出众英语演讲稿范文（精选31篇）
What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.
At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.
I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.
However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown.
Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears that my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.
one day in 1819, 3,000 miles off the coast of chile, in one of the most remote regions of the pacific ocean, 20 american sailors watched their ship flood with seawater. heyd been struck by a sperm whale, which had ripped a catastrophic hole in the ships hull. as their ship began to sink beneath the swells, the men huddled together inthree small whaleboats.these men were 10,000 miles from home, more than 1,000 miles from the nearest scrap of land. in their small boats, they carried only rudimentary navigational equipment and limited supplies of food and water.these were the men of the whaleship essex, whose story would later inspire parts of moby dick.we know how fear feels, but im not sure we spend enough time thinking about what our fears mean.as we grow up, were often encouraged to think of fear as a weakness, just another childish thing to discard like baby teeth or roller skates.
i am very glad to stand here to give thier a short my topic is that the youth are the future of motherlandso what?s my chinese dream ? finally i will announce.
we had learned a lot of knowledge and understood a lot of truth in the book. we had a basic concept to our country at that time. we know that our country is full of sunshine , and we are the future of our country, and our dreams are to be the hope of our motherland.are we sick, or is our dear motherland sick?i dont want to talk about the construction of our country politics, andalso speak impassioned speech on the diaoyu island event .i just want to appeal young people,showing the side of youth,good and must learn to organize our own thoughts, correct our own concept, and change our direction to the right side in future life. china dream actually lies in our young generation, especially of the intellectuals.i dream to construct our beauty china with millions of young people who have the same dream. we do it without exaggeration but only with persistence.that is my speech,thanks everyone.
I want to start out by saying, I talk about this — about keeping women in the workforce — because I really think that's the answer. In the high-income part of our workforce, in the people who end up at the top — Fortune 500 CEO jobs, or the equivalent in other industries — the problem, I am convinced, is that women are dropping out. Now people talk about this a lot, and they talk about things like flextime and mentoring and programs companies should have to train women. I want to talk about none of that today, even though that's all really important. Today I want to focus on what we can do as individuals. What are the messages we need to tell ourselves? What are the messages we tell the women that work with and for us? What are the messages we tell our daughters?Now, at the outset, I want to be very clear that this speech comes with no judgments. I don't have the right answer. I don't even have it for myself. I left San Francisco, where I live, on Monday, and I was getting on the plane for this conference. And my daughter, who's three, when I dropped her off at preschool, did that whole hugging-the-leg, crying, "Mommy, don't get on the plane" thing. This is hard. I feel guilty sometimes.
when we xfaced with the difficulty x,avoidingx is not a good way for us. it can not solve the problems.what we need to do is that analying the cause and trying to changed our place .so we should be brave and face the trap directly. the film also teachs us to love others.precious is someone who may exit near us .if precious own a good family and some friends,she may not fell so despaired. in spite of the development of our world ,there still many people suject misfortune.love and help can make them fell better ,so we should not scant our love .
as what i said at the beginning, “we are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book, whose pages are infinite”. the past has gone. nothing we do will change it. but the future is in front of us. believe that what we give to the world, the world will give to us. and from today on, lets be the owners of ourselves, and speak out “we are the world, we are the future.”
During my brief time in office, our world has reminded us daily of the necessity and the urgency of our work.
We’ve witnessed the coarsening of public discourse and the volatility of national and international affairs.
We’ve mourned when gun violence has cut future short, and gatherings of the faithful – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian – have ended in bloodshed.
We’ve continued to confront the existential threat posed by climate change, and we’ve reeled as extreme weather has destroyed homes and claimed lives.
And we’ve grown increasingly aware of the scourge of sexual harassment and sexual assault, and have struggled to consider how institutions, Harvard among them, can prevent and address behavior that threatens individuals and weakens communities.
To be sure, there is much in this world that rightly troubles us. But there’s even more that gives us cause for hope.
