From Steve Jobs’ now-famous advice to “Stay hungry…stay foolish,” to J.K. Rowling’s suggestion that “it is impossible to live without failing at something,” college graduation speeches have provided some of the greatest moments of inspiration and encouragement in recent history. That trend continues this year with celebrities and entrepreneurs like Will Ferrell, Sheryl Sandberg and Oprah Winfrey sharing their wisdom at commencements around the country.
Ready to be inspired? Here are the three best pieces of advice from this year’s graduation speeches.
1. Follow your dreams
When Will Ferrell graduated from college, he was not an overnight success. In fact, the comedian and actor spent the first two years of his post-college life sleeping on his mom’s couch in Southern California. What he discovered along the way is that success is not an easy road or a straightforward one. “Yes, I was afraid. You’re never not afraid,” Ferrell told students in his graduation speech at USC last week. “But my fear of failure never approached in magnitude my fear of what if. What if I never tried at all?”
By trying, failing and finding his strengths, Ferrell eventually earned a spot on SNL and launched his career as a sketch comic and, eventually, a movie star.
2. Build resilience
As the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of The New York Times best-selling book, “Lean In,” Sheryl Sandberg is familiar with success and the hard work it takes to sustain it. But the lesson she shared with graduating students at Virginia Tech last week wasn’t just about success, it was about resilience. After losing her husband, management consultant Dave Goldberg to a heart attack in 2015, Sandberg set out on a journey of self-discovery in an attempt to work through her grief. What she discovered was that the way to work through that grief was to become more resilient. “We are not born with a certain amount of resilience,” Sandberg told the crowd in her commencement speech at Virginia Tech. “It is a muscle, and that means we can build it. We build resilience into ourselves.”
After studying the concept of resilience for two years, Sandberg joined forces with Wharton School professor Adam Grant to write “Option B,” a book dedicated to uncovering answers about how to cope with adversity and find joy again.
3. Expand your definition of success
Oprah Winfrey may be a global media personality but she didn’t have the easiest time establishing herself in the field. Prior to landing her famous TV talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Winfrey was fired from her job as a news anchor for Baltimore’s WJZ-TV. The reason? Producers claimed Winfrey was too emotional about the stories she covered.
Rather than feeling defeated, Winfrey embraced her interest in unique stories and became a talk show host. As she shared with students in her commencement speech at Agnes Scott College, the main lesson she’s learned throughout her career is that there is no single definition of success. “Those of you who have a lot of shoes know having a closet full of shoes doesn’t fill up your life. Living a life of substance can.”
Ready to find your calling in life? Check out some of the amazing companies hiring this summer and start building your own path to success.
