Some excerpts are below, or you can download the audio which runs 14:41 but can safely be listened to at 2x speed.
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The nine word commencement speech...
Know yourself. -Socrates
Control yourself. -Cicero
Give yourself. -Christ
Victory goes to those who work the hardest. Take the risk and the responsibility. Explore the unknown, and never, never, never give up. If you can do those things, you can write your own future.
The most important story in your life is the story you have already started writing. You are the writer, you're the star, you are the director, you are the producer. You control the narrative, and you can change the ending, if you want to. If you badly want to change it, you can.
Here are a few suggestions for your story:
Define yourself. Don't let anyone else tell you who you are. Promise me today that no one -- but you -- will define who you are. No one will put a ceiling on you because of race, religion, economic status, and, yes, gender and age.
You define your success. Not society. Not your teachers. Not even your parents. And certainly not a commencement speaker.
You define your passion. Find your passion, and go after it. Give it space. Give it great breath. Feed it and nurture it and free it. It will make your life an adventure.
And at the same time, as you go on that adventure, you must define and connect with your values. Know what you stand for -- the rock hard place beyond which you don't go, because it destroys you. Without a personal honor code, you will be without a rudder. With it you will have something to hold onto when you are tested or when you are tempted.
A journey of a thousand miles, as you know, begins with the first step. Start today. Don't spend your life getting ready. If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to be a painter, paint. If you want to be a scientist, do research. If you want to be an entrepreneur, start a company.
There are these realities, though... First, luck will play a role. Being at the right place at the right time can matter. [...] The second, be prepared. Be prepared always. But know this: No matter how prepared, how smart, and how strong, the unexpected will come. There will be tests and setbacks, rainy days. Also know this: As you take your first steps along this journey and make choices in your life, it'll be a bigger disappointment not to have tried. Or as someone once said, "at the end of your life you will regret more when you said 'no' than when you said 'yes'."
In all of it, people matter. People matter. Relationships matter. Friends matter. [...] Friendship is one of those amazing relationships of life. Serve it and live it and nourish it, enjoy it, honor it, and maintain it. And let nothing petty interfere with it. In life you will find there are times that the only voice that comforts you will be that friend who understands you, and the bond can get you through the darkness to celebrate the night.
This too -- especially this too: Don't forget that there are some amazing people here with you. They have helped you get here. They worked hard, they saved, they prayed, and they spent endless hours just to be able to sit here with you, to share this time with you. This is their day too. [...] Let them share their pride with you. Let them share their dreams with you, because you are on the way to fulfilling their dream. This is an important step.
As Steve Jobs said in a famous commencement speech, "stay hungry, and stay foolish."
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