美国毕业典礼励志演讲经典语录

2024-05-24

美国毕业典礼励志演讲经典语录（精选6篇）

篇1：美国毕业典礼励志演讲经典语录

5月，是美国大学举行毕业典礼的季节。按照惯例，各界名流都会受邀到各大名校去做煽动人心的励志演讲。通过这些演讲，我们或许能够窥见美国人是如何激励他们的年轻一代的。根据某网站的评选，以下是近年美国最有影响的十大毕业典礼演讲：

1.史蒂芬·乔布斯

苹果电脑ceo

XX年，斯坦福大学

记着你总会死去，是我知道的防止患得患失的最佳办法。赤条条来去无牵挂，还有什么理由不随你的心。

你的时间是有限的，因此不要把时间花在过别人的生活上。不要被教条所困——让自己的生活成为他人想法的结果。不要让他人的意见淹没了你自己内心的声音。最重要的是，要有勇气跟随你的本心与直觉。它们好歹已经知道你真正想让自己成为什么。其他的，都是次要的。

保持饥饿。保持愚蠢。

2.杰瑞·朱克

导演、电影制片人

XX年，威斯康辛大学

如果你一生都在睡觉，你的梦想是否实现就无关紧要了。

问你自己一个问题：如果我不是必须做得完美，那我还努力什么呢？

没有人会像你自己那样对自己的失败那么在意。你是唯一沉湎于你自己的重要性的人。对于其他所有人来说，你只是雷达荧光屏上的一个光点。所以，只管前行吧。

3.马克·刘易斯

教授、临床心理学家

XX年，德克萨斯大学

有时候你会干得很漂亮，有时候你会失败。但二者都不是成功的量度。成功的量度是你自己对你的所为怎么看。让我换一句话说：让自己幸福的办法是喜欢你自己，喜欢你自己的办法是只做让你自己感到骄傲的事情。

有一个老的笑话，不是很好笑，它是这么说的：“无论你去到哪里，你总是你。”这是真的。你一生中跟你在一起最多的人是你自己，如果你不喜欢你自己，那你就会总是跟你不喜欢的人在一起。

4.大卫·福斯特·华莱士

小说家

XX年，肯尼恩学院

有两条小鱼在一起游泳，一天他们碰巧遇到了一条老鱼。老鱼向他们点头，并说：“早上好，孩子们。水怎么样？”这两条小鱼继续往前游，其中一条小鱼实在忍不住了，问另一条小鱼：“水是什么东西？”

……

简单的意识，对我们生活中如此真实、如此必不可少、无处不在、无时不在的事物的意识，需要我们一遍一遍地提醒自己：

“这是水。”

在一天又一天的成人世界中做到这点，保持意识清醒而鲜活，是不可想象地难。

5.约翰·沃尔什

作家和艺术历史学家

XX年，惠顿神学院

一次做一件事情。给你每一次经历全部的注意力。努力抵抗被别的声色之物和其他想法、任务分心。一旦分心了，引导你的内心重新回到你做的事情上。

我不是在反对学习多个学科的众多知识，鉴赏力真的很有用。我所警告的是分心与干扰，无论是你主动招惹的，还是让它发生的，就像我一生所做的那样。在棒球场上，得分高的击球员对此有更深体会：他们谈的是“专注”，他们把它看得跟力量一样重要。在心理学家的描述中，高技能的攀岩者、网球运动员、钢琴家已经超越了专注，达到了他们所称的经验之“流”，那是一种跟岩石、网球或音乐融为一体的感觉，“我vs.它”已然消失，跟任务合二为一，给人以更高水平的愉悦体验，而不仅仅是成功地完成了任务。我有这种体验，虽然很少，但来得还不算迟，或许你也有这种体验。这是最高形式的快乐。如果你一次专注于做一件事情，你就会有更多这样的体验。

6.迈克尔·奥斯兰

电影制片人

XX年，印第安纳大学

你必须相信你自己和你的工作。当我们第一部电影《蝙蝠侠》创下史无前例的票房纪录时，我接到了艺术家联合会会长的电话，他在数年之前曾跟我谈过，他说我疯了。如今他说，“迈克尔，我给你打电话不只是祝贺蝙蝠侠的成功，我说过你是一位梦想家。”你看，关键在这里，当他们说你有多差，你的想法有多糟的时候，不要信他们的话，同时，当他们告诉你你有多么了不起，你的想法多美妙时，也不要相信他们。你就只相信你自己，你会做好的。还有，是的，不要忘记推销你自己和你的想法。左右大脑你都得用。

你的挫败感阈值一定得高。想想那些被好莱坞每一家制片厂拒绝的人。你必须去敲一扇扇的门，直到指节流血。大门会在你面前砰然关上，你必须重振旗鼓，弹去身上的灰尘，再敲下一扇门。这是实现你人生目标的唯一办法。

7.大卫·l·卡尔霍恩

商人

XX年，弗吉尼亚理工大学

我在ge为一个名叫杰克·韦尔奇的家伙工作了20年。他既是一位伟大的领导者，也是一位伟大的导师。如果我必须找出这么多年他对我说的最慷慨激昂的主题，那就是自信。自信是最重要的，它是成功必不可少的，是所有在其他方面大相径庭的伟大领导者的共同特征。

如何获得自信？培养你内心的自信的秘密是什么？

首先，你必须下决心每天都通过你的工作和家庭生活去获得智力、道德、技术与专业上的增进。你需要每天问自己：我是在加速还是在后退？我还在学习吗？我是在重复做同样的事情或就像奥蒂斯·瑞汀所说的那样“坐在海湾的码头上，看潮起潮落”？

对学习的渴望是不受年龄限制的。

培养自信的另一个重要途径是寻找最难的工作，最枯燥的科学、工程或管理的挑战。

8.厄尔·巴肯

商人

XX年，夏威夷大学

无论怎么考量，大黄蜂从空气动力学上讲是最不健全、不应该会飞的。但是，这个小蜜蜂有着像涡轮喷气飞机一样的翅膀，能够带着它圆乎乎的身体飞到任何植物的花蕊上去采蜜。大黄蜂是最坚韧的生灵，它们不知道它们不能飞，因此它们只管嗡嗡地把翅膀扇个不停。

