As part of videos that I watch to get inspiration from or to learn something from, I’ve found commencement speeches to be valuable. I’m convinced the speakers really take their time to think about what they are going to say. They also use it as a way to speak to their younger selves or to say what they believe someone starting out needs to hear. This doesn’t necessarily have to be after graduation. It can be at any point. I’m turning 38 this year and only started working on my growth and development a few years ago so I’m at a stage where I search for wisdom wherever I can find it. Commencement speeches offer that.
From the ones that I’ve watched the below are the ones that I’ve found myself going back to, to remind myself of the aha moments I got as I watched them or to be reminded what matters in life. I’ve numbered them but they are in no particular order. They each opened my eyes to something or made me stop and think about my life such that I’m unable to rate them against each other. What I do know is that all 5 are worth watching and re-watching.
I could tell you in detail what each of them is about but I don’t think I could do them justice. I also don’t want to spoil them for you should you choose to watch them. I can tell you this, Jim Carrey will have you choosing to pursue your dreams or passions, Ben Nemtin will make you see that anything is possible and Neil Gaiman will leave you wanting to create good art and be willing to be vulnerable whilst doing that. David Foster Wallace will leave you choosing to be more conscious, whilst Steve Jobs will impress upon you that you can’t connect the dots looking forward but can only do so looking backwards. Here they are:
- Neil Gaiman – Make good art
2. David Foster Wallace – This is water
3. Steve Jobs – Three stories from my life
4. Jim Carrey – Planting a seed
5. Ben Nemtin – Five things I live by
