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It’s graduation time all around the world, and we decided to share the commencement speech quotes we’ve found to be the most inspiring. Which are your favorites?
“You must continue to dream the wild dream that you dreamed when you were young.”
– Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach
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“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
– Steve Jobs, Stanford University, 2005
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“It is clear the future holds great opportunities. It also holds pitfalls. The trick will be to avoid the pitfalls, seize the opportunities, and get back home by six o’clock.”
– Woody Allen’s “My Speech to Graduates”
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“Do not just go through the motions. Never put yourself in the position of regretting what you did not try to do. Every experience, whether it is good or bad, if it is based on the passionate belief that what you are doing is something you love, will give you the will and the character to learn, grow and persevere. Stand up for yourself and your dreams. Do not lose your youthful idealism for the world.”
George Tenet, former Director of CIA, at Georgtown School of Foreign Service, 2003
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“The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.”
– J.K. Rowling, Harvard University in 2008
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“Life is not easy for anyone. Sometimes you don’t see the challenges on the outside, but every single one of us has both those and everything that goes on inside as well. Give it your all. Dare to be all you can be.”
– Hillary Clinton, SUNY Buffalo in 2006
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“Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.”
– Bill Gates, Harvard Commencement 1007
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“A world where men ran half our homes and women ran half our institutions would just be a much better world.”
– Sheryl Sandberg, Barnard College, 2011
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“There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.”
– Conan O’Brien, Dartmouth College, 2011
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“Get comfortable being uncomfortable and you might be surprised where it takes you.”
– Dr. Mehmet Oz, West Chester University, 2012