千万不要屈服于悲观。不知道你不会飞，你会飞得像鹰一样高。不要到头来埋怨自己因为自己太懒或太怕高飞而无所作为。做一只大黄蜂！飞到天上去！你会做到的。

9.布兰德利·惠特福德

演员

XX年威斯康辛-麦迪逊大学

第一，爱上过程，结果自然会来。

第二，做你的事。

第三，一旦你准备好，把你的准备丢进垃圾桶里。

第四，你能做的，超出了你的想象。

第五，聆听。

第六，采取行动。

你有一个选择。要么你成为环境的被动受害者，要么你成为你自己生命的英雄。行动是冷漠、玩世不恭与绝望的解毒剂。

10.伍迪·海耶斯

大学橄榄球教练

1986年俄亥俄州立大学

在橄榄球场上，我们总是说其他队战胜不了我们。我们必须坚信我们不能打垮我们自己。所有人都必须这么做，确保自己不要被自己打垮。

你会发现，来得容易的东西总是一文不值。事实上，我从来没有看到哪位橄榄球运动员带着微笑完成阻截的。从来没有。

XX年引用最多的毕业典礼演讲词

艾瑞克·施密特

google总裁

XX年，宾夕法尼亚大学

关掉你的电脑，关掉你的手机，去发现你周围的人性。什么也比不上牵着你蹒跚学步的孙子的手。

篇2：美国毕业典礼励志演讲经典语录

精彩语录：成功人士关注他们所喜欢的事情，并等待这个世界呈现在他们面前，而另外一种做法，即追逐当时的热点则是一条艰难之旅。在19XX年互联网淘金热时，我看到许多人对电脑、技术并没有真正的兴趣，对真正的商业利益和安心挖掘互联网的价值没有真正的兴趣。你会发现自己与一批有着更多激情的人同场竞技非常危险。

J・K・罗琳

《哈利波特》作者J・K・罗琳（20XX年，哈佛大学）

我经历过如此多的失败

精彩语录：你们可能从未像我这样经历过如此多的失败，但生命中必然存在失败。没有人可以永远成功，除非你像根本没有活着一样地小心生活――而这根本就是一种彻头彻尾的失败。

微软创始人兼董事长比尔・盖茨（20XX年，哈佛大学）

让科技进步消除不平等

精彩语录：人类最大的进步并不是表现在科技的发现和发明上，而是表现在如何用它来消除不平等。

埃里克・施密特

谷歌CEO埃里克・施密特（20XX年，宾夕法尼亚大学）

我们是天生的梦想家和斗士

精彩语录：为了保持我的敏锐，我必须像移民一样思考和行动，他们的乐观和动力让我受益匪浅。移民是天生的梦想家和斗士。

卡莉・菲奥莉娜

前惠普CEO卡莉・菲奥莉娜（20XX年，加州理工学院）

填补愚昧与智慧间的差距

精彩语录：什么才能称得上你们这一代的伟大之处？我认为是使用你们在这里所学的知识，不仅仅是找到与计算机连接的方式，而且找到与人的连接方式;不仅仅是架设桥梁填补技术间的鸿沟，更是架设文化间的桥梁;不仅仅是使用数字和公式创造，更是使用语言去引领。在这个过程中，填补愚昧与智慧间的差距。

一年一度的毕业季，你被典礼了吗？国外大学也很重视这一盛况，校方往往请一些最牛校友到毕业典礼上演讲，他们充满智慧和幽默的演说成为刹那的经典，励志型的西方激励对内敛的东方智慧也是一种触动。

乔布斯

苹果CEO史蒂夫・乔布斯（20XX年，斯坦福大学）

记住你即将死去

精彩语录：当我十七岁的时候，我读到了一句话：“如果你把每一天都当作生命中最后一天去生活的话，那么有一天你会发现你是正确的。”这句话给我留下了深刻的印象。从那时起的33年内，我在每天早晨都会对着镜子问自己：“如果今天是我生命中的最后一天，你会不会完成你今天想做的事情呢”当答案连续多次都是“不”的时候，我知道自己需要改变某些事情了。

篇3：美国毕业典礼励志演讲经典语录

关键词：华盛顿大学 (UW) ,高等教育,毕业典礼

一曲高亢明亮的亚裔女生独唱的“星条旗永不落”, 拉开了美国华盛顿大学 (UW) 2013年第138届毕业生的毕业典礼序幕, 也由此开始了长达4.5小时隆重而热烈的庆祝活动。作为来自中国的学生家长, 同时也是一名在高校工作多年的教师, 在参加完这场美式大学毕业庆典后, 结合中国大学的毕业仪式, 心中留下了颇多的感慨和思考。

UW地处美国西北部的美丽城市———西雅图, 建校已150周年, 从该校走出了4位诺贝尔奖获奖者, 也为当地的世界知名企业, 如波音公司和微软电脑培养了大批人才, 比尔·盖茨的母亲专门为UW捐赠修建了一栋图书馆, 以表彰该校对微软公司的贡献。西雅图市民也以该校为荣, 毕业庆典日恰逢周末, 该市公交公司专门抽调了大批的公交车辆, 免费为来自世界各地的学生家长、亲友团服务, 原为2美元的公交车费当日全部免费;当天许多餐馆也为学生毕业聚餐提供了8-9折的优惠, 充分体现了普通市民对这所学校的厚爱。每年的毕业庆典日更是成了当地的重大庆典活动, 该市市民对前来参加活动的世界各地朋友表现出极大地热情和礼遇。中国许多高等学府近年来也很重视与各地政府的关系, 但主要限于学校领导与政府官员的联系 (如宴请) , 如何让大专院校融入寻常百姓家庭实在不是一件易事。

与多数美国高校一样, UW的毕业典礼 (Commencement) 选在当地最为有名的棒球场 (美国国球) ———17人队主场举行, 虽然开始时间为中午12点半钟, 但从9点多钟起学生及家长、亲友们就从四面八方开始涌向体育场, 大街上、公交车里, 可以看到不同肤色的青年俊秀带着开心的微笑身着学位礼服, 头戴学位帽在家长的陪同下向毕业会场汇聚。体育场前学生们三五成群地在一起或拍照留念, 或互致毕业珍言, 气氛异常热烈。笔者女儿的一位来自深圳的同学大学毕业后将去耶鲁大学读研, 由于她学业非常优秀, 其原留学的加拿大高中专门派出了一组摄像师, 对她的毕业庆典进行全程跟拍, 想必可能是以她的成功作为宣传噱头, 进一步吸引中国留学生赴海外读书, 的确这几年随着中国国力的增强, 中国学生在海外学校的人数迅速增加。故UW开幕式上传统由黑人歌唱家演唱的美国国歌, 第一次由1名来自中国的留学生放歌就不足为奇了。