And it’s that spirit of hope – the willingness both to see the world as it is, and to consider how we can help make it better – that is in many ways the spirit that defines this university and I believe joins us all together.
Since I took office on July 1, I’ve seen the value of both knowledge and education at work in the world. I’ve seen the good being done by our faculty and our students, by our alumni, and our staff, and our friends. And I’ve seen expressions of compassion, and patience, and kindness, and wisdom that have moved me deeply.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
No one can imagine what our life would be like if we ran out of water. Many people ignore the fact that they waste a lot of water in their daily life. For example, people tend to do something else while the tap is still on or even forget to turn off the tap after using it.
Not until recently did people realize the serious water shortage. It is universally acknowledged that severe water pollution and waste result in water shortage. Therefore, it is high time that the public raised their awareness of saving water resources. In my opinion, we must take effective measures to deal with this problem. For one thing, population should be controlled and more sewage treatment facilities should be established to purify the polluted water. For another, it is our responsibility to develop a good habit to save water in our daily life.
Let's work together to protect and save water resources!
You’re about to hear a fine student response at the end of today’s program. (I know that because I get a sneak peek at those remarks.) But I wish you could also have heard the two talks given at last December’s winter commencements.
Jordan Cebulla told of being a poor student in high school here locally who almost abandoned any idea of higher education. But, told by a family friend that Lafayette is, quote, “a gritty town full of gritty people,” he gave Ivy Tech a try. And four years later, he is a Purdue alum. He told his classmates, “In the end, if we quit on ourselves, everyone else will quit on us, too.”
In his response speech, Seon Shoopman confided that, out of sixteen schools he applied to, Purdue was the only one to admit him, provided he attend our summer boot camp. Three and a half years later, he, too, earned his Purdue degree, with honors, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. Seon said that, more than any other motive, he wanted to do it for the mother who had pushed him all the way. “When I wanted to quit, she told me not to. When I wanted to leave school, she told me not to. She told me to fight, be strong, and make something of myself.”
Some in today’s world think they have discovered something new in the concept of “grit.” A Harvard Business School article just last fall was titled “Organizational Grit,” and reported that, quote, “High achievers have extraordinary stamina. ... When easier paths beckon, their commitment is steadfast. Grit predicts who will accomplish challenging goals.” So that’s why a Harvard MBA costs 200 grand.
first, i want to ask you a question; what does family mean someone told me: it means father and mother, i love you.
today i am very happy to stand here to express my opinion to my dear parents. first, i want to say thank you to my mom and dady .without you, i would not enjoy such a colorful life. you both love me for ever and never leave me alone when i was in trouble. thank you. mom and dady, thank you. when i was in my hard time, you are my tender sunshine which encourages me to hold on and never give up. and now i am too excited .i dont know how to express my true feeling with limited words. what i know is that without you my life will be filled with endless suffering and mistake .
it’s a very intresting topic today.
hello, ladies and gentlemen. im ms liu, liu xiaoyu. i’m from hanyuan traffic and hope primary school. my topic is “please be my pen friend!”
there are five members in my family: my grandpa, my grandma, father, mother and me. they love me and i love them too. my father and mother work very hard everyday. so i often help my mother to clean the room. and i always wash the dishes when i finish eating. my grandpa and grandma like watching tv. sometimes they tell me lots of interesting stories. if you’re my pen friend, you’lllike these stories. after i finish my homework, i often dance.
my hobby is dancing, just like this.... i hope my pen friend like dancing too. and we can dance together. i also like drawing, just like this ?. look! a beautiful princess. if youre my pen friend, i’ll draw a picture for you.
my favorite animal is rabbit. because she is very cute and smart. i have a pet rabbit. i love it very much. everyday i feed it and play with it. she is my good friends. i always sing songs for her: .... if you’re my pen friend, you can also like her. i can write emails in english and chinese. sometimes, i can also write to my family in chinese. i want to be your pen friend. do you like me? please be my pen friend. that’s all, thank you!
