Rob Wilmot's speech given on Chapter House Junior School Speech Day. Thorpe Underwood Estate, Ouseburn, York. June 2012.

1. A recipe for a good life

2. Smile argue enjoy sing talk
share give jump climb think
shine ask dream try try again
discover play
trust work hard giggle run
teach
have fun help reach strive
seek make relax forgive join
protest question laugh learn

3. Smile – People will smile back and that’s a
good start for everything. So don’t be grumpy.
Argue – not for the sake of it. Argue your
case to get your point across – to share your
point of view. Don’t shout, people listen better
when you talk quietly.
Enjoy – not just the big things but the little
things too.
Sing – singing makes you forget your
troubles. Singing with others makes you a
team.

4. Talk – talking leads to understanding.
Share – if you share something with others
everyone is stronger.
Give – time is the most precious gift you can
give. Take the time to help others.
Jump – over things and into things.
Climb – whatever the challenge. Little by
little, hand over hand, you will get there.
Think – before you speak. But don’t over
think.

5. Shine – have a positive attitude, this rubs off
on everyone else around you.
Ask – you’ll be surprised how much you will
learn, and the answer will often be yes.
Dream – if you have a dream to do
something in life, you might get a least half
way there. If you don’t have a dream then you
might get nowhere.
Try – sometimes a thing is just hard to do.
But if you don’t try you’ll never do it.

6. Try again – sometimes you won’t get things
right the first, or second time. But don’t give
up. The journey is often the reward.
Discover – there is great joy to be found in
learning something new.
Play – on your own or with others. This will
make you happy.
Trust – trust brings out the best in people.
Work hard – things often don’t come easy,
but if you work hard you get the rewards.

7. Giggle – with your friends and the people you
work with, it makes you and others smile.
Run – as hard and fast as you can towards
you dream.
Teach – learning has no value unless shared
with others.
Have fun – find something fun in everything
you do. You’ll do it better.
Help – helping others is what makes us
human.

8. Reach – for the stars, whilst keeping your
feet on the ground.
Strive – to always do your personal best.
Seek – to find the best way forward in every
situation.
Make – there’s no greater pleasure than
making something with your own hands or
mind.
Relax – when you stop thinking about stuff,
the answers always come. Your brain is
clever and keeps working when you stop.

9. Forgive – people will do you wrong along the
way. Don’t hold grudges, but learn from this.
Join – we are stronger together.
Protest – if you don’t think something is right
then you should protest – peacefully and
reasonably.
Question – if you’re not sure of an answer
don’t be afraid to keep asking.
Laugh – laughter is a great cure for most
things.

10. Learn – you should never stop learning
throughout your life. There’s great satisfaction
in improving your knowledge.
Go boldly – life is full of uncertainty, but you
get through this by always moving forward
with a positive attitude.
Do your best – if you always strive to do
your best, you’ll always be happy with your
life.
Be yourself! – because you’re the only one
that can be!