UW毕业庆典热情洋溢, 同时还带有一份宗教的庄严肃穆, 每位来宾仿佛经历着一次心灵的洗礼, 内心深处都会感受到一种震撼。大会主席宣布大会开始后, 首先由学校教职员工列队入场, 校长身着黑色大礼袍、头戴博士帽、手举杖杆, 带领行政官员和教师代表数十人鱼贯而入, 从体育场席地而坐的1.2万名毕业生当中穿过, 受到了学生们的热烈欢呼, 看台上8万多名家长和市民 (毕业庆典为开放日) 发出雷鸣般的掌声, 充分体现了对学校的感激之情。我们国家号召了多年的“尊师重教”在这里得到了充分的体现。庆典仪式的讲演嘉宾选择和安排也颇具匠心, 与中国相比也反映出了两国的价值观、教育理念的高度差异。诚然, 表扬优秀毕业生是毕业典礼上最为普通的做法, 但今年该校表扬的一位学生为1名大专生, 他在西雅图社区学院完成了60个学分 (180学分可获毕业) 后转入UW就读, 此举一方面或许是鼓励该生自强不息、拼搏进取的精神, 另一方面也体现了知名学府在对普通院校建设和学生培养中的提携作用。在选择毕业生代表发言时, 美中大学也存在着理念上的鸿沟。中国高校选择的绝对是一名学习成绩最好的学生上台发言, 交流学习心得体会, 而UW却大相径庭。此次学生代表是一位军人学员, 读书期间休学两年去伊拉克服兵役, 并荣获多名奖章, 学校认为能全身心为国家服务的毕业生才是最好的毕业生, 这也是学校真正为国家培养人才的目的, 学习成绩的好坏只是学生某一方面技能的差别, 并不是教育的宗旨所在。当然, 美校并非不重视学习能力的培养, 在毕业典礼上学生们还是依成绩而被划分为“三教九流”。美国的大学毕业典礼实际分为二场, 此次全校性的“大典”之前, 各院校已先期举办过一次小型毕业典礼。记得在笔者女儿的生物系庆典活动中, 系主任就是依平均成绩 (GPA) 而进行了口头表扬, 高分者被逐一点名、起立向全场观众示意, 在场的家长也感到“很有面子”, 而且GPA高的学生读研和就业都很占优势。接下来的庆典仪式还有校友 (Alumnus) 致辞, 今年邀请的是一名微软执行总裁演讲, 主要谈到毕业生如何在走向社会后回馈学校的体会。讲演完毕当即代表比尔·盖茨基金会向学校捐献了一大笔教育经费, 学校校长高兴地嘴都合不拢, 忙不迭赶快迎上去握手致谢。重视校友的作用是美校一贯的传统作风, 学校的许多教学楼、体育馆、图书馆等许多都是校友出钱赠送, 每逢节假时, 学校还不时组织校友旅行团, 赴世界各地风景名胜游玩, 从而加强与学校的友谊。作者女儿一进UW, 家长就接到学校来信, 介绍学校历史、成就, 字里行间流露出拉赞助的意思, 这种做法也值得中国大学借鉴。

每年庆典大会都会有一位重量级的特邀嘉宾出现, 此次获邀演讲的是一位毕业于宾州州立大学的非UW人士, 但他却有着令人羡慕的丰富人生阅历, 他就是原美国驻华大使———郝斯曼先生。郝斯曼最为出名之处在于他是一位“三朝元老”, 先后在大、小布什和克林顿这三位总统任内出任外交官, 来华前曾在新加坡担任6年大使职务, 是一位“亚洲通”。今年学校安排他来校, 由校长亲自为其授予荣誉博士学位, 一来是学校可能希望利用其在政坛的广泛人脉为毕业生今后从政作铺垫, 另一方面也是意在扩大UW在亚洲的影响力, 吸引更多的亚裔学生来本校就读。非常奇特的是, 在众多的演讲嘉宾发言中, 没有出现一位知名学者的学术讲座, 也很少提及学业、获奖、论文等话题。谈得最多的是如何报效国家、如何回报社会。这种导向也与中国毕业典礼存在着天壤之别。我国名牌大学庆典会上竞相聘请高官政要, 热衷举办“院士论坛”, 这种做法与大学教育的初衷渐行渐远, 已经越来越受到大学教职员工及广大市民的诟病。

篇4：美国十大毕业典礼演讲

苹果电脑总裁2006年。斯坦福大学

记着你总会死去，是我知道的防止患得患失的最佳办法。赤争条来去无牵挂，还有什么理由不随你的心。

你的时间是有限的，因此不，要把时间花在过别人的生活上。不要被教条所困——让自己的生活成为他人想法的结果。不要让他人的意见淹没了你自己内心的声音。最重要的是，要有勇气跟随你的本心与直觉。它们好歹已经知道你真正想让自己成为什么。其他的，都是次要的。

保持饥饿。保持愚蠢。

2.杰瑞·朱克

导演、电影制片人2003年。威斯康辛大学

如果你一生都在睡觉，你的梦想是否实现就无关紧要了。

问你自己一个问题：如果我不是必须做得完美，那我还努力什么呢?

3.马克·刘易斯

教授、临床心理学家2000年，德克萨斯大学(奥斯汀)

有一个老的笑话，不是很好笑，它是这么说的：“无论你去到那里，你总是你。”这是真的。你一生中跟你在一起最多的人是你自己，如果你不喜欢你自己，那你就会总是跟你不喜欢的人在一起。

4.大卫·福斯特·华莱士

小说家2005年，肯尼恩学院

有两条小鱼在一起游泳，一天他们碰巧遇到了一条老鱼。老鱼向他们点头，并说：“早上好，孩子们。水怎么样?”这两条小鱼继续往前游，其中一条小鱼实在忍不住了，问另一奈小鱼：“水是什么东西?”

