on I would use this skill as a foundation to deal with new unforeseen challenges and
opportunities.
Because of my reliance on technology I became highly motivated to hone my craft as a machinist, I fell
in love with solving problems, designing and making things. Now when I encountered a barrier I could
at least try to build my way past it. In some ways it was the ease of finding barriers that allowed me to
thrive as an inventor.
Word got out that I was creating innovative designs and a multinational medical company came a
knocking.
I think it was around this time that I was first asked to speak to a Western Canada graduating class,
that’s right, ten years ago I was in this same position up on this stage I looked a little younger and I
felt a lot younger.
I couldn’t find a copy of that speech but I believe it ended with me selling my design and riding off
into the sunset on a corporate wheelchair made of cash, a success story with a happy ending for the
graduates.
Well remember when I said that life would be full of obstacles? My life didn’t come crashing to the
ground again in a literal way but my gravy train job took a metaphorical trip to the morgue. The world
of business was about to let me know that my inspirational past did not entitle me to anything. Man I
wish I had kept that wheelchair made of cash.
This is when I realized that innovating wheelchairs wasn’t enough, I had to innovate myself.
Believe it or not there are still more oil field jobs at $40 a barrel than there are ultralight custom
wheelchair designer jobs.
If the giant medical company didn’t want to sell my wheelchairs then I would have to do it myself. I
had no real business experience, no shop and no plan. I had an uphill battle that I wasn’t prepared for
and all I had control of were my actions.
This is the first time that I have spoken since that last address ten years ago but since that time I have
had a few of the students from that day approach me, thank me for my story and say that it had
helped them at some point in their lives. I’m honoured and humbled by this but I do understand the
need to draw on others experiences.
When I was first paralyzed and in the hospital I started reading climbing books, stories of endurance in
the high alpine. I was drawn to them not because of their mountain settings but because of the micro
full circle stories of life and struggle.
Something that inspired me was a chapter from the true story “Touching the Void” it has
Mountaineer Joe Simpson left for dead with a badly broken leg and crawling alone miles and miles
down a mountain and through a glacier. The gravity of what he had to accomplish to survive was too
much for him to think about so he gave himself small goals.
He would pick a rock or a chunk of snow 100 meters away or so and give himself 20 minutes to get
there, if he made it he was elated if he failed he was devastated and picked a new goal. Since the
book is written by Joe it’s no spoiler to say that he survived.
It was the concept of continuously moving forward that appealed to me. Even if he failed at his small
goals he was still closer to his ultimate one than if he hadn’t tried. This has been a reassuring
philosophy in my life, that even my failures can move me closer to success.
Failures suck and I have a few obvious ones that I would love to have not had but they will be a
reality in your life and if you use them to shape your character, build wisdom and motivate, you will
find that over time some of them will become valuable parts of who you are.
In the last ten years I have re designed myself, I created two wheelchair companies, developed
innovative devices for cancer treatment, designed adaptive off-road vehicles for Alberta Parks got
married to a beautiful woman and had a son.
I have dealt with hostile takeovers, eight day work weeks, a leaky roof and seasons 1-9 of teen mom.
I continue to learn and my path continues to change and not only is that OK but it’s what makes life
interesting.
It’s an exciting time for your generation, mine has finally admitted that we need help to make the
world a better place from online bullying to economic inequality to accidentally melting your glaciers,
we need you, The future isn’t scary, it’s exciting and it will be controlled by you. The message “don’t”,
“cant” and “shouldn’t” should always be questioned.
I'm excited for 15 years from now to sit as a proud parent in these stands to listen to one of you speak
to my son and his classmates about the amazing things you’ve been up to. It could be any of you.
Remember, everyone you meet knows something you don’t.
Respect their knowledge and learn from them.
Don’t let money be your measure of success or popularity your measure of self-worth.
There are countless philosophies on life and how to live it, my story may not resonate with all of you
so I’ll give you a simple final thought that is hard to argue, even for a lawyer PHD, Be kind and work
hard.
Thank you and congratulations