Late yesterday night, when I checked if there was something good at the Website TED, I came across JK Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement Speech. Listening to it for around 20 minutes, I was deeply attracted to her enlightening words.
Then I found this website at which you can listen to and read the speech at the same time. My suggestion is that you first listen to the speech without looking at the script, trying to jot down some important points. Then for the second time, you read the script as you listen.
http://harvardmagazine.com/commencement/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination
Rowling's speech is inspiring. Her main points are the benefits of failure and the importance of imagination. She also suggested cherishing the friends with whom the graduates sat on graduation day. As we know, Rowling once was a "failure," jobless and a lone parent. However, with the exploding popularity of the Harry Potter series, she became a celebrity. In the speech, she mentioned how she struck the balance between her own dream and her parents' expectation and how failure made her grow stronger.
Rowling's sense of humor drew a lot of laughter from the audience at the very beginning of the speech. A really intriguing speech!
I would like to embed the video into this blog in case it is removed from the Harvard Magazine website. Moreover, the 7-A4-page speech script is available here as well.
The Fringe Benefits of Failure.doc
J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.
More fantastic speeches on various topics can be found at TED.
http://www.ted.com/themes
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