TU Tuesday- Commencement Speech

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2008/06/text-of-j-k-rowling-speech/ http://teamcoco.com/content/watch-conan-give-dartmouth-college