简单的意识，对我们生活中如此真实、如此必不可少、无处不在、无时不在的事物的意识，需要我们一遍一遍地提醒自己：“这是水。”“这是水。”

在一天又一天的成人世界中做到这点，保持意识清醒而鲜活，是不可想象地难。

5.约翰·沃尔什

作家和艺术历史学家2000年，惠顿神学院

我不是在反对学习多个学科的众多知识，鉴赏力真的很有用。我所警告的是分心与干扰，无论是你主动招惹的，还是让它发生的，就像我一生所做的那样。在棒球场上，得分高的击球员对此有更深体会：他们谈的是“专注”，他们把它看得跟力量一样重要。在心理学家的描述中，高技能的攀岩者、网球运动员、钢琴家已经超越了专注，达到了他们所称的经验之“流”，那是一种跟岩石、网球或音乐融为一体的感觉。“我vs，它”已然消失，跟任务合二为一，给人以更高水平的愉悦体验，而不仅仅是成功地完成了任务。我有这种体验，虽然很少，但来得还不算迟，或许你也有这种体验。这是最高形式的快乐。如果你一次专注于做一件事情，你就会有更多这样的体验。

6.迈克尔·奥斯兰

电影制片人2006年，印第安纳大学

7.大卫·L·卡尔霍恩

商人2005年，弗吉尼亚理工大学

我在GE为一个名叫杰克·韦尔奇的家伙工作了20年。他既是一位伟大的领导者，也是一位伟大的导师。如果我必须找出这么多年他对我说的最慷慨激昂的主题，那就是自信。自信是最重要的，它是成功必不可少的，是所有在其他方面大相径庭的伟大领导者的共同特征。

如何获得自信?培养你内心的自信的秘密是什么?

首先，你必须下决心每天都通过你的工作和家庭生活去获得智力、道德、技术与专业上的增进。你需要每天问自己：我是在加速还是在后退?我还在学习吗?我是在重复做同样的事情或就像奥蒂斯·瑞汀所说的那样“坐在海湾的码头上，看潮起潮落”?

对学习的渴望是不受年龄限制的。

培养自信的另一个重要途径是寻找最难的工作，最枯燥的科学、工程或管理的挑战。

8.厄尔·巴肯

商人2004年，夏威夷大学

千万不要屈服于悲观。不知道你不会飞，你会飞得像鹰一样高。不要到头来埋怨自己因为自己太懒或太怕高飞而无所作为。做一只大黄蜂!飞到天上去!你会做到的。

9.布兰德利·惠特福德

演员2006年，威斯康辛一麦迪逊大学

第一，爱上过程，结果自然会来。第二，做你的事。第三，一旦你准备好，把你的准备丢进垃圾桶里。第四，你能做的，超出了你的想象。第五，聆听。第六，采取行动。

你有一个选择。要么你成为环境的被动受害者，要么你成为你自己生命的英雄。行动是冷漠、玩世不恭与绝望的解毒剂。

10.伍迪·海耶斯

大学橄榄球教练1986年，俄亥俄州立大学

在橄榄球场上，我们总是说其他队战胜不了我们。我们必须坚信我们不能打垮我们自己。所有人都必须这么做，确保自己不要被自己打垮。

你会发现，来得容易的东西总是一文不值。事实上，我从来没有看到哪位橄榄球运动员带看微笑完成阻截的。从来没有。

关掉你的电脑，关掉你的手机，去发现你周围的人性。什么也比不上牵着你蹒跚学步的孙子的手。

篇5：美国毕业典礼励志演讲经典语录

“2008年6月5日是哈佛大学的毕业典礼，请来的演讲嘉宾是《哈利波特》的作者j.k.罗琳女士。她的演讲题目是《失败的好处和想象的重要性》（the fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imaginatio n）。我读了一遍讲稿，觉得很好，很感染人。

她几乎没有谈到哈里波特，而是说了年轻时的一些经历。虽然j·k·

罗琳现在很有钱，是英国仅次于女皇的最富有的女人，但是她曾经有一段非常艰辛的日子，30岁了，还差点流落街头。她主要谈的是，自己从

这段经历中学到的东西。”

