Just Listen for a Minute

Graduation is the end of one chapter and the start of another.  Keynote speakers at college graduations are the luck of the draw.  Some speeches are shoozers, others will resonate with wisdom and common sense.  Here are a few quotes from some of my favorites.  chrissie

Steve Jobs, Stanford University in 2005

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.... Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”



 

Bono, University of Pennsylvania in 2004

"The world is more malleable than you think and it’s waiting for you to hammer it into shape…That’s what this degree of yours is—a blunt instrument. So go forth and build something with it. Remember what John Adams said about Ben Franklin, 'He does not hesitate at our boldest measures but rather seems to think us too irresolute.' Well, this is the time for bold measures and this is the country and you are the generation." 

 

  

Jodie Foster, University of Pennsylvania in 2006

"There is nothing more beautiful than finding your course as you believe you bob aimlessly in the current. And wouldn't you know that your path was there all along, waiting for you to knock, waiting for you to become. This path does not belong to your parents, your teachers, your leaders, or your lovers. Your path is your character defining itself more and more every day."

 

 

Jessica Lange, Academy Award- and Golden Globe-Winning Actress, Sarah Lawrence College in 2008

"Be present. I would encourage you with all my heart just to be present. Be present and open to the moment that is unfolding before you. Because, ultimately, your life is made up of moments. So don't miss them by being lost in the past or anticipating the future." 

 

 

Bobbi Brown, CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Fashion Institute of Technology in 2014

“Work hard but work smart. Always. Every day. Nothing is handed to you and nothing is easy. You’re not owed anything... No job or task is too small or beneath you. If you want to get ahead, volunteer to do the things no one else wants to do, and do it better. Be a sponge. Be open and learn.”

 

Christian Louboutin, Shoe Designer, Fashion Institute of Technology in 2014

“It is a great thing to be at your age… You are at a very specific time of age … an age where you can follow all your dreams. But also at an age when you can change—you can change your dreams, you can change paths. When you start something when you’re young, you should not decide ‘this is it, this is my way and I will go all the way.’ You have the age where you can change. You get experience, and maybe dislike it and go another way. Your age is still an age of exploration.”