4Words Foundation founder David Griffin speaks to year 10 students at Mercy Regional College in Camperdown yesterday.
INSPIRATION, motivation, challenge, encourage - these four words were chained together yesterday to inspire and encourage Camperdown high-schoolers to chase their goals.
The 4Words Foundation visited Mercy Regional College year 10 students with guest speakers including former Hawthorn premiership player Rick Ladson and Nike Pacific CEO Paul Faulkner.
4Words Foundation founder David Griffin also shared his story and told The Standard it was important to bring high-profile motivational speakers to regional schools.
"Kids here don't get the access to as many great speakers and great mentors as they do in the city," he said.
"We want to share how the secret to success is really not a secret it's persistence, resilience and hard work.
"You don't often hear successful people talking about how they got there because of their talent.
"I wanted to play league footy and always dreamed of running onto the MCG on Grand Final day.
"I did that as a runner for Hawthorn in 2008, so dreams come true in different ways."
Ladson, now a development trainer with Essendon, shared personal stories of his emotional career the highs and lows of injury and success in the 2008 premiership plus losing loved ones and depression.
Mr Faulkner, who worked his way up through the Nike ranks for 16 years to become CEO, said he challenged teenagers to consider their personal brand.
"I'm talking about when you leave school and go out into the world how you can establish your brand, and stay true to your brand," he said.
"You have to ask 'What does my brand mean to me?'"
