At the beginning of a new year there is always a sense of excitement. Yay, It’s 2017! Time for new adventures, new possibilities, new prospects. All very thrilling…!
Unfortunately, NEW isn’t always so exhilarating. Many times NEW can also be very scary. What lies ahead? What challenges might we face? What uncertainties may lurk around the corner? What will 2017 bring?
In many ways every new year is a graduation onto the next phase of our lives. And like us, on graduation day, many graduates are faced with the very same conundrum. Personally and professionally we do not know what to expect of this new phase. Of course we are excited about the opportunities and adventures that lies ahead, but also, we are uncertain of the tasks and challenges we might have to face.
Many graduation speeches are forgettable. A lot are filled with the same cliché advice. But some are so good – so inspiring and poignant – that they stick with us forever.
At the beginning of a new year, we all could use a little inspiration… Timeless words of wisdom dispensed by some of the most distinguished speakers to grace a commencement stage.
Here are our top 3 Graduation Speeches of all time. May you be inspired.
SHERYL SANDBERG • UC Berkeley, 2016
In one of last year’s most talked-about (and most heartfelt) commencement addresses, Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) shares what she learned in the year since she lost her husband.
OPRAH WINFREY • Harvard, 2013
One of the most successful (if not the most successful) women in television, Oprah Winfrey, talks about the initial failure of her television network OWN. How she dealt with the flop and how she realised the importance of building a resume not of what you want to be, but building a resume of who you want to be.
STEVE JOBS • Stanford University, 2005
In a remarkably personal address, the Apple founder and CEO advised graduates to live each day as if it were their last. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” he said. He’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a year earlier.
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”
*Sources: businessinsider.com
