You are not your circumstance. Where you start out in life doesn't have to determine where you'll end up or just how far you can go. Only you can determine your distance.
speech graduation perseverance
Alma Adams
Clinton College Commencement 2023, 2023
Never be ashamed of trying. Effortlessness is a myth. The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it the most are the people I now hire to work for my company.
speech graduation passion
Taylor Swift
New York University Commencement 2022, 2022
Dream big. Envision yourself. You can be a leader in your industry, or you can be the leader of a state. There is nothing stopping you.
speech graduation ambition
Kathy Hochul
Syracuse University Commencement 2021, 2021
Don't just dream about what you're going to do. Don't criticize somebody else for what they're not doing. You be it. Be about it. Be about that action and go do it.
speech graduation courage
Beyoncé
Dear Class of 2020 Virtual Commencement, 2020
Be open, be impatient, be hopeful.
speech graduation curiosity
Sundar Pichai
Dear Class of 2020 Virtual Commencement, 2020
Whatever you do with your life, be a builder.
purpose ambition humility
Tim Cook
Stanford University Commencement, 2019
You cannot dream of becoming something you do not know about. You have to learn to dream big.
speech graduation ambition
Sonia Sotomayor
Manhattan College Commencement 2019, 2019
Nothing replaces actually doing the work. Greatness is born out of the grind, so embrace the grind.
speech graduation discipline
Robert F. Smith
Morehouse College Commencement 2019, 2019
Between doubt and destiny is action. Between our community and the American dream is leadership.
speech graduation courage
Robert F. Smith
Morehouse College Commencement 2019, 2019
I was not someone who should have the life I have now, and yet I do. I was sitting in the chair you are literally sitting in right now and I just whispered, 'Why not me?' And I kept whispering it for seventeen years.
speech graduation perseverance
Mindy Kaling
Dartmouth College Commencement 2018, 2018
You have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it's not real. You need to be your own cheerleader now, because there isn't a room full of people waiting with pom-poms to tell you you did it.
speech graduation courage
Mindy Kaling
Dartmouth College Commencement 2018, 2018
Talk about your accomplishments. Be humble, but not too humble. Don't be invisible.
speech graduation ambition
Pharrell Williams
New York University Commencement 2017, 2017