A great commencement speech is filled with wisdom.
10 powerful lessons from the best commencement speeches of all time:
#1: Connecting the Dots
"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." - Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005
Life is uncertain. Have faith that your dots will somehow connect.
#2: Master the Rescue
"The difference between triumph and defeat, you’ll find, isn’t about willingness to take risks. It’s about mastery of rescue." - Atul Gawande, Williams 2012
Failures are a given. The greatest don't fail less, they just succeed in rescuing more.
#3: Be a Doer
"I think a lot of people dream. And while they are busy dreaming, the really happy people, the really successful people, the really interesting, engaged, powerful people, are busy doing." - Shonda Rhimes, Dartmouth 2014
It's not enough to dream. You have to do.
#4: Learn to Improvise
"Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what's going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along." - Stephen Colbert, Northwestern 2011
Life has a habit of laughing at your best-laid plans. Let it flow - learn to improvise!
#5: Appreciate the Sweetness
"When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud: 'If this isn't nice, what is?'" - Kurt Vonnegut, Rice 1998
Life moves fast. Slow down, pause, and appreciate moments of sweetness. You'll be glad you did.
#6: Run Toward the Storm
"Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose." - Chadwick Boseman, Howard 2018
Your career will be filled with struggles. Don't hide. Run toward them! Let them shape you.
#7: Embrace Imposter Syndrome
"I just directed my first film. I was completely unprepared, but my own ignorance to my own limitations looked like confidence and got me into the director's chair." - Natalie Portman, Harvard 2015
We are all imposters...until we aren't. Embrace it!
#8: Check the Assumptions
"A huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded." - David Foster Wallace, Kenyon 2005
It's what you know for sure that just ain't so...To avoid trouble, always check the assumptions.
#9: Look Up
"The answer to a lot of your life's questions is often in someone else's face. Try putting your iPhones down every once in a while and look at people's faces." - Amy Poehler, Harvard 2011
Look up from your phone. Observe and listen to those around you. Be present.
#10: Make Your Bed
"Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right." - Admiral McRaven, Texas 2014
Little things become big things. Take pride in the little things.
These are 10 powerful lessons learned from some of the greatest commencement speeches of all time. What are your favorites that weren't included in the list?
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Until next time, stay curious, friends!
Commencement Wisdom