And life as a disabled person is actually somewhat difficult. We do overcome some things. But the things that we're overcoming are not the things that you think they are. They are not things to do with our bodies. I use the term "disabled people" quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses. So I have lived in this body a long time. I'm quite fond of it. It does the things that I need it to do, and I've learned to use it to the best of its capacity just as you have, and that's the thing about those kids in those pictures as well. They're not doing anything out of the ordinary. They are just using their bodies to the best of their capacity. So is it really fair to objectify them in the way that we do, to share those images? People, when they say, "You're an inspiration," they mean it as a compliment. And I know why it happens. It's because of the lie, it's because we've been sold this lie that disability makes you exceptional. And it honestly doesn't.
And I use the term porn deliberately, because they objectify one group of people for the benefit of another group of people. So in this case, we're objectifying disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people. The purpose of these images is to inspire you, to motivate you, so that we can look at them and think, "Well, however bad my life is, it could be worse. I could be that person."But what if you are that person? I've lost count of the number of times that I've been approached by strangers wanting to tell me that they think I'm brave or inspirational, and this was long before my work had any kind of public profile. They were just kind of congratulating me for managing to get up in the morning and remember my own name. (Laughter) And it is objectifying. These images,those images objectify disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people.They are there so that you can look at them and think that things aren't so bad for you, to put your worries into perspective.
One of the legacies of receiving a world-class education is the sobering awareness of the inadequacy of our knowledge. Some years ago, one of the people I admire and respect most architect is Renzo Piano just turned 70 and I asked him what felt like. He said that, as much as he had thought about and prepared for that moment, it still came as a shock. Now I can attest to that feeling of shock but more than anything he said it made him feel that our proper lifespan should be 210 years, 70 to learn, 70 to do, and 70 to teach the next generation.
This lovely description captures an elementary fact of life: a good life has the feeling that we’re learning more and more as we go. And that we could do even better if we just learned a bit more. I hope that you are fortunate enough to carry that spirit of life with you and we must hope together that it continues to define this nation and the world. In the centuries ahead, on behalf of Columbia University, I extend to all our graduates the centennial class of 20xx warmest congratulations.Thank you!
last year,, this year, during national small -- smallbusiness week there was a company just outside of austin, texas.their company was all about electronics and small circuit boards. you have a warehouse of all of these intricate circuit boards and electronic equipment. the river flooded and came in and just flooded their entire operation. water was deep. med. ithink it destroyed a third of their inventory. everybody they hadnot processed. the gentleman who was the proprietor of thiscompany said what was so amazing, sba was able to come in with a $2 million disaster relief loan. he talked about how his employees would come and work all hours. they had to take cloths andwhite down all of the wires and cables and clean the circuitboards that were salvageable. they spent hours doing this. in six weeks they were back up and running. many couldn't come in and work during that time. he continued to pay his employees andtheir benefits through that entire time and helped with donations in the community as well. it lets you know the heart ofentrepreneurs. they are risk takers but they are on 24/7. that is why they will always have a special place in my heart . i know what that is like. we all started small.
wonderful stories just like many in this room. we have time for one more.
i'm the owner of the newtown athletic club in pennsylvania. i'malso cochair of the largest trade organization for fitnessindustry, and an advocate through my business of the right to try bill. i would like to ask both of you, what are the experiences you have had that you would like to share, some of the do's anddon'ts that would be beneficial to us today?
every entrepreneur goes into business knowing they are taking a risk. you have to manage the downside risk. one of the ups and downs, i have been bankrupt. my house was auctioned in my car repossessed. seven months pregnant with our second child. when i talked to entrepreneurs with failing businesses, some referred to it as a bad patch. they are determined to come back. one of the most inspirational things to me is to listen to entrepreneurs, how they get through thetough times. i've often said it is not how you fall, it is how you get back up. mrs.
