Graduation

It's one of the best qualities to have, the ability to reset after you've taken a hard hit. I've had the pleasure and privilege of seeing the human spirit in full flight in incredible ways.

There's a way that the force of disappointment can be alchemized into something that will paradoxically renew you. You either learn it or you're undone by it.

Every step is a first step. Every brushstroke is a test. Every scene is a lesson. Every shot is a school. So let the learning continue.

You may be shy. You may be tentative. And even, at times, you may be fragile. But you have to protect your own voice, your creative spirit, no matter what it costs.

One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, right here, right now, is to decide, without apology, to commit to the journey, and not to the outcome.

The truth is, you have signed up for a life of service by going into the Arts. And the life-altering results of that service in other people's lives will never disappear as fame unquestionably will.

The world needs you. Now, the world may not exactly realize it, but wow, does it need you. It is yearning, starving, dying for you and your healing offer of service through your Art.

We were all made to love. And I've found that we live our best lives, we are at our most successful, not simply because we're smarter than everyone else, or because we hustle harder. The key to success, the key to happiness, is opening your mind and your heart to love.

We're taught when we're young that the opposite of love is hate. But it's not. Hate is a byproduct. The opposite of love is fear. Fear is what blinds us. Fear is corrosive. Fear makes us hold back.

The only way you'll reach any height in life and in love is by taking the chance that you might fall. You have to give your all.

Self-doubt is one of the most destructive forces. It makes you defensive instead of open, reactive instead of active. Self-doubt is consuming and cruel and my hope is today that we can all collectively agree to ban it.

You can be as insecure as you want in your life, but just promise me you'll leave that insecurity out of your work. Just know, you're good enough.