Nothing better than listening to people from the real world sharing their experience and advice to newly grads and, why not, anyone who needs an extra dose of encouragement to thrive in life.

Inspirational Graduation Quotes

Who hasn’t heard of Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs? Like many others who have made their inspirational contributions for a better world?

Jeff Bezos centered his Baccalaureate Remarks at Princeton University in 2010, on choice. How often do we think about the gifts we are given and what we do with them? 

Gifts, being clever, for example, are given, but choices are harder.

He recalled an experience with his grandmother when he wanted her to stop smoking. He was brilliant -his gift-. He made the calculations on how many years of her life she would lose due to smoking, and without any empathy, he told her. His grandfather taught him a lesson when he said to him that one day he would understand that “it’s harder to be kind than clever.”Being kind is a choice.

He also mentioned that it was difficult for him to leave a good job to follow his passion. But he did it. And he did it with the conviction of not regretting trying and failing. He did not want to "be haunted by a decision to not try at all."

His speech is worth reading or watching for meaningful phrases, such as:

“Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?”

“Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?”

“When it's tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?”

When you grow old, “the version of your life will be the series of choices you have made.” After all, "We Are What We Choose."

Steve Jobs also shared a piece of his life at Stanford, 2005, which certainly was not a bed of roses. He recalled three stories in his life that inspired him to be what he turned out to be.

The first story focuses on his early life. He was adopted at birth by working parents. He could have wandered through life using this condition, feeling sorry for himself.  But he chose not to. Everything that happens is for a reason. And he knew it. That's why he spoke about connecting the dots. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”That is when everything makes sense. He was convinced that it would happen if we trust. “You have to trust in something -your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”

In his second story, he explained the obstacles he had to sort out, even being fired from the company he created. But again, he showed the power of love, resilience, and faith to get your goals. “It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.” 

He encourages his audience to keep moving, not to settle. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

In his third story, Jobs addresses death. From his early childhood, when he looked himself in the mirror asking himself what he would do if it were the last day of his life, to adulthood when he faced cancer, and he became aware of how short life is. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life," he says. And he adds: “And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition ... Everything else is secondary.” “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

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