So for any of us in this room today, let's start out by admitting we're lucky. We don't live in the world our mothers lived in, our grandmothers lived in, where career choices for women were so limited. And if you're in this room today, most of us grew up in a world where we have basic civil rights, and amazingly, we still live in a world where some women don't have them.But all that aside, we still have a problem,and it's a real problem. And the problem is this: Women are not making it to the top of any professionanywhere in the world. The numbers tell the story quite clearly. 190 heads of state — nine are women. Of all the people in parliament in the world, 13 percent are women. In the corporate sector, women at the top, C-level jobs, board seats — tops out at 15, 16 percent. The numbers have not moved since 20xxand are going in the wrong direction. And even in the non-profit world, a world we sometimes think of as being led by more women, women at the top: 20 percent.
Years later, I was on my second teaching round in a Melbourne high school, and I was about 20 minutes into a year 11 legal studies class when this boy put up his hand and said, "Hey miss, when are you going to start doing your speech?" And I said, "What speech?" You know, I'd been talking them about defamation law for a good 20 minutes. And he said, "You know, like, your motivational speaking. You know, when people in wheelchairs come to school, they usually say, like, inspirational stuff?" "It's usually in the big hall." And that's when it dawned on me: This kid had only ever experienced disabled
people as objects of inspiration. We are not, to this kid -- and it's not his fault, I mean, that's true for many of us. For lots of us, disabled people are not our teachers or our doctors or our manicurists. We're not real people. We are there to inspire. And in fact, I am sitting on this stage looking like I do in this wheelchair, and you are probably kind of expecting me to inspire you. Right? (Laughter) Yeah.
how many people here in this room smile more than 20 times per day? raise your hand if you do. oh, wow. outside of this room, more than a third of us smile more than 20 times per day, whereas less than 14 percent of us smile less than five. in fact, those with the most amazing superpowers are actually children who smile as many as 400 times per day.have you ever wondered why being around children who smile so frequently makes you smile very often? a recent study at uppsala university in sweden found that its very difficult to frown when looking at someone who smiles. you ask, why? because smiling is evolutionarily contagious, and it suppresses the control we usually have on our facial muscles. mimicking a smile and experiencing it physically help us understand whether our smile is fake or real, so we can understand the emotional state of the smiler.
i think one of the things i have been talking about, the mentorship, we have so many services. there is score, offices manned by retired executives, or executives lending their time to advise on business programs, web design, to kind of walk youthrough how you can expand and scale your business. small business development centers are also available. you can go to any of those district offices, 68 around the country. those areeven more bountiful in the district offices in every state. you cango to and look at the different modules. you can self-study. lots of tools are available.one of the things i got excited about in early discussionswith ms. mcmahon about the capacity of sba, most people think of it along the lines of capital. availability of capital, and how they can support businesses in that regard. these mentorship opportunities are very impactful. as i meet with entrepreneurs,consistently they talk about what is the biggest barriers to scaling a business is lack of mentorship opportunities. that is what made the difference in terms of execution on their ideas.first of all, congratulations on now being a small business owner and job creator. thank you for your service prior to that as a firefighter. my advice to you would be to look at the whole ecosystem as you think about how to start this business for thefirst time . listen to a lot of people, including people who say your ideas are bad. internalize that feedback. ultimately, i think that thinking through and bringing on partners, and people that can complement your skill set and help you to think about theexecution of your business plan is critical as you think aboutscale any meaningful way. in addition to utilizing resources,getting feedback, from people about the idea and the concept, think about how you can supplement your team to complement the skill set that you have.
any other questions? ok.
Several months ago, the Trump Administration instructed the Department of Education to prioritize STEM education, especially computer science, in our schools. The guidance we offered directed that these programs be designed with gender and racial diversity in mind.
At the direction of the President, I have worked closely with leadership across government Agencies to prioritize workforce development and proven on-the-job training programs like apprenticeships so that young women – and men – have more opportunities to earn while they learn, provide for their families, and master the skills that drive progress in the 21st century.
Finally, we must empower women who live in countries that prevent them from leading.
Across the world, there are still laws that stop women from fully participating in their nation’s economy.
In some countries, women are not allowed to own property, travel freely, or work outside of the home without the consent of their husbands.
