“And when you fail, and are defeated, and in pain, and in the dark, then I hope you will remember that darkness is your country, where you live, where no wars are fought and no wars are won, but where the future is. Not from above, but from below. Not in the light that blinds, but in the dark that no…”— Ursula K. Le Guin, ursulakleguin.com
“Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial. That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality — your soul, if you will — is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandh…”— George Saunders, medium.com
“Who, in your life, do you remember most fondly, with the most undeniable feelings of warmth? Those who were kindest to you, I bet.”— George Saunders, medium.com
“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness. Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.”— George Saunders, medium.com
“Don't ever forget that a small group of thoughtful people can change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.”— Aaron Sorkin, syr.edu
“We all tend to filter the world around us through what we know. So try and go beyond what you already know, fill your mind with the new, nourish it with different interests, open it to the extraordinary.Life is too short to let the world we experience be restricted by our own limited vision.”— Sergio Marchionne, graduationwisdom.com
“You get to make your own luck. 80% of success in your career will come from just showing up. The world is run by those who show up, not those who wait to be asked.”— Steve Blank, steveblank.com
“You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the s…”— Brian Dyson, graduationwisdom.com
“Go make your big beautiful dent, and as you do so come down on the side of boldness. If you err, may it be for too much audacity, and not too little. For you really are enough.You have untold strengths and resources inside. You have your glorious self.”— Sue Monk Kidd, graduationwisdom.com
“When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices.”— Jeff Bezos, businessinsider.com
“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, graduationwisdom.com
“Life is not about warming yourself by the fire, life is about building the fire.”— Larry Lucchino, youtube.com
“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, news.wisc.edu
“Don’t believe them when they tell you how bad you are and how terrible your ideas are, but also, don’t believe them when they start telling you how wonderful you are and how great your ideas are. Just believe in yourself and believe in your work and you’ll do just fine.”— Michael Uslan, graduationwisdom.com
“My favorite animal is the turtle. The reason is that in order for the turtle to move, it has to stick its neck out. There are going to be times in your life when you’re going to have to stick your neck out. There will be challenges and instead of hiding in a shell, you have to go out and meet them.”— Ruth Westheimers, graduationwisdom.com
“Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion the bigger paycheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast? Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing its…”— Anna Quindlen, cs.oswego.edu
“You are our link to a new generation. You must reassess, re-examine and clarify your priorities and not just be satisfied with the status quo. Whether you go into research, business, law, medicine, public service or education, neither you nor society can continue to survive or prosper simply by impl…”— Yvonne Thorton, graduationwisdom.com
“I'm not telling you to make the world better, because I don't think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I'm just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live re…”— Joan Didion, joandidion.wordpress.com