The same principle is true in your personal life. Being a parent is not just a matter of paying the bills, doing the bare minimum. It's not just bringing a child into the world that matters, but the acts of love and sacrifice it takes to raise and educate that child and give them opportunities.

It can happen to presidents as well. If you think about Abraham Lincoln and Millard Fillmore had the very same title. They were both presidents of the United States, but their tenure in office and their legacy could not be more different. And this is not just true for individuals; it's also true for this nation.

In recent years, in many ways we've become enamored with our own past success, lulled into complacency by the glitter of our own achievements. We've become accustomed to the title of "military super-power" forgetting the qualities that got us there, and not just the power of our weapons, but the discipline and valor and the code of conduct of our men and women in uniform.

The Marshall Plan, and the Peace Corps, and all those initiatives that show our commitment to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of opportunity and equality and freedom that have made us who we are; that's what made us a super power.

We've become accustomed on our economic dominance in the world, forgetting that it wasn't reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us where we are, but hard work and smart ideas, quality products and wise investments. We started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on re-branding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas that improve our lives.

All the while the rest of the world has grown hungry, more restless, in constant motion to build and to discover, not content with where they are right now, determined to strive for more. They're coming.

So, graduates, it's now abundantly clear that we need to start doing things a little bit different. In your own lives, you'll need to continuously adapt to a continuously changing economy. You'll end up having more than one job and more than one career over the course of your life. You'll have to keep on gaining new skills, possibly even new degrees. And you'll have to keep on taking risks, as new opportunities arise.

And as a nation, we'll need a fundamental change of perspective and attitude. It's clear that we need to build a new foundation, a stronger foundation for our economy and our prosperity, rethinking how we grow our economy, how we use energy, how we educate our children, how we care for our sick, how we treat our environment.

Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no standard remedies, no go-to fixes this time around. And Class of 2009, that's why we're going to need your help. We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm, we need your energy, we need your imagination.

And let me be clear, when I say young, I'm not just referring to the date of your birth certificate. I'm talking about an approach to life, a quality of mind and a quality of heart, a willingness to follow your passion regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame, a willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink old dogmas. A lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige, and a commitment instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world.