The Only Speech You Will Ever Need
THE SELF
Chapter 1 — On Failure
- J.K. Rowling — news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/06/text-of-j-k-rowling-speech
- Oprah Winfrey — news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/05/winfreys-commencement-address
- Denzel Washington — rev.com/transcripts/denzel-washington-fall-forward-commencement-speech-transcript
- Randy Pausch — youtube.com/watch?v=RcYv5x6gZTA
- Peter Dinklage — apps.npr.org/commencement/speech/peter-dinklage-bennington-college-2012
Chapter 2 — On Purpose
- Ralph Waldo Emerson — emersoncentral.com/texts/nature-addresses-lectures/addresses/divinity-school-address
- Steve Jobs — news.stanford.edu/stories/2005/06/steve-jobs-2005-graduates-stay-hungry-stay-foolish
- Jim Carrey — youtube.com/watch?v=LyjdMK9BudM
- Natalie Portman — speakola.com/grad/natalie-portman-harvard-university-2015
Chapter 3 — On Paying Attention
- David Foster Wallace — web.ics.purdue.edu/~drkelly/DFWKenyonAddress2005.pdf
- Anna Quindlen — cs.oswego.edu/~wender/quindlen.html
- Jon Stewart — whatrocks.github.io/commencement-db/2004-jon-stewart-college-of-william-and-mary
- Joseph Brodsky — commencementspeeches.ru/?p=8
Chapter 4 — On Being Yourself
- Ellen DeGeneres — singjupost.com/ellen-degeneres-2009-commencement-speech-at-tulane-university-full-transcript
- Meryl Streep — singjupost.com/meryl-streep-barnard-commencement-speaker-2010-columbia-university-full-transcript
- Toni Morrison — rev.com/transcripts/toni-morrison-2004-wellesley-commencement-address-speech-transcript
- Tom Hanks — rev.com/transcripts/tom-hanks-gives-2023-harvard-commencement-speech-transcript
- Maya Angelou — youtube.com/watch?v=70RH-h7QfP0
THE WORK
Chapter 5 — On Craft
- Ira Glass — goucher.edu/commencement/past-commencements/ira-glass
- Mary Karr — whatrocks.github.io/commencement-db/2015-mary-karr-syracuse-university
- David Byrne — youtube.com/watch?v=M4KGchVv3GY
- Joss Whedon — reactormag.com/joss-whedon-commencement-speech-transcript-2013-wesleyan
- Seamus Heaney — ibiblio.org/ipa/poems/heaney/unc-commencement.php
Chapter 6 — On Discipline
- William H. McRaven — news.utexas.edu/2014/05/16/mcraven-urges-graduates-to-find-courage-to-change-the-world
- Shonda Rhimes — home.dartmouth.edu/news/2014/06/shonda-rhimes-91-delivers-lesson-packed-commencement-address
- Tim Minchin — timminchin.com/2013/09/25/occasional-address
- Jerry Seinfeld — singjupost.com/jerry-seinfelds-speech-at-dukes-2024-commencement-transcript
Chapter 7 — On Luck and Humility
- David Brooks — home.dartmouth.edu/news/2015/06/2015-commencement-address-david-brooks
- Conan O'Brien — home.dartmouth.edu/news/2011/06/conan-obrien-failure-and-conviction
- Atul Gawande — newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-velluvial-matrix
THE OTHERS
Chapter 8 — On Kindness
- George Saunders — nytimes.com/2013/07/31/opinion/george-saunders-advice-to-graduates
- Fred Rogers — home.dartmouth.edu/news/2018/03/revisiting-fred-rogers-2002-commencement-address
- Amy Poehler — news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/06/2011-harvard-university-class-day-speech-by-amy-poehler
Chapter 9 — On Women
- Adrienne Rich — net-workingworlds.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/1/5/15155460/rich-claiming_an_education-1.pdf
- Madeleine Albright — mrprince.net/aplang/assets/files/Albright.pdf
- Gloria Steinem — smith.edu/node/29421
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — time.com/3921492/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-graduation-commencement-wellesley
Chapter 10 — On Justice
- Elie Wiesel — bordeure.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/learning.pdf
- Susan Sontag — apps.npr.org/commencement/speech/susan-sontag-vassar-college-2003
- John Lewis — speakola.com/grad/john-lewis-emory-university-2014
- Bryan Stevenson — magazine.holycross.edu/stories/holy-cross-awards-724-bachelor-arts-degrees-during-commencement-exercises
- Michelle Obama — obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/05/09/remarks-first-lady-tuskegee-university-commencement-address
THE WORLD
Chapter 11 — On Citizenship
- John F. Kennedy — jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/american-university-19630610
- Lyndon B. Johnson — billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/johnson-great-society-annotated
- Barack Obama — obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/05/15/remarks-president-commencement-address-rutgers-state-university-new
Chapter 12 — On Curiosity
- Richard Feynman — calteches.library.caltech.edu/51/2/CargoCult.htm
- Neil deGrasse Tyson — whatrocks.github.io/commencement-db/2013-neil-degrasse-tyson-rice-university
- Atul Gawande — newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-mistrust-of-science
- Carl Sagan — planetary.org/worlds/pale-blue-dot
- Temple Grandin — youtube.com/watch?v=3nsF9pVCxNI
Chapter 13 — On the Planet
- Wangari Maathai — hws.edu/news/transcripts/08/08blackwell_maathai.aspx
- Barbara Kingsolver — today.duke.edu/2008/05/commencement08.html
- Paul Hawken — neil.blog/full-speech-transcript/you-are-brilliant-and-the-earth-is-hiring-by-paul-hawken
- Jane Goodall — aup.edu/about/history/honorary-degree-recipients
- Bill McKibben — scribd.com/document/142838888
- Sir David Attenborough — rev.com/transcripts/david-attenborough-cop26-climate-summit-glasgow-speech-transcript
THE LONG VIEW
Chapter 14 — On Risk
- Stephen Colbert — speakola.com/grad/stephen-colbert-knox-college-2006
- Robert Krulwich — nationalgeographic.com/science/article/there-are-some-people-who-dont-wait-robert-krulwich-on-the-future-of-journalism
Chapter 15 — On What Lasts
- Margaret Atwood — whatrocks.github.io/commencement-db/1983-margaret-atwood-university-of-toronto
- Wendell Berry — teachthought.com/education-posts/commencement/
- Stephen King — whatrocks.github.io/commencement-db/2001-stephen-king-vassar-college
- John Green — eofire.com/podcast/speech-john-green