What does Google say?

I think I felt a bit like that when I graduated. Sometimes I think I still do.

But what words of guidance can a father give when a big chunk of offspring's education has ended with the final Abitur exam?

I've been listening to some of Barack Obama's sound bites from speeches he's made at various commencement ceremonies, some of them eloquently inspiring.

But the suggestions Eric Schmidt, co-founder of Google, made to the Class of '09 at Carnegie Mellon struck me as not only inspiring but also liberating.

So, listen up, girl!

"Don’t bother to have a plan at all. All that stuff about having a plan, throw that out. It seems to me it’s all about opportunity and make your own luck…. You cannot plan innovation. You cannot plan invention. All you can do is try very hard to be at the right place and be ready….

“How should you behave? Well, do things in a group. Don’t do things by yourself. Groups are stronger, groups are faster. None of us is as smart as all of us…..

“Trust matters in a networked world. Trust is your most important currency….

“In a world where everything is kept and remembered forever - the world you are graduating into - you should live for the future and the things you really care about. Don’t live in the past. Live in the future….

“You’ll find today is the best chance you have to start being unreasonable, to demand excellence, to drive change, to make everything happen.”