Achievement is wonderful when you know why you're doing it, and when you don't know, it can be a terrible trap.
Natalie Portman
Harvard Senior Class Day 2015, 2015
Your inexperience is an asset, and will allow you to think in original, unconventional ways. Accept your lack of knowledge and use it as your asset.
Natalie Portman
Harvard Senior Class Day 2015, 2015
I learned early that my meaning had to be from the experience of making the film and the possibility of connecting with individuals, rather than the foremost trophies in my industry — financial and critical success.
Natalie Portman
Harvard Senior Class Day 2015, 2015
To be or not to be is not the question. The vital question is how to be and how not to be.
Natalie Portman
Harvard Senior Class Day 2015, 2015
When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense. You aren't just following dreams, you're reaching for your destiny.
Robert De Niro
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Commencement 2015, 2015
Rejection might sting, but my feeling is that it often has very little to do with you.
Robert De Niro
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Commencement 2015, 2015
Don't be afraid to fail. If you don't go, you'll never know. You just have to be bold and go out there and take your chances.
Robert De Niro
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Commencement 2015, 2015
There will be times when your best is not enough. There can be many reasons for this, but as long as you give your best, you'll be okay.
Robert De Niro
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Commencement 2015, 2015
You took a half-swing on this. Take a full swing.
Cody Keenan
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service Convocation 2015, 2015
Cynicism is easy. Anyone can do it. Change is hard. That takes us.
Cody Keenan
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service Convocation 2015, 2015
Be afraid to fail. You should be so afraid of failure that you're willing to do anything to succeed.
Cody Keenan
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service Convocation 2015, 2015
Joy is not a choice, not a response to some result, it is a constant. Joy is the feeling we have from doing what we are fashioned to do, no matter the outcome.
Matthew McConaughey
University of Houston Commencement 2015, 2015