Make it personal, but not too personal. Talk about a triumph or a struggle. Share how you overcame an obstacle or talk about a favorite professor who was a mentor. Yes, I once heard a speaker talk to grads about a divorce, numerous times, throughout the speech. Rehearse, practice, make sure the advice you are giving to these young minds is something they can use in the future.
Practice your speech in front of your loved ones. They will tell you the truth, even if that means re-writing the night before the event. Graduation day for students and their families is a major milestone and something they will remember forever. What would you tell your own daughter or son, in private? What is most important in your life and how has that changed over the years? What might be most important to these graduates in five or fifty years?
If only for a few moments, rescue your audience from the sheer velocity of this century with a clear, considered voice. As you put pen to paper, these three speeches, among all the excellent ones in our archive, may provide the best inspiration:. One final word: graduates are humans about to invent themselves, to somehow transition to adult, professional, father, mother, citizen, bread-winner, community leader.
What do they know? How can they choose? What are the dangers? The secrets? The joys? How should they spend their days? You, you the commencement speaker, just might be a crucial guide, motivator, co-conspirator, friend, ally, and above all inspirer. What an opportunity! So find that gem, what you alone know, or feel, or understand. Give these fellow travelers, merely younger, your heart and insight and inspiration. Odds are, you will change a life or two for the better. Since , we have worked to create a positive change in attitude and vision.
THI's mission is to create an inspirational common ground of discovery for anyone, anywhere, to find ways to engage in positive change. That is your story, graduates. And that is the story of your families. I grew up in a working-class family in Chicago. And while neither of my parents went past high school And even after my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and he struggled to walk, relying on crutches just to get himself out of bed in the morning, my father hardly ever missed a day of work.
See, he never wanted me to miss a registration deadline because his check was late. Speaking at Colorado College in , the multihyphenate, self-made billionaire talked about redefining success and failure. I was told I was going to be taken off the evening news and put on a … talk show. That was a demotion for me at the time, that actually worked out for me. Speaking at his alma mater, Howard University , in , Boseman praised student protesters who had recently won a number of concessions from the administration and spoke with specificity about his experience on the campus.
Purpose is an essential element of you. It is the reason you are on the planet at this particular time in history. Your very existence is wrapped up in the things you need to fulfill. Whatever you choose for a career path, remember the struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose. Not good. He shared a parable of three men whose lives were paralyzed by fear, so they sought the counsel of a wise man who lived so far above the tree line that no vegetation, animals or even insects lived near his cave.
Then the third came forward:. The comedian and painter gave a fascinating speech at the graduation ceremony at the Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. An archer searching for his target in the mirror, wounded only by my own arrows.
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