Domain Shane’s Daily List of Domains at Auction for Monday June 3rd, 2019

I gave my commencement speech on Saturday night and it sucked.  I thought it was decently written speech but the delivery was brutal.  There were a few things that caused it to be bad.  One, I changed the font on the computer so that I could read it without reading glasses.  I knew I had a hard day at the nursery before the talk so I turned it up a bit to account for my eyes being a little tired.  I even read through it a little before the graduation while at the podium to make sure I could read it.  Here was the problem.  When I looked up to the crowd and looked back down my eyes adjusted and I couldn’t read the speech so couldn’t find my place.  I hadn’t memorized the speech so I relied on the written word to guide me along.  Except I could barely read it and I certainly couldn’t find my place quickly.  It caused me to fumble for words and put gaps in the speech that were uncomfortable.  They were probably only seconds but they felt like hours.  I don’t think the crowd really cared or noticed but I was mortified.  I am used to giving great speeches and this one just wasn’t.   I literally wanted to give it again with my glasses on but it was done and I’ll have to learn from it.  One, I just have to wear old man reading glasses from now on unless using a teleprompter or going off note cards.  Two, memorize my talks.  I need to put in the time and I just didn’t.  I thought I had it and didn’t put in the time to memorize it as backup.  I’m done beating myself up because it was a good kick in the butt to me to step it up and remind myself that I can’t skate through everything.   Here is a copy of the speech below I’ll do everything I can to hide the video 🙂

Good evening graduating class of 2019. I wanted to start the evening off with two things.   One, I am not Woody Harrelson. I wasn’t in Cheers or the movie The Hunger Games. My name is Shane Cultra and I grow plants and run a tech company for a living.

Second, and more importantly, congratulations to all of you on your graduation.  I can remember my graduation 32 years ago like it was yesterday. What I can’t remember is who gave my commencement speech, what he or she said, or if a commencement speech was even given. So, I may have my work cut out this evening. But, I do remember this. I was finally done with high school. I was free, free of getting up at 6 am. I was free from crazy amounts of homework.  I could finally do what I wanted when I wanted. Truthfully, it didn’t go exactly as I expected; I actually had to work just as hard in other ways. Regardless it was a special moment.

You may or may not know it now, but later in life, like me, you’re going to realize you never do anything alone. There was most likely always a parent helping you with homework, being your uber to all your events, and reminding you that getting out of bed is an essential part of getting to school on time. From today on you don’t get that, and I can guarantee

at some point over the next few years you are going to wish you had some of it back. When we’re young we confuse nagging with help.

Every commencement speech that has ever been given will probably remind you to thank your teachers and faculty, thank your parents and family, and to thank your friends. There’s a reason for that. Whether they made your life amazing or they made your life miserable, they will forever be part of who you are. They will be the main characters in this part of your journey.  Some you owe a big thank you, some a hug, and some will get an “I’ll show them” that will drive you to achieve great things in your life.

I stand here today, speaking in front of this great class not because I am someone special.  I stand here because I have proven that if you put in the hours, hard work, and give back the love people give you, great things can happen. I am a 5th generation nurseryman. I grow flowers in Urbana, Illinois. Every day I work outdoors in the fresh air with thousands of beautiful plants. I make a living at what hundreds of millions of people do for a hobby. You could call me a flower farmer. I get a little more notoriety because I am on a local TV show called Mid-American Gardener, and when you mention my name in this area I will forever be Shane Cultra the “plant guy.” But, I also have another identity: Around the world I am known as Domain Shane.  

In 2000, I was a new parent, and like most parents, I didn’t have a lot of money.  I worked at the nursery, but I was still looking for some spending money or “a side hustle” as they call it today. One day, I saw land that looked pretty cheap. That land was the internet. When you type in a name in that bar at the top of your phone or web page, those words or names are called a domain, and you can own them.  You simply buy it, pay a yearly fee, and it’s yours forever. And I did. People said I was wasting my money and my time, but I bought all the plant names I could. To my luck, these names became valuable. The names that I purchased for $30 became worth tens of thousands of dollars and now my side hustle is a real side business. To think, all it took was a few hours a day for 15 years to make it happen. Instant success.

For the last 20 years I have written about my journey to show that you can have anything in the world your want as long as you temper your wants. Great things take thousands of hours to accomplish. However, if you pick it apart, and do a little each day, bricks can become castles.  Your journey is going to be long and at points it’s going to be uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is where you go to get better. Uncomfortable is what you are when you try something new, something exciting, or something challenging. Uncomfortable is what happens when your go from what you have to what you want.  Being in that uncomfortable place is what is going to make you fearless. And yes, I own uncomfortable.com.

I live by one motto. Outwork those that are smarter and outsmart those that are stronger.  There will always be someone smarter, stronger or faster than you. There will always be someone that steals a bit of your spotlight. That’s ok. I can guarantee that you have everything you need to be incredible. How do i know all this? I had my spotlight stolen in the first second of my life. You see, I was born on the day they landed on the moon. Even on the day I entered the world, I couldn’t even get the attention of the doctors and nurses because they wanted to watch the landing on TV. I was number two not even a second in to my life. I’m not fully convinced my parents weren’t sneaking in a peak of the TV too. Since that day, I’ve been ok with being as good as I can be. I have never won an MVP trophy. My best trophy was for Mr. Hustle: the person on the team that gave his best at every practice and game. There is no better award that.

While I say that hustling and hard work is an essential part of a good life, there is no life without the support of others. This brings us right back to where we started.

I’ll leave you with one final thought. We are at a point in time where technology defines our day. Our physical and social environment is now balancing the advancement of society and a need to preserve our world. I live in both worlds. I love the ability to get a taxi with the press of a button and to communicate daily with high school friends from 30 years ago. Yet, with all this power at your fingertips, so many people are missing what is right in front of them. I can promise you this.  Putting the phone down and watching a concert through your own eyes is so much better than watching it through a screen. If you want to see it again you can sit in the park, kick back and remember. I can guarantee that your mind will take you back, in more glory than when you saw it the first time. If it’s 30 years later and you can’t remember, don’t worry. Your mind will fill in the blanks with things that may or may not have happened, and that’s ok. Your kids would rather have a story from you that’s embellished than watch a video.  I already know your generation is going to save the world. What I am afraid of is that you’re going to be looking down the whole time and not looking up and enjoying the fruits of your success.

So look up, get uncomfortable and enjoy your journey ahead. Once again, congratulations Tuscola class of 2019. Good Evening.

Have a name at auction and need more exposure? Send me an email. We Charge $10 per name per day. We may be able to help. If you have an auction you want to promote, email us for details.*All names chosen by us, Shane and Josh . (ie you click through and purchase a name you like) or an occasional paid listing. Everything we say is based on our own research or is opinion. Do your own due diligence. That means look it up yourself if you don’t think the stats or our opinion is correct. We hand choose the names but we are paid to make this list by both the auction houses, individuals that are auctioning names, and Godaddy affiliate links. Keep that in mind and only buy names that YOU think are good.