It is rare that a single speech can have a profound effect on your life, but these 5 graduation speeches are inspirational in a way that the audience is able to make a true connection with the speaker. One of our favorite commencement speeches comes from Steve Jobs, who recently passed away on October 5, 2011. He talks about seeing the opportunities in life’s setbacks, like he did, and the power of trust.
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.”
Here are 4 other powerful speeches that we love.
John F. Kennedy: American University, 1963
“Our problems are manmade—therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable—and we believe they can do it again.”
Watch a video of Kennedy’s entire speech.
Toni Morrison: Wellesley College, 2004
“You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human without wealth. What it feels like to be human without domination over others, without reckless arrogance, without fear of others unlike you, without rotating, rehearsing and reinventing the hatreds you learned in the sandbox. And although you don’t have complete control over the narrative (no author does, I can tell you), you could nevertheless create it.”
Read the full text of Morrison’s address.
J.K. Rowling: Harvard University, 2008
“Given a time machine or a time turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.”
Read the full text of Rowling’s speech.
Jon Bon Jovi: Monmouth University, 2001
“Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate. The world doesn’t need any more gray. On the other hand, we can’t get enough color. Mediocrity is nobody’s goal and perfection shouldn’t be either. We’ll never be perfect. But remember these three P’s: Passion + Persistence = Possibility.”
Read Bon Jovi’s entire speech.
史上最伟大的五个毕业演说
你还记得曾经的毕业演说么？你上一次被一个演讲所鼓舞是什么时候？来看看五个史上最伟大的毕业演讲吧。
很少能有一个演说对你的生命产生深远的影响，不过下面的这五个演说却能够让听众对于演讲者的经历感同身受，因而也颇具启发意义。我们最喜爱的一个毕业演讲来自于史蒂夫·乔布斯，他在2011年10月5日去世了。他的演讲告诉了我们怎么像他那样，在生命中不如意的时候看到机遇，以及信念的伟大力量。
史蒂夫·乔布斯：斯坦福大学，2005
“当你展望未来时，你很难把生活中的碎片联系起来，它们只有在你回首往昔时才会串成一条线。所以，现在你所要做的便是相信眼下的这些生命片段总会在未来的某个时间联系起来的。你必须要相信一些东西，你的直觉，你的命运，你的生活，你的因缘。这个方法从来就没让我失望过，事实上，正是它，造就了我的生命。”
点击这里观看乔布斯的演讲视频。
约翰·F·肯尼迪：美国大学，1963
“我们的问题都是人制造出来的，所以也都可以由人来解决。只要大家愿意，人类可以十分的伟大。从来没有什么关乎人类命运的问题是超出人类能力范围的。人类的理性和品格曾经解决过很多看似无法解决的问题，我们相信它们能再次这样。”
点击这里观看肯尼迪的演讲视频。
托妮·莫里森：卫斯利女子学院，2004
“你主宰着你自己的故事，那么，大胆地去想象和体验做一个没有财富的人的感受吧。一个人不试图去支配其他的人，摈弃鲁莽和傲慢的态度，不惧怕与你不同的人，不反复地回忆和重塑你从沙箱游戏中感受到的仇恨，这样的感觉会是怎样的呢？尽管你没法完全控制你的生命故事的情节发展（实际上我可以告诉你，没有任何人能够控制），但你仍然可以去创造属于你的情节。”
点击这里阅读莫里森的演讲全文。
J·K·罗琳：哈佛大学，2008
“如果时光可以倒流，我会告诉21岁的自己，其实人生的快乐在于懂得生活不是一张关于收获和成就的清单。你的学历，你的个人简历，那都不是你的生活，尽管你会遇到很多像我这个年纪，甚至比我更年长的人都常常将这二者弄混。生活是很艰难的，也是很复杂的，它超越了任何人的掌控。只有谦卑地认识到了这一点，你才能够更好地在生命的洪流之中得以生存。”
点击这里阅读罗琳的演讲全文。
乔恩·邦·乔维 ：蒙茅斯大学，2001
“没有什么比激情更重要了。不论你在未来的生命中想要做些什么，请保持你的激情。我们的世界不需要更多的沉闷了。另一方面，我们的生活还远远算不上绚烂。任何人都不应甘于平庸，也不必苛求完美。我们从来都无法做到尽善尽美。不过让我们记住这三个P开头的词儿吧：激情(Passion)+坚持(Persistence)=可能(Possibility).”