Countries like the United States and Japan cannot be complacent. We must continue to champion reforms in our own countries while also empowering women in restricted economies.
No, this is Penn. That stuff wouldn’t go over well here. Maybe at Drexel—but not here. I’m in trouble now.
I was back to square one—and feeling the pressure.
So now you’re probably thinking—if it was gonna be this difficult, why’d I even accept today’s invitation in the first place?
Well, you know my son goes here. That’s a good reason. And I always like to check to see how my money’s being spent.
And I’m sure there’s some parents out there who can relate to what I’m talking about!
And there were other good reasons for me to show up.
Sure, I got an Academy Award… but I never had something called “Magic Meatballs” after waiting in line for half an hour at a food truck.
True, I’ve talked face-to-face with President Obama… but I never met a guy named “Kweeder” who sings bad cover songs at Smokes on a Tuesday night.
Yes, I’ve played a detective battling demons… but I’ve never been to a school in my life where the squirrel population has gone bananas, breaking into the dorm rooms and taking over campus. I think I’ve even seen some carrying books on the way to class!
So I had to be here. I had to come… even though I was afraid I might make a fool of myself.
I should know: In the acting business, you fail all the time.
Early in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. A perfect role for me, I thought—except for the fact that I can’t sing.
So I’m in the wings, about to go on stage but the guy in front of me is singing like Pavarotti and I am just shrinking getting smaller and smaller...
So I come out with my little sheet music and it was “Just My Imagination” by the Temptations, that’s what I came up with.
So I hand it to the accompanist, and she looks at it and looks at me and looks at the director, so I start to sing and they’re not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting into it.
But after the first verse, the director cuts me off: “Thank you. Thank you very much, you’ll be hearing from me.”
The next part of the audition is the acting part. I figure, I can’t sing, but I know I can act.
But the guy I was paired with to do the scene couldn’t be more overdramatic and over-the top.
Suffice to say, I didn’t get the part.
But here’s the thing: I didn’t quit. I didn’t fall back.
I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition, and the next audition, and the next one. I prayed and I prayed, but I continued to fail, and I failed, and I failed.
But it didn’t matter. Because you know what? You hang around a barbershop long enough—sooner or later you will get a haircut.
You will catch a break.
Last year I did a play called Fences on Broadway and I won a Tony Award. And I didn’t have to sing for it, by the way.
And here’s the kicker—it was at the Court Theater, the same theater where I failed that first audition 30 years prior.
The point is, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed.
But do you have guts to fail?
Here’s my second point about failure:
If you don’t fail… you’re not even trying.
My wife told me this expression: “To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”
Les Brown, a motivational speaker, made an analogy about this.
Imagine you’re on your deathbed—and standing around your bed are the ghosts representing your unfilled potential.
The ghosts of the ideas you never acted on. The ghosts of the talents you didn’t use.
And they’re standing around your bed. Angry. Disappointed. Upset.
“We came to you because you could have brought us to life,” they say. “And now we go to the grave together.”
So I ask you today: How many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes?
You invested a lot in your education. And people invested in you.
And let me tell you, the world needs your talents.
Man, does it ever.
I just got back from four months of filming in South Africa—beautiful country, but there are places with terrible poverty that need help.
And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg.
In fact… if you really want to know the truth:
I had to come… exactly because I might make a fool of myself.
What am I talking about?
Well, here it is:
I’ve found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.
Nothing.
Nelson Mandela said:
“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that’s less than the one you’re capable of living.”
I’m sure in your experiences—in school… in applying to college… in picking your major… in deciding what you want to do with life—people have told you to make sure you have something to “fall back on.”
But I’ve never understood that concept, having something to fall back on.
If I’m going to fall, I don’t want to fall back on anything, except my faith. I want to fall… forward.
At least I figure that way I’ll see what I’m about to hit.
Fall forward.
