Paul Stanley was the Wesley College graduation commencement speaker this past weekend.

The KISS guitarist/vocalist, who’s also an author, entrepreneur and philanthropist, shared some advice with the outgoing class of 2018 on May 12 in Dover, Delaware.

“Make the most of your life and be proud of what you do,” he said during his commencement speech, according to Delaware State News. “Make sure at the end of the day, you can look at yourselves in the mirror and like who you see. Go forward, have a great life and remember that even on its worst day — and I’ve had my share — life is a miracle. Go out and prosper. Make this a better world, you can do it. And, take some time to rock ‘n’ roll too.”

Stanley also talked frankly about his early struggles with hearing — he was born with Level 3 Microtia.

“I’m deaf on my right side and have no ear canal — I didn’t have an ear on that side,” Stanley said. “People asked, how can you go into music? But, I’ve always said that you have to innately know what you’re capable of doing, no matter what anyone tells you. People say that those who are successful are lucky. It’s not luck. People who are successful look at situations and see opportunities others missed. The people who tell you it’s just luck are the ones who didn’t succeed. It’s a rationale for their failure. Don’t be one of those people.”

For more than 40 years, Stanley has been considered one of the most recognizable frontmen in the history of rock and roll. Although preferring to live his off-stage life out of the media spotlight he continues to be the chief songwriter, driving force and unwavering voice of KISS. A visionary and trendsetter since the early 1970s, Stanley‘s passion for both the musical and visual arts has been a key contributing factor to the ongoing worldwide phenomenon known as KISS.

In addition to being one of the founding members of the biggest musical act in history, and overseeing KISS‘s worldwide brand with more than 2,000 licensees, he is an accomplished solo artist spanning the musical landscape from rock ‘n’ roll to soul; a stage actor of renown, playing the lead role of the Phantom in “The Phantom Of The Opera” during its final historic six-month run in Toronto; author of the best-selling autobiography “Face The Music: A Life Exposed”; an entrepreneur and partner in one of the nation’s fastest-growing restaurant chains, Rock & Brews; and has given his time and energy in support of numerous causes that help change people’s lives, including About Face, the House Research Institute, and several that support our veterans, including Hiring Our Heroes and Wounded Warrior care project.