以下是英文文稿和中文翻译： text as delivered follows.copyright of jk rowling, june 2008 president faust, members of the harvard corporation and the board of overseers, members of the faculty, proud parent s, and, above all, graduates.the first thing i would like to say is ?thank you.? not only he world?s largest gryffindor reunion.k.achievable goals: the first step to self improvement.actually, i have wracked my mind and heart for what i ought to say to you today.i have asked myself what i wish i had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons i have learned in the 21 years that have expired between tha t day and this.agination.these may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but plea se bear with me.hose closest to me expected of me.i was convinced that the only thing i wanted to do, ever, was to write novels.however, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that would never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.i know that the irony strikes with t he force of a cartoon anvil, now.d off down the classics corridor.i cannot remember telling my parents that i was studying classics;they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day.of all the subjects on this planet, i think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an exec utive bathroom.i would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that i do not blame my parents for their point of view.there is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction;the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.what is more, i cannot criticise my parents for hoping that i would never experience poverty.they had been poor themselves, and i have since been poor, and i quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience.poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression;it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is roma nticised only by fools.what i feared most for myself at your age was not povert y, but failure.at your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where i had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, i had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the me asure of success in my life and that of my peers.i am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak.talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the fates, and i do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.however, the fact that you are graduating from harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure.you might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person?s idea of success, so high have you already flown.every usual standard, i was the biggest failure i knew.now, i am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.that period of my life was a dark one, and i had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution.i had no idea then how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.so why do i talk about the benefits of failure? simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.i stopped pretending to myself that i was anything other than what i was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.had i really succeeded at anything else, i might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena i believed i truly belonged.i was set free, because my greatest fear had been realised, and i was still alive, and i still had a daughter whom i adored, and i had an old typewriter and a big idea.and so rock bottom became t he solid foundation on which i rebuilt my life.you might never fail on the scale i did, but some failure in life is inevitable.it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.failure gave me an inner security that i had never attained by passing examinations.failure taught me things about myself that i could have learned no other way.i discovered tha t i had a strong will, and more discipline than i had suspected;i also found out that i had friends whose value was truly above the price of rubies.the knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.you will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification i ever earned.th humans whose experiences we have never shared.one of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded harry potter, though it informed much of what i subsequently wrote in those books.this revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs.though i was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, i paid the rent in my early 20s by working at the african research department at amn esty international?s headquarters in london.there in my little office i read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them.i saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to amnesty by their desperate families and friends.i read the testimony of torture victims篇二：jk罗琳2008哈佛大学毕业典礼上的演讲（视频+中英对照文稿）the fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination j.k.rowling copyright june 2008 as prepared for delivery president faust, members of the harvard corporation and the board of overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates, actually, i have wracked my mind and heart for what i ought to say to you today.i have asked myself what i wish i had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons i have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.these might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.i was convinced that the only thing i wanted to do, ever, was to write novels.however, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.i cannot remember telling my parents that i was studying classics;they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day.of all subjects on this planet, i think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.i would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that i do not blame my parents for their point of view.there is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction;the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.what is more, i cannot criticise my parents for hoping that i would never experience poverty.they had been poor themselves, and i have since been poor, and i quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience.poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression;it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.what i feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.at your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where i had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, i had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.i am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak.talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the fates, and i do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.however, the fact that you are graduating from harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure.you might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average persons idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.now, i am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.that period of my life was a dark one, and i had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution.i had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.so why do i talk about the benefits of failure? simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.i stopped pretending to myself that i was anything other than what i was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.had i really succeeded at anything else, i might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena i believed i truly belonged.i was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and i was still alive, and i still had a daughter whom i adored, and i had an old typewriter and a big idea.and so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which i rebuilt my life.you might never fail on the scale i did, but some failure in life is inevitable.it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.failure gave me an inner security that i had never attained by passing examinations.failure taught me things about myself that i could have learned no other way.i discovered that i had a strong will, and more discipline than i had suspected;i also found out that i had friends whose value was truly above rubies.the knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.you will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification i ever earned.you might think that i chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so.though i will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, i have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense.imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation.in its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.one of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded harry potter, though it informed much of what i subsequently wrote in those books.this revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs.though i was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, i paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at amnesty internationals headquarters in london.there in my little office i read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them.i saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to amnesty by their desperate families and friends.i read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries.i opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.and as long as i live i shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as i have never heard since.the door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her.she had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his countrys regime, his mother had been seized and executed.every day of my working week in my early 20s i was reminded how incredibly fortunate i was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.every day, i saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power.i began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things i saw, heard and read.and yet i also learned more about human goodness at amnesty international than i had ever known before.amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have.the power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners.ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet.my small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced.they can think themselves into other peoples minds, imagine themselves into other peoples places.of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral.one might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.i might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that i do not think they have any fewer nightmares than i do.choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors.i think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters.they are often more afraid.one of the many things i learned at the end of that classics corridor down which i ventured at the age of 18, in search of something i could not then define, was this, written by the greek author plutarch: what we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.that is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives.it expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other peoples lives simply by existing.but how much more are you, harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other peoples lives? your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities.even your nationality sets you apart.the great majority of you belong to the worlds only remaining superpower.the way you vote, the way you篇三：jk罗琳 2008哈佛大学毕业典礼上的演讲

the fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination j.k.rowling tercentenarytheatre, june 5, 2008 失败的好处和想象力的重要性

哈佛大学毕业典礼 j.k.罗琳

2008年6月5日 presidentfaust, members of the harvard corporation and the board of overseers, membersofthefaculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates, 福斯特主席，哈佛公司和监察委员会的各位成员，首先请允许我说一声谢谢。哈佛不仅给了我无上的荣誉，连日来为这个演讲经受的恐惧和紧张，更令我减肥成功。这真是一个双赢的局面。现在我要做的就是深呼吸几下，眯着眼睛看看前面的大红横幅，安慰自己正在世界上最大的魔法学院聚会上。发表毕业演说是一个巨大的责任，至少在我回忆自己当年的毕业典礼前是这么认为的。那天做演讲的是英国著名的哲学家baroness mary warnock，对她演讲的回忆，对我写今天的演讲稿，产生了极大的帮助，因为我不记得她说过的任何一句话了。这个发现让我释然，让我不再担心我可能会无意中影响你放弃在商业，法律或政治上的大好前途，转而醉心于成为一个快乐的魔法师。

你们看，如果在若干年后你们还记得―快乐的魔法师‖这个笑话，那就证明我已经超越了baroness mary warnock。建立可实现的目标——这是提高自我的第一步。actually, i have wracked my mind and heart for what i ought to say to you today.i have asked myself what i wish i had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons i have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.实际上，我为今天应该和大家谈些什么绞尽了脑汁。我问自己什么是我希望早在毕业典礼上就该了解的，而从那时起到现在的21年间，我又得到了什么重要的启示。

我想到了两个答案。在这美好的一天，当我们一起庆祝你们取得学业成就的时刻，我希望告诉你们失败有什么样的益处；在你们即将迈向―现实生活‖的道路之际，我还要褒扬想象力的重要性。

thesemayseemquixoticorparadoxicalchoices, but bear with me.这些似乎是不切实际或自相矛盾的选择，但请先容我讲完。

回顾21岁刚刚毕业时的自己，对于今天42岁的我来说，是一个稍微不太舒服的经历。可以说，我人生的前一部分，一直挣扎在自己的雄心和身边的人对我的期望之间。iwasconvincedthattheonlythingiwantedtodo, ever, was to write novels.however, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情，就是写小说。不过，我的父母，他们都来自贫穷的背景，没有任何一人上过大学，坚持认为我过度的想象力是一个令人惊讶的个人怪癖，根本不足以让我支付按揭，或者取得足够的养老金。iknowtheironystrikeslikewiththeforceofacartoonanvilnow, but„ 我现在明白反讽就像用卡通铁砧去打击你，但...他们希望我去拿个职业学位，而我想去攻读英国文学。最后，达成了一个双方都不甚满意的妥协：我改学现代语言。可是等到父母一走开，我立刻放弃了德语而报名学习古典文学。icannotremembertellingmyparentsthatiwasstudyingclassics;they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day.of all the subjects on this planet, i think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.我不记得将这事告诉了父母，他们可能是在我毕业典礼那一天才发现的。我想，在全世界的所有专业中，他们也许认为，不会有比研究希腊神话更没用的专业了，根本无法换来一间独立宽敞的卫生间。iwouldliketomakeitclear, in parenthesis, that i do not blame my parents for their point of view.there is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction;the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.what is more, i cannot criticise my parents for hoping that i would never experience poverty.they had been poor themselves, and i have since been poor, and i quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience.poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression;it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.我想澄清一下：我不会因为父母的观点，而责怪他们。埋怨父母给你指错方向是有一个时间段的。当你成长到可以控制自我方向的时候，你就要自己承担责任了。尤其是，我不会因为父母希望我不要过穷日子，而责怪他们。他们一直很贫穷，我后来也一度很穷，所以我很理解他们。贫穷并不是一种高贵的经历，它带来恐惧、压力、有时还有绝望，它意味着许许多多的羞辱和艰辛。靠自己的努力摆脱贫穷，确实可以引以自豪，但贫穷本身只有对傻瓜而言才是浪漫的。