So, I’m not just asking you, I’m advising you to anticipate defeat, strongly advising it. Don’t be surprised when it comes your way. Acknowledge it. Engage with inquisitive abandon and leave indelible fingerprints wherever you may go. Search for environments that may give you grief but they may also help you to grow.
Now, no one taught me the importance of that existential exploration better than my parents. And it was my father who showed me that in fact, it is in discomfort that we find our most defining moments.
My dad became a doctor because he knew the circumstances were not the same for everybody, that some people were not as fortunate as our family was. And as he put it, he wanted to eliminate “dis-ease.” Are you with me, graduates? “Dis-ease.” That’s exactly how he said it to me.
When I was a little girl, I would go on house calls with him. The patients all knew and loved him and I saw how much he prided himself on being a caretaker, someone who did his very best to reverse their compromised positions of his patients – to put their mind and bodies at ease.
But there was one house call I remember in particular. It’s seared in the back of my brain as if it happened yesterday. His diabetic patient was having a hypoglycemic attack. He told me to get the orange juice. I did, and I watched him save a woman’s life that day.
Looking around me today, I think of the generations of Yale graduates who have come before you. Individuals who have been for something.
There are many names we know and others that would be less familiar – presidents and world leaders, artists and business executives, scholars and scientists.
Like them, I know you will heed the call to leadership and service and leave your mark on every realm of human endeavor.
That is Yale’s mission – that is what Yale is for.
As members of the Yale community, what do we believe?
We believe that facts and expertise, applied with creativity and wisdom, can transform the world.
We believe that education and research save lives and make life more meaningful.
We believe that diversity of thought and diversity indeed are essential to human progress.
We believe, most of all, in the boundless potential of human ingenuity; that together, we can solve great challenges and bring light and truth to a world in great need of it.
Here’s what I mean:
Reggie Jackson struck out twenty-six-hundred times in his career—the most in the history of baseball.
But you don’t hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs.
Fall forward.
Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that?
I didn’t either—because1,001was the light bulb.
Fall forward.
Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.
You’ve got to take risks. And I’m sure you’ve probably heard that before.
But I want to talk about why it’s so important.
I’ve got three reasons—and then you can pick up your iPhones.
First… you will fail at some point in your life. Accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. There is no doubt about it.
That’s probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony. But, hey, I’m telling you—embrace it.
Because it’s inevitable.
I deeply respect and honor women who choose to work inside the home full-time to care for their families. We never want to discourage that incredible calling, but we must also ensure that every woman has the freedom to work outside of the home – if they so choose.
Therefore, in order to empower women to reach our full economic potential, we must embrace four fundamental changes that will propel us into the future.
First, as leaders in both business and government, we must pave the way in modernizing the workplace.
While the percentage of working women has dramatically increased, corporate expectations have remained all-too stagnant.
Today, in the United States, women now comprise 47 percent of the workforce.
In the vast majority of American homes with children, all parents work – and in 40 percent of households, women are the primary breadwinners.
Yet, work environments and social institutions still largely operate on a single-earner mindset, in which one parent – traditionally the mother – stays at home to provide full time care.
All too often, our workplace culture has failed to treat women with appropriate respect. This takes many forms, including harassment, which can never be tolerated.
Traditional and rigid corporate culture also fails working mothers – and fathers – who work long and often wildly unpredictable hours and get little time off.
Too many mothers dread telling their boss they must stay home to take care of a sick child – and many must go back to work just weeks after having a new baby – because they can’t afford not to.
Every day, working parents are forced to make hard but unavoidable choices.
Medusa is just one of many Greek myths that have encouraged me to fantasize, turning me into the creative girl I am today.
The myth talks about Poseidon, god of the sea, kissing Medusa in Athena’s temple. Athena was furious. I can picture Athena’s punishment for Medusa as if it were happening before my very eyes. The transformation from beauty to beast is as vivid and clear to me as is the light of day. The utter dread and bewilderment on Medusa’s face as she changed is unforgettable and so eerie it chills me to the bone even still.
I am Medusa, scariest of all.
My prey turn to stone while I stand tall.
