Latest Quotes

“Create an entourage of heroes. Put their pictures on your wall, and keep them in your mind.”

— David Brooks, Commencement Address at Wake Forest University, 2007

“I had to be true to myself, as hard as that was and as scary as that was, you’ve got to listen to the voice in your gut. It is individual. It is unique. It is yours. It’s called being authentic. There’s only one of you and maybe you’re not going to follow the path that other people would like to put…”

— Meredith Vieira, Commencement Address at Tufts University, 2008

“Failure will teach you things that you can learn no place else. You may find that you have a great work ethic, a strong will, an extra gear, and a network of friends who love you. Really, how else will you know yourself or the strength of your friendships until both have been tested by adversity? Th…”

— Jonathan Youshaei, Graduation Address at Deerfiel High School, 2004

“Integrate what you believe into every single area of your life. Take your heart to work, and ask the most and best of everybody else too. Don’t let your special character and values, the secret that you know and no one else does, the truth – don’t let that get swallowed up by the great chewing compl…”

— Meryl Streep, Commencement Address at Vassar College, 1983

“So from the wise old pinnacle of my 49 years, I want to tell you that what you're looking for is already inside you. You've heard this before, but the holy thing inside you really is that which causes you to seek it. You can't buy it, lease it, rent it, date it or apply for it. The best job in the w…”

— Anne Lamott, Commencement Address at University of California at Berkeley, 2003

“So how do you know what is the right path to choose to get the result that you desire? And the honest answer is this. You won’t. And accepting that greatly eases the anxiety of your life experience.”

— John Stewart, Commencement Address at The College of William & Marry, 2004

“Follow your passion and your heart. You will need to find your passion. If you did not find it, you will find it later, in your 30s or 40s but do not give up on finding it and follow it. You will not find it in things or money because the more you have the more you will use that as a metric and woul…”

— Randy Pausch, Commencement Address at Carnegie Mellon University, 2008

“But to be in a locker room before a big game and to gather a team around and to look at grown men with tears in their eyes huddling close to each other…reaching out to be part of each other…to look into strong faces, which say, “If we can only do it today”…to be with aggressive, ambitious people who…”

— Joe Paterno, Commencement Address at Penn State, 1973

“Each of us is as complex and beautiful as all the stars in the universe. We have done great things and we have gone way off course in terms of honoring creation. You are graduating to the most amazing, challenging, stupefying challenge ever bequested to any generation. The generations before you fai…”

— Paul Hawken, Commencement Address at University of Portland, 2009

“You are our hope. So cherish this time in your life. Remember who you are. Because, right now, you have it all: The power of your imagination, the velocity of your dreams, the language of innocence, and the passion of a beginner. Don't lose it. Don't let it evaporate or get stripped away or worn awa…”

— Jessica Lange, Commencement Address at Sarah Lawrence College, 2008

“"There was a storm in her eyes rocky seas from a hundred stormy nights but also there was a light a warm wind from a distant shore so that's here I headed towards the light that shone in her eyes with gentle seas."”

— Atticus, Rocky Seas

“If you become indignant, this elevates you to the plane of 'intellectual.' No mental activity is required. It is a rule, to which there has never been an exception, that when an actor or a television performer rises up to the microphone at one of these awards ceremonies and expresses moral indignati…”

— Tom Wolfe, Commencement Address to the Boston University Class of 2000

“Life is not about warming yourself by the fire, life is about building the fire.”

— Larry Lucchino, Commencement Address at Boston University, 2008

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case, you fail by default.”

— J. K. Rowling, Commencement Address at Harvard University, 2008

“As long as you are alive, it is never too late. You are free in each moment to choose the path of your heart and it never stops whispering to you, urging you to follow it.”

— John Mackey, Commencement Address at Bentley College, 2008

“Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there are no guarantees. Get out of your comfort zone, even if it means being uncomfortable.The road less traveled is sometimes fraught with barricades, bumps, and uncharted terrain. But it is on that road where your character is truly tested — a…”

— Katie Couric, Commencement Address at Williams College, 2007

“Take action. Every story you've ever connected with, every leader you've ever admired, every puny little thing that you've ever accomplished is the result of taking action. You have a choice. You can either be a passive victim of circumstance or you can be the active hero of your own life. Action is…”

— Bradley Whitford, Commencement Address at University of Wisconsin, 2004

“Make choices that will make you happy for a long time, rather than just focusing on the next two seconds.”

— Ray Sidney, Graduation Speech at Edwin O. Smith High School, 2007

“Every one of us has a calling. There is a reason why you are here. I know this for sure. And that reason is greater than any degree. It's greater than any paycheque. And it's greater than anything anybody can tell you that are you supposed to do. Your real job is to find out what the reason is and g…”

— Oprah Winfrey, Commencement Address at Howard University, 2007

“The answer to every problem involved penguins.”

— Rick Riordan, The Thrones of Fire