what i feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.我在你们这个年龄，最害怕的不是贫穷，而是失败。atyourage, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where i had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, i had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.我在您们这么大时，明显缺乏在大学学习的动力，我花了太久时间在咖啡吧写故事，而在课堂的时间却很少。我有一个通过考试的诀窍，并且数年间一直让我在大学生活和同龄人中不落人后。iamnotdullenoughtosupposethatbecauseyouareyoung, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak.talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the fates, and i do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.我不想愚蠢地假设，因为你们年轻、有天份，并且受过良好的教育，就从来没有遇到困难或心碎的时刻。拥有才华和智慧，从来不会使人对命运的反复无常有所准备；我也不会假设大家坐在这里冷静地满足于自身的优越感。however, the fact that you are graduating from harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure.you might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success.indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average persons idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.相反，你们是哈佛毕业生的这个事实，意味着你们并不很了解失败。你们也许极其渴望成功，所以非常害怕失败。说实话，你们眼中的失败，很可能就是普通人眼中的成功，毕竟你们在学业上已经达到很高的高度了。ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it.so i think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, i had failed on an epic scale.an exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and i was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern britain, without being homeless.the fears my parents had had for me, 最终，我们所有人都必须自己决定什么算作失败，但如果你愿意，世界是相当渴望给你一套标准的。所以我承认命运的公平，从任何传统的标准看，在我毕业仅仅七年后的日子里，我的失败达到了史诗般空前的规模：短命的婚姻闪电般地破裂，我又失业成了一个艰难的单身母亲。除了流浪汉，我是当代英国最穷的人之一，真的一无所有。当年父母和我自己对未来的担忧，现在都变成了现实。按照惯常的标准来看，我也是我所知道的最失败的人。now, i am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.that period of my life was a dark one, and i had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution.i had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.现在，我不打算站在这里告诉你们，失败是有趣的。那段日子是我生命中的黑暗岁月，我不知道它是否代表童话故事里需要历经的磨难，更不知道自己还要在黑暗中走多久。很长一段时间里，前面留给我的只是希望，而不是现实。sowhydoitalkaboutthebenefitsoffailure? simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential.i stopped pretending to myself that i was anything other than what i was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.had i really succeeded at anything else, i might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena i believed i truly belonged.i was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and i was still alive, and i still had a daughter whom i adored, and i had an old typewriter and a big idea.and so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which i rebuilt my life.那么为什么我要谈论失败的好处呢？因为失败意味着剥离掉那些不必要的东西。我因此不再伪装自己、远离自我，而重新开始把所有精力放在对我最重要的事情上。如果不是没有在其他领域成功过，我可能就不会找到，在一个我确信真正属于的舞台上取得成功的决心。我获得了自由，因为最害怕的虽然已经发生了，但我还活着，我仍然有一个我深爱的女儿，我还有一个旧打字机和一个很大的想法。所以困境的谷底，成为我重建生活的坚实基础。youmightneverfailonthescaleidid, but some failure in life is inevitable.it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.你们可能永远没有达到我经历的那种失败程度，但有些失败，在生活中是不可避免的。生活不可能没有一点失败，除非你生活的万般小心，而那也意味着你没有真正在生活了。无论怎样，有些失败还是注定地要发生。failuregavemeaninnersecuritythatihadneverattainedbypassingexaminations.failure taught me things about myself that i could have learned no other way.i discovered that i had a strong will, and more discipline than i had suspected;i also found out that i had friends whose value was truly above rubies.失败使我的内心产生一种安全感，这是我从考试中没有得到过的。失败让我看清自己，这也是我通过其他方式无法体会的。我发现，我比自己认为的，要有更强的意志和决心。我还发现，我拥有比宝石更加珍贵的朋友。theknowledgethatyouhaveemergedwiserandstrongerfromsetbacksmeansthatyouare, ever after, secure in your ability to survive.you will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification i ever earned.从挫折中获得智慧、变得坚强，意味着你比以往任何时候都更有能力生存。只有在逆境来临的时候，你才会真正认识你自己，了解身边的人。这种了解是真正的财富，虽然是用痛苦换来的，但比我以前得到的任何资格证书都有用。

如果给我一部时间机器，我会告诉21岁的自己，人的幸福在于知道生活不是一份漂亮的成绩单，你的资历、简历，都不是你的生活，虽然你会碰到很多与我同龄或更老一点的人今天依然还在混淆两者。生活是艰辛的，复杂的，超出任何人的控制能力，而谦恭地了解这一点，将使你历经沧桑后能够更好的生存。you might think that i chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so.though i will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, i have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense.imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation.in its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.对于第二个主题的选择——想象力的重要性——你们可能会认为是因为它对我重建生活起到了帮助，但事实并非完全如此。虽然我愿誓死捍卫睡前要给孩子讲故事的价值观，我对想象力的理解已经有了更广泛的含义。想象力不仅仅是人类设想还不存在的事物这种独特的能力，为所有发明和创新提供源泉，它还是人类改造和揭露现实的能力，使我们同情自己不曾经受的他人苦难。oneofthegreatestformativeexperiencesofmylifeprecededharrypotter, though it informed much of what i subsequently wrote in those books.this revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs.though i was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, i paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at amnesty internationals headquarters in london.其中一个影响最大的经历发生在我写哈利波特之前，为我随后写书提供了很多想法。这些想法成形于我早期的工作经历，在20多岁时，尽管我可以在午餐时间里悄悄写故事，可为了付房租，我做的主要工作是在伦敦总部的大赦国际研究部门。

thereinmylittleofficeireadhastilyscribbledletterssmuggledoutoftotalitarianregimesbymenandwomenwhowereriskingimprisonmenttoinformtheoutsideworldofwhatwashappeningtothem.i saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to amnesty by their desperate families and friends.i read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries.i opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.在我的小办公室，我看到了人们匆匆写的信件，它们是从极权主义政权被偷送出来的。那些人冒着被监禁的危险，告知外面的世界他们那里正在发生的事情。我看到了那些无迹可寻的人的照片，它们是被那些绝望的家人和朋友送来的。我看过拷问受害者的证词和被害的照片。我打开过手写的目击证词，描述绑架和强奸犯的审判和处决。

