Discipline was key to success, actor Edward James Olmos says in Judson University speech

Acclaimed actor Edward James Olmos may have startled the audience Monday night at Judson University - first by starting his speech in Spanish, then by telling the crowd at the Christian Baptist college that God is a woman.

But he quickly charmed them with humor and a message about the work needed to make dreams come true.

Olmos spoke during the World Leaders Forum's Inspirational Series event.

The crowd gave Olmos a standing ovation before he said a word.

Olmos, 75, was nominated for an Academy Award for playing teacher Jaime Escalante in the movie "Stand and Deliver."

He received a Tony Award for his lead work in "Zoot Suit" on Broadway, was nominated for Golden Globe and Emmy awards for his work on the television show "Miami Vice," and played Admiral William Adama in the Syfy Channel's reboot of the television show "Battlestar Galactica."

He is also a producer and director and is known for his charitable work.

Olmos said that, as a child, he and his family thought he would become a professional baseball player.

"I took my dream out, and I polished it every day," he said, seven days a week, using discipline, determination, perseverance and patience.

But he learned to dance around age 10. And at 14, he fell in love with rock 'n' roll music. So he changed his dream and began singing with a band, applying the same work ethic. Then in college in the mid-to-late 1960s, he became an actor.

In 1978, he landed on Broadway with "Zoot Suit" - and "the rest was history. I became able to direct my own life," he said.

The audience laughed when Olmos talked about how the first thing he does when he wakes up is make his bed, even at a hotel. But Olmos was serious about why he does that.

"The key to life is discipline," he said. "We all start off with zero (discipline). You have to learn discipline, patience, determination."

Doing things you don't want to do will train you "to do the things you love to do when you don't feel like doing them," Olmos said.

Ticket sales from the event supported scholarships and the Road to Independent Living, Spiritual Formation and Employment program. The latter - called RISE - is a two-year program for people with intellectual disabilities, where they can live on the Judson campus and earn a liberal-arts certificate.