I recently came across Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi's 2011 commencement speech at Miami University and was struck by her message, which was in so many ways similar to the message I try to deliver to my own kids -- and which I hew to in this blog.

Nooyi made three basic points. They strike me as a template for success and happiness. Here's what she had to say:

• Whatever you do, do it well It doesn't matter if you are cleaning tables or curing disease, do it the best you can -- everyday -- and you will find success. Doing your work well opens doors. You project and inspire confidence. Your dedication shines through. Nooyi told the story of Henry Kissinger who once asked a speechwriter for three revisions. After the third, Kissinger asked the writer if the speech was as good as it could possibly be. "It is now," the writer said. "Okay," said Kissinger. "This time I will read it." Nooyi's comment:

"Strive for that final draft, straight away, in whatever you do. You will inspire others to have confidence in you. You will generate your own tailwind. Whether it is your first job, or your dream job, running a business or running a photocopier, your effort should be the same 110%. As Martin Luther King once said, 'If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and hell will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.'"

• Do what you love It has become fashionable to criticize the pursue-your-passion philosophy in today's world filled with unemployed liberal arts majors. Yet Nooyi hit this point hard, and I have long espoused that you will be happier doing what you love for less money than doing something you do not enjoy for more. Says Nooyi:

"It can be a shattering experience pinning your hopes on your perfect career only to find you are miserable once you get there. You might wonder how do you know what you will love. Well, it requires self-knowledge -- understanding your talents, interests and passions so you can identify the career that will suit them best. And it requires listening to your heart. I listen to my heart all the time. When I'm going home to see my family, my heart beats faster. When I take the exit off I-91 to Yale, my alma mater, my heart beats a little faster. And every morning when I pull onto Anderson Hill Road, and get my first glimpse of PepsiCo headquarters, my heart beats faster. Because I love my job. So listen to your heart, find a career you truly enjoy, something that makes you come alive. And as you look for the career you love, don't judge it on the basis of money because net worth is not the same as self-worth. Pursuing the highest salary at the expense of the satisfaction you derive from it is not really fulfilling at all."

• Keep learning This is the last thing a new graduate wants to hear. Yet the speed of change is such that you must keep learning and adapting throughout your life, or you will end up marginalized at work and unsatisfied with your life. Says Nooyi:

"When you enjoy your work, when your work is your passion, you will constantly want to learn, to understand, and to grow intellectually. And this is vital in today's world. We are now moving at an incredible pace, technologically and intellectually. The days of having one job or one area of expertise are long gone. In five years time you will be doing jobs that might not have been invented yet. And you must constantly pioneer and find better ways of doing things if you want to succeed. And that means constantly expanding and absorbing new things."

Photo courtesy Flickr user worldeconomicforum
More on MoneyWatch:
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