The best graduation speeches last the test of time, offering wisdom and insight that is just as helpful to a 21-year-old as to someone at the peak of their career.
Inspired by recent round ups by NPR and Brain Pickings of great commencement speeches, we’ve highlighted our all-time favorites and the timeless advice they offer.
These speeches touch on dealing with failure, adapting to change, and the importance of self-discovery. Read on to see the powerful life lessons shared by highly influential people, including J.K. Rowling, Conan O’Brien, and Steve Jobs.
J.K. Rowling said that you must not fear failure, no matter how grim things get.
The author of the “Harry Potter” series told Harvard’s class of 2008 about the dark period she experienced before achieving success. “An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew,” Rowling said.
But when she was at the bottom, she realized that her life went on, and she decided to press forward. “You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable,” she said. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case, you fail by default.
“You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I ever earned,” she said.
See the transcript and watch the video.
Steve Jobs told graduates they must never settle.
The legendary founder and CEO of Apple told Stanford University’s class of 2005 that they needed to live each day as if it were their last. He’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year earlier.
Jobs said this mindset will make you understand the importance of your work. “And the only way to do great work is to love what you do,” he said. “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
Settling means giving in to someone else’s vision of your life. Jobs warned against this temptation: “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
See the transcript and watch the video.
Conan O’Brien said that you must be willing to adapt to change and adjust your dreams.
In his hilarious 2011 address to Dartmouth College, the late night talk show host spoke about his brief run on “The Tonight Show” before being replaced by Jay Leno. O’Brien described the fallout as the lowest point in his life, feeling very publicly humiliated and defeated. But once he got back on his feet and went on a comedy tour across the country, he realized something.
“For decades, in show business, the ultimate goal of every comedian was to host ‘The Tonight Show,’” he said. “It was the Holy Grail, and like many people I thought that achieving that goal would define me as successful. But that is not true. No specific job or career goal defines me, and it should not define you.
“Well I am here to tell you that whatever you think your dream is now, it will probably change. And that’s okay,” he said.
See the transcript and watch the video.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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12 Pieces Of Valuable Life Advice From The Greatest Commencement Speeches Of All Time
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