Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life.
speech graduation balance
Shonda Rhimes
Dartmouth College Commencement 2014, 2014
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.
speech graduation purpose
Joyce DiDonato
The Juilliard School Commencement 2014, 2014
The more I thought about myself, the weaker I became. The more I recognized that I was serving a purpose larger than myself, the stronger I became.
speech graduation purpose
Eric Greitens
Tufts University Commencement 2012, 2012
You can never be truly free if you do not join efforts to free someone else. The function of freedom is always to free someone else.
speech graduation justice
Angela Davis
Pitzer College Commencement 2012, 2012
You will truly serve only what you love, because service is love made visible.
speech graduation love
Stephen Colbert
Northwestern University Commencement, 2011, 2011
Success, like happiness, can't be pursued. It must ensue as the unintended byproduct of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.
speech graduation success
Chris Waddell
Middlebury College Commencement 2011, 2011
Do not let any obstacles — personal, political, or economic — impede you. And once you've fulfilled your dreams, know that that is when you're liable to confront the greatest challenges. But so, too, may you derive the privilege of service.
speech graduation perseverance
Michael Oren
Brandeis University Commencement 2010, 2010
We were all put on this earth to serve others. Sometimes the more successful you get, people tend to forget that. Don't forget, no matter how successful you become, to serve others.
speech graduation gratitude
Drew Brees
Loyola University New Orleans Commencement 2010, 2010
Everything worthwhile is hard. Some sacrifices aren't worthwhile.
speech graduation discipline
Bobby Knight
Trine University Commencement 2010, 2010
Find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Rise to their needs.
speech graduation empathy
Barack Obama
Arizona State University Commencement 2009, 2009
Standing up for one's own integrity makes you no friends. It is costly. Yet defiance of the mob, in the service of that which is right, is one of the highest expressions of courage I know.
speech graduation courage
Gabrielle Giffords
Scripps College Commencement 2009, 2009
Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone.
speech graduation purpose
John McCain
Liberty University Commencement 2006, 2006