Commencement

My son graduated from college this week.  How exciting it was to watch all of those young adults celebrating their future! So much hope, so much self-satisfaction.  The word commencement, after all, is defined as a “beginning or a start”.  I began thinking about all the wonderful reflection and inspiration that comes with these moments of passage in our lives.  So, although most of us have left our cap and gown days behind us long ago, inspiration isn’t just for the young.  Here are eleven super inspiring commencement speech quotes, from some of my favorite “quotables.”   

Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Neil Gaiman, University of the Arts in Philadelphia, 2012

"And now go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here".

Ben Bernanke, Princeton University, June 2, 2013

"If your uniform isn't dirty, you haven't been in the game".

Steven Colbert, Northwestern University, June 17, 2011

"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".

Aaron Sorkin,  Syracuse University, May 13, 2012

"The world doesn’t care how many times you fall down, as long as it’s one fewer than the number of times you get back up".

Conan O’Brien,  Dartmouth College, June 12, 2011

"Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen".

John McCain,  Liberty University, May 13, 2006

"Our country doesn’t depend on the heroism of every citizen. But all of us should be worthy of the sacrifices 

made on our behalf".

Maria Shriver,  USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, 2012

"Before you go out and press that fast forward button, I’m hoping, I’m praying, that you’ll have the courage to first press the pause button".

Tom Hanks,  Yale University, 2011

"Your rising from bed every morning will give fear its chance to grow stronger just as it will afford faith its chance to blossom".

Sheryl Sandberg, Barnard College, May 17, 2011

"Don’t let your fears overwhelm your desire. Let the barriers you face—and there will be barriers—be external, not internal".

Ellen DeGeneres: Tulane University, 2009

"Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else's path; unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path, then by all means, you should follow that."