Congrats on your child’s recent graduation. You were probably fortunate enough to hear a great commencement speaker at a college graduation. Robert De Niro, Maya Rudolph, Jon Bon Jovi, the Obama’s, and Flo from the Progressive Insurance Commercials were all commencement speakers this graduation season. They probably told their young audiences that opportunities were limitless, the world was your oyster, and to follow your passion. But did they tell them how?

There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. When I competed in horse shows at the national level, I can say that it took a village of people to get one horse and rider into the ring. My mom was not a horse expert. She did not ride; she did not clean tack or stalls. Her value was in being the safety pin lady. She hid safety pins all over her that I could use at a moment’s notice. Big pins, little pins, you have no idea how many safety pins it took to get one person into the show ring.