One kiss with Poseidon, god of the sea.
Turned me to a monster no one dares to see.
Greek myths have introduced me to a brand new world where imagination is boundless.
About the common stuff about entrepreneurship, I'd read too much from books and talks. So, I'm going to share my own opinion. Something special, I think.
At the beginning of the talk, he told that he's really intense because it is his first time to present in front of a crowd of academics. He suggested the students should complete the academic study, and don't give up.
If I had the chance to take all the wealth and so called fame and glory that I have right now, and buy back 15 years of life, but keep the knowledge that I have now, and relive the physique I had 15 years ago and trade places with you right now, I would make that trade in a heartbeat.
Real change, the kind we have not seen in decades is only going to come from outside the system. And it’s only going to come from a man who’s spent his entire life doing whatothers said could not be done. My father is a fighter. When the primaries got tough and they were tough, he did what any great leader does. He dug deeper,worked harder, got better and became stronger.I have seen him fight for his family. I have seen him fight for his employees. I have seen him fight for his company. And now, I am seeing him fight for our country. It’s been the story of his life and more recently the spirit of his campaign. It’s also a prelude to reaching the goal that unites us all. When this party and better still this country knows what it is like to win again.If it’s possible to be famous and yet not really well done, that describes the father who raised me. In the same office in Trump Tower, where we now work together, I remember playing on the floor by my father’s desk, constructing miniature buildings with Legos and Erector sets, while he did the same with concrete steel and glass.
Maybe this is all revelatory at Harvard. But in our part of the country, it’s not news. The slogan of the Whiteland (Indiana) High School Class of 1930 was “Grit Wins.” It could be a slogan at Purdue every year. I’m tempted to call Roget’s Thesaurus and let them know the antonym of “snowflake” is “Boilermaker.”
Just as physical strength is built through hard exercise, emotional fortitude is enhanced by adversity and conflict. Every great achievement requires a confrontation with stress, a conquest of fear. Our engineers know, there is no traction without friction. Wilbur Wright, father of the aviation world Purdue now leads, wrote, “No bird soars in a calm.” Your strength of intellect and character will give you opportunities to lead, but it will be your strength of purpose, your resilience, your grit that will enable you to lead successfully, and by your example, to give new heart and strength to those around you.
There’s one sure way to minimize stress and difficulty in life: attempt nothing that’s bold, challenge nothing that’s wrong, risk nothing that’s dangerous. Those endeavors always bring disappointment, frustration, criticism, setbacks. But they also are the source of the achievements that make life fulfilling, and the even greater grit that will get you ready for the next challenge.
From opposite ends of life’s continuum, and I offer you two closing examples of the qualities I hope you have built here at this institution. Both stories involve Purdue students even younger than you are today.
Dress me up in army fatigues. Throw me on top of a moving train. Ask me to play Malcolm X, Rubin Hurricane Carter, Alonzo from Training Day: I can do all that.
But a commencement speech? It’s a very serious affair. Different ballgame. There’s literally thousands and thousands of people here.
And for those who say—you’re a movie star, millions of people watch you speak all the time…
… Yes, that’s technically true. But I’m not actually there in the theater—watching them watching me.
I’m not there when they cough… or fidget… or pull out their iPhone and text their boyfriend… or scratch their behinds.
From up here: I can see every single one of you. And that makes me uncomfortable.
So please, don’t pull out your iPhone and text your boyfriend until after I’m done.
But if you need to scratch your behinds, go right ahead. I’ll understand.
Thinking about the speech, I figured the best way to keep your attention would be to talk about some really, juicy Hollywood stuff.
I thought I could start with me and Russell Crowe getting into some arguments on the set of American Gangster…
… but no. You’re a group of high-minded intellectuals. You’re not interested in that.
Or how about that “private” moment I had with Angelina Jolie half naked in her dressing room backstage at the Oscars?… Who wants to hear about that?
I don’t think so. This is an Ivy League school. Angelina Jolie in her dressing room…?