While life is often determined by dumb luck, these are the ways to tilt the odds of dumb luck in your favor.
speech graduation wisdom
Victor Hwang
Austin Community College Commencement 2014, 2014
I believe we're shaped by our failures, by our weaknesses and setbacks, at least as much as we are by our successes. In many cases, those failures make ultimate success possible.
speech graduation failure
Terry Gross
Bryn Mawr College Commencement 2014, 2014
It was actually very liberating. All of it helped teach me who I was by teaching me who I wasn't.
speech graduation self discovery
Terry Gross
Bryn Mawr College Commencement 2014, 2014
On the air I am capable of asking anybody anything. But take away the mic and I can become uncomfortable, self-conscious, and insecure.
speech graduation authenticity
Terry Gross
Bryn Mawr College Commencement 2014, 2014
Dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It's hard work that makes things happen. It's hard work that creates change.
speech graduation discipline
Shonda Rhimes
Dartmouth College Commencement 2014, 2014
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
Anyone who tells you they are doing it all perfectly is a liar.
speech graduation authenticity
Shonda Rhimes
Dartmouth College Commencement 2014, 2014
There is no straight path from your seat today to where you are going. Don't try to draw that line. You will not just get it wrong, you'll miss big opportunities.
speech graduation growth
Sheryl Sandberg
Harvard Senior Class Day 2014, 2014
We don't always see the hard truths, and once we see them, we don't always have the courage to speak out. The world was not equal then, and it is not equal now.
speech graduation courage
Sheryl Sandberg
Harvard Senior Class Day 2014, 2014
The first time I spoke out about what it was like to be a woman in the workforce was less than five years ago. That means that for eighteen years, from where you sit to where I stand, my silence implied that everything was OK. You can do better than I did.
speech graduation courage
Sheryl Sandberg
Harvard Senior Class Day 2014, 2014
I'm not asking you kids to change the whole world. But if you're kind, you're doing far more than you know. There's nothing more powerful than kindness.
speech graduation empathy
Mary Carillo
Elon University Commencement 2014, 2014
Get into something and see where it takes you. If you really seem to like it, get good at it.
speech graduation curiosity
Mary Carillo
Elon University Commencement 2014, 2014