Not all commencement speeches are created equal. If you’re looking for some post-graduation inspiration, we’ve curated five of the most insightful and famous graduation speeches by some of the world’s greatest thinkers and funniest minds. As the summer winds down, take a moment to reflect on these powerful words to help guide your next steps after graduation.
#1: “It’s the things you chain yourself to that set you free.” -David Brooks, Commencement Address at Dartmouth, 2015
Commentator David Brooks explains what we can expect in the coming decades, emphasizing the importance of identifying and prioritizing your loves and making commitments.
“You have your own criteria. You’re not relying on the opinions of others. You have your own standards and your own ability to judge your own life. For most people this agency moment comes just before 30. But then you can have a few other agency moments later in life, at age 53 or 75, when your loves change order, and you have to realize that and you have to adjust. Once you have achieved your agency moments, you can begin to make commitments.
We are not a society that nurtures commitment-making. We live in a culture that puts a lot of emphasis on individual liberty and freedom of choice. Ivy League student culture is built around keeping your options open and fear of missing out. We live in a society filled with decommitment devices. Tinder, OkCupid, Instagram, Reddit; the entire Internet is commanding you to sample one thing after another. Our phones are always beckoning us to shift our attention span. If you can’t focus your attention for 30 seconds, how can you make a commitment for life? But your fulfillment in life will not come from how well you explore your freedom and keep your options open. That’s the path to a frazzled, scattered life in which you try to please everyone and end up pleasing no one. Your fulfillment in life will come by how well you end your freedom. By the time you hit your 30s, you will realize that your primary mission in life is to be really good at making commitments.”
#2: The six rules of success -Arnold Schwarzenegger, Commencement Address at University of Southern California, 2009
Bodybuilder, actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger lays out the six rules he’s lived by:
- Trust yourself.
- Break some rules.
- Don’t be afraid to fail.
- Ignore the naysayers.
- Work like hell.
- Give something back.
#3: “You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” -Steve Jobs, Commencement Address at Stanford University, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs reminds us of the deadline we all share.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. 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. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
#4: “The most important thing is to be true to yourself.” -Ellen DeGeneres, Commencement Address at Tulane University, 2009
Comedian and actress Ellen DeGeneres shares her thoughts on why it’s important to not live in fear of being yourself.
“It was so important for me to lose everything because I found what the most important thing is. The most important thing is to be true to yourself. Ultimately that is what got me to this place. I don’t live in fear, I have no secrets and I know I will always be OK because no matter what, I know who I am.
When I was younger I thought success was something different. I thought success was to be famous, become a star, drive nice cars…. My idea of success is different today. The definition of success changes. Success is to live your life with integrity and to not give in to peer pressure to try to be something that you’re not. Success is to be honest and to contribute in some way… 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.”
#5: “Score yourself on a curve.” -Stephen Colbert, Wake Forest University, 2015
Comedian Stephen Colbert says to set your own standards in life.
“Of course, any standards worth having will be a challenge to meet. And most of the time, you will fall short. But what is nice about having your own set of standards is that from now on, you fill out your own report card. So do yourself a favor: be an easy grader. Score yourself on a curve. Give yourself extra credit. You have the power. You are your own professor now. Which I know is a little creepy because that means you’re showering with your professor. But you have tenure. They can’t fire you. So I hope you find the courage to decide for yourself what is right and what is wrong. And then, please expect as much of the world around you. Try to make the world good according to your standards. It won’t be easy. Get ready for my generation to tell you everything that can’t be done — like ending racial tension, or getting money out of politics, or lowering the world’s carbon emissions. And we should know they can’t be done. After all, we’re the ones who didn’t do them.”
