As this week’s high school graduates celebrate the end of one chapter of their lives and the beginning of another, here are some quotes they can ponder from noted graduation speeches highlighted on Graduationwisdom.com.
“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.”
ó Steve Jobs
CEO of Apple Computers
Stanford, 2005
“It doesn’t matter that your dream came true if you spent your whole life sleeping.”
ó Jerry Zucker
film director/producer
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2003.
“There are times when you are going to do well, and times when you’re going to fail. But neither the doing well, nor the failure is the measure of success. The measure of success is what you think about what you’ve done. Let me put that another way: The way to be happy is to like yourself and the way to like yourself is to do only things that make you proud.”
ó Marc S. Lewis
clinical psychology professor
University of Texas Austin, 2000.
“You must have a high threshold for frustration. Take it from the guy who was turned down by every studio in Hollywood. You must knock on doors until your knuckles bleed. Doors will slam in your face. You must pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and knock again. It’s the only way to achieve your goals in life.”
ó Michael Uslan
film producer
Indiana University, 2006.
“The lust for learning is age-independent.”
ó David L. Calhoun
businessman
Virginia Tech, 2005.
“We all go through life bristling at our external limitations, but the most difficult chains to break are inside us.”
ó Bradley Whitford
actor
University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006.
“You’ll find out that nothing that comes easy is worth a dime. As a matter of fact, I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face. Never.”
ó Woody Hayes
football coach
Ohio State University, 1986.
“Find a mentor and be a mentor. Give back. And when people tell you not to believe in your dreams, and they say ‘Why?’, say ‘Why not?’ ”
ó Billie Jean King
tennis player
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2000