因为他们的观点而责怪我的父母。埋怨父母给你指错方向是有时间段的。当你长到自己可以掌握方向时，你就要自己承担责任了。尤其是，我不会因为自己希望不要经历贫穷而责怪我的父母。他们是贫穷的，我也一直很贫穷。贫困带来的恐惧，压力有时是绝望，这意味着屈辱和苦难。用您自己的努力摆脱贫困这确实是一件对自己而言骄傲的事情。但贫穷本身只有对傻瓜而言才是浪漫的。我在你们这个年龄时，最害怕的不是贫穷，而是失败。像你们这样大时，我明显缺乏在大学学习的动力。我花了太久在咖啡吧写故事，而在课堂的时间就很少了。我有一个通过考试的诀窍，并且数年间一直认为我的生活在我的同龄人中是成功的现在。我不愚蠢假设因为你们的年轻，天才和受过良好教育就从来没有困难或心碎的时刻。才华和智商从来不会对命运的反复无常有所准备。我也不会假设大家都坐这里冷静地满足于自身的优越感。但从哈佛毕业的事实表明，你们对失败不熟悉。害怕失败像渴望成功一样强烈。事实上，您对失败的理解可能和普通人对成功的看法不会太远。因为你们已经站在如此之高的位置。最终，我们所有人都必须自己决定什么构成失败，但如果你愿意，世界是相当渴望给你一套标准的。因而我可以公平地讲，从任何传统的标准看，在我毕业仅仅七年后的日子里，我的失败就达到了空前的规模：一个异常短暂的破裂的婚姻、失业、一个单亲家长，像在现代英国的穷人一样，只是还没有到无家可归的地步罢了。眼前时刻浮现着父母和自己对未来的担心。按照惯常的标准来看，我是我所见过的最大的失败者。现在，我不打算站在这里告诉你失败是好玩的，我的那段生活经历是困窘不堪的；我更不知道新闻媒体所说的童话故事般的革命；我也不知道那种困苦要持续多久；在相当长的一段时间里，任何尽头的光明都只是一个希望而不是现实。那么，为什么我要谈论失败的好处呢？只是因为失败意味着剥离你不必需的东西。我不是在伪装自己，我只是直接把所有精力放在最重要的工作上。如果我不是没有在其他领域成功过，我可能绝不会有在真正属于自己的舞台上取得成功的决心。我获得了自由，因为我最害怕的已经发生了，但是我还活着，我还有一个我深爱着的女儿，还有一个旧打字机和一个大创意（指写哈利波特）。所以困境的谷底成为我重建生活的坚实基础。你可能永远不会有我这种失败的经历，但有些失败，在生活中是不可避免的。毫无挫折的生活是不存在，除非你生活的万般小心，可有些失败还是会发生。失败让我内心安全，是我从通过考试中没有得到过的。失败教会我一些不能用其他方法获得的东西，我发现自己有坚强的意志，比想象中还多的原则，我也发现我拥有朋友----他们的价值远在红宝石之上。从挫折中得到知识将使你更加明智和坚强，也就是说您比以往任何时候更有能力生存。你从来没有真正认识自己，或通过逆境的检验认识到您的朋友的力量，直到两者经受逆境的考验。对所有人而言，这种认知是一个真正的礼物。这是痛苦的胜利比我取得的任何资格有着更高的价值。给我一部时间机器，我会告诉 21 岁的自己：个人的幸福在于知道生命是不是一个获得或取得的核对清单。你的资历、简历，都不是你的生活，虽然你会遇到很多人和我同龄或者更老一点的人依然混淆两者。生活是困难的，复杂的，超出任何人的控制。谦恭地认识到这一点将使你历经沧桑后能够更好的生存。你可能会认为我选择了我的第二个主题：想象力的重要性因为这是重建我生活的一部分。但事实并非完全如此，虽然我永远捍卫睡前故事的价值，我已经学会了想象拥有的更广泛的意义。想象力不仅是人类独具能力：设想还不存在的事物是所有发明和创新的源泉。这种改造和揭露的能力，使我们能够对自己未经历的苦难者产生同理心。其中一个影响最大的经历在我写哈利波特的生活之前，但大部分是在我随后写的那些书里。这个想法成形于我早期的工作经历。在 20 多岁时，尽管我可以在午餐时间里悄悄写故事，可为了付房租，我做的主要工作是在伦敦总部的 ** 国际研究部门。在我的小办公室，我看到了人们在匆忙中写的信，这些信是从极权主义政权那里偷运出来的。那些人冒着被监禁的危险，告知外面的世界他们那里正在发生的事情。我看到那些无迹可寻的人的照片-----由他们的家人和朋友铤而走险地送到 ** 国际来的。我看过拷问受害者的证词和被害的照片，我也读过笔迹、目击证人的供词以及即决审判和处决的绑架和*犯的档案。我有很多的合作者是前政治犯，他们已离开家园流离失所，或逃亡流放，因为他们大胆地怀疑政府的民主问题。来我们办公室的访客有告密者以及想了解迫害真相的人。我将永远不会忘记：一个非洲 ** 的受害者-----一名当时比我还小的年轻男子，他因在故乡的悲惨经历导致精神错乱。当他在摄像机前讲述被残暴的摧残的时候，他颤抖失控。他比我稍高一点，但当时看来却像个脆弱的孩童。后来，我被安排护送他到地铁站，这名生活已被残酷地打乱的男子，小心翼翼地握着我的手, 祝我未来生活幸福!并且只要我还活着，我就会记得走过一个空荡荡的的走廊。突然从背后的门里传来我从未听过的尖叫的痛苦和恐惧，门打开了，研究员探出她的头告诉我为坐在她旁边的青年男子，调一杯热饮料。他刚被告知消息：为了报复他对国家政权的批评，他母亲已被捕并执行了枪决。在我 20 多岁的时候，我工作的每一天，都在提醒我是多么的幸运。生活在一个民选政府的国家，律师和公开审理，是每个人的权利。每天我都能看到很多有关恶人的证据，他们为了获得或维持权力而对自己的同胞所犯下的暴行。我开始做噩梦，都和我的所见所闻有关，并且我也了解到更多关于人类的善良。在国际 ** 组织学到的比以前多得多。** 动员成千上万有自由信仰的人，去为那些因信仰而遭遇不幸的人奔走抗争。人类同理心的力量，引发的集体拯救生命的行动，释放囚犯。众多幸福安康的普通百姓，携手合作挽救那些素不相识或再也不能相逢的人。这在道德上是中立的，是我生命中一段最谦恭和发人深省的生活经历。不同于这个星球上的任何其他生物，人类可以学习理解未经历过的东西。他们可以设身处地为别人着想当然，这是一种能力就像我虚构的魔法世界一样。这在道德上也是中立的。一个人可能会利用这种能力去操纵、或控制，但也有很多人选择去了解或同情。很多人一点也不喜欢锻炼自己的想象力，他们选择待在舒适的生活范围内，从来不麻烦地去想想如果自己出生在别处一切会怎么样。他们拒绝听到尖叫声或向笼子里窥视，他们可以封闭自己的内心。只要痛苦不触及他们个人，他们可以拒绝去了解。我可能会因诱惑而嫉妒那样生活的人，除了我不认为他们会比我少做噩梦。选择住在狭窄的空间可导致某种形式的精神广场恐惧症，并给自己带来恐惧感。我认为不想看到更多怪物的人，他们常常更害怕。更甚的是，那些选择不同情的人可能激活真正的怪兽，因为我们自己没有严惩邪恶，冷漠与无视却让我们犯下了邪恶的共谋罪。在 21 岁时，我从古典文学中学到很多知识。其中之一我所不明白的是，希腊作家普鲁塔克所说的：我们内心的实现将改变外在现实。那是一个多么惊人的论断，并在我们生活的每天被无数次论证。这在某种程度上表明，我们与外部世界有逃不掉的瓜葛。事实上，我们以自己的存在来接触其他人的生命。但哈佛大学的级的毕业生们，你们中的多少人会去触及他人的生命呢？你们的智慧、努力工作的能力以及所受的教育将给予你们独特的地位和责任。即使您的国籍把你与别人分开了，福斯特主席，哈佛公司和监察委员会的各位成员，各位老师、家长、全体毕业生们： banners and convince myself that i am at the world’s largest gryffindors reunion.首先请允许我说一声谢谢。哈佛不仅给了我无上的荣誉，连日来为这个演讲经受的恐惧和紧张，更令我减肥成功。这真是一个双赢的局面。现在我要做的就是深呼吸几下，眯着眼睛看看前面的大红横幅，安慰自己正在世界上最大的魔法学院聚会上。

发表毕业演说是一个巨大的责任，至少在我回忆自己当年的毕业典礼前是这么认为的。那天做演讲的是英国著名的哲学家baroness mary warnock，对她演讲的回忆，对我写今天的演讲稿，产生了极大的帮助，因为我不记得她说过的任何一句话了。这个发现让我释然，让我不再担心我可能会无意中影响你放弃在商业，法律或政治上的大好前途，转而醉心于成为一个快乐的魔法师。

你们看，如果在若干年后你们还记得“快乐的魔法师”这个笑话，那就证明我已经超越了baroness mary warnock。建立可实现的目标——这是提高自我的第一步。actually, i have wracked my mind and heart for what i ought to say to you today.i have asked myself what i wish i had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons i have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.实际上，我为今天应该和大家谈些什么绞尽了脑汁。我问自己什么是我希望早在毕业典礼上就该了解的，而从那时起到现在的21年间，我又得到了什么重要的启示。

我想到了两个答案。在这美好的一天，当我们一起庆祝你们取得学业成就的时刻，我希望告诉你们失败有什么样的益处；在你们即将迈向“现实生活”的道路之际，我还要褒扬想象力的重要性。

these may seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but bear with me.这些似乎是不切实际或自相矛盾的选择，但请先容我讲完。looking back at the 21-year-old that i was at graduation, is a slightly 回顾21岁刚刚毕业时的自己，对于今天42岁的我来说，是一个稍微不太舒服的经历。可以说，我人生的前一部分，一直挣扎在自己的雄心和身边的人对我的期望之间。i was convinced that the only thing i wanted to do, ever, was to write novels.however, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.我一直深信，自己唯一想做的事情，就是写小说。不过，我的父母，他们都来自贫穷的背景，没有任何一人上过大学，坚持认为我过度的想象力是一个令人惊讶的个人怪癖，根本不足以让我支付按揭，或者取得足够的养老金。i know the irony strikes like with the force of a cartoon anvil now, but„

我现在明白反讽就像用卡通铁砧去打击你，但...他们希望我去拿个职业学位，而我想去攻读英国文学。最后，达成了一个双方都不甚满意的妥协：我改学现代语言。可是等到父母一走开，我立刻放弃了德语而报名学习古典文学。i cannot remember telling my parents that i was studying classics;they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day.of all the subjects on this planet, i think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.我不记得将这事告诉了父母，他们可能是在我毕业典礼那一天才发现的。我想，在全世界的所有专业中，他们也许认为，不会有比研究希腊神话更没用的专业了，根本无法换来一间独立宽敞的卫生间。i would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that i do not blame my parents for their point of view.there is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction;the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.what is more, i cannot criticise my parents for hoping that i would never experience poverty.they had been poor themselves, and i have since been poor, and i quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience.poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression;it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships.climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.我想澄清一下：我不会因为父母的观点，而责怪他们。埋怨父母给你指错方向是有一个时间段的。当你成长到可以控制自我方向的时候，你就要自己承担责任了。尤其是，我不会因为父母希望我不要过穷日子，而责怪他们。他们一直很贫穷，我后来也一度很穷，所以我很理解他们。贫穷并不是一种高贵的经历，它带来恐惧、压力、有时还有绝望，它意味着许许多多的羞辱和艰辛。靠自己的努力摆脱贫穷，确实可以引以自豪，但贫穷本身只有对傻瓜而言才是浪漫的。