Christie Video: Judge The Rebound; Not The Fall

Transcript:

Governor Christie: We are always judged not by the fall, but how we get up. In every aspect of our life, we judge people by how they react when they’re challenged. And so whether it’s a challenge at my job, or whether it’s a challenge at home and believe me, with four children between 10 and 20, there are challenges at home every day, and I’m married for 28 years, and that means there are challenges at home every day. 

You can only imagine what it must be like to live with me. Maybe you can’t, but it’s no picnic. And so we all have these challenges in our lives. What matters is how we deal with them. 

And you’ve given me the opportunity every day to have the best part of this job. Here’s what it is. The best part of this job is every day, every day, I wake up and have a chance to do something great. I don’t do something great every day because I’m human. 

But every morning when I wake up and get out of bed, I know because I’m Governor, I have a chance to do something great for someone, who I probably will never meet and certainly will never know. That’s a blessing that you’ve all bestowed upon me and for however long I get to be Governor, however long that is, that’s the gift you’ve given me. 

I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren someday, God willing, that their grandfather had a chance at one time in his life to do things really great for people that he probably would never meet and certainly would never know. That there are things in your life that are bigger than your own self-interest. 

That everybody in this country should spend some time, doing something that doesn’t just directly help them, but helps others, like the Girl Scout leaders who gave me this shirt, like the veterans who served our country overseas and fought for freedom and liberty, not just for us but for others. 

Let’s make sure that we remember two of the greatest words that we teach our children all the time, and we use it with each other, with people we know and people that we’ve just met, and with people who have helped us, most importantly, and the two words that I’ll end with all of you which is thank you. Thank you for what you’ve done for me. Thank you for the opportunities that you’ve given me. Thank you for what you’re doing for each other and thank you for what you’re doing to make our state an even greater place every day. 

Thank you all for coming today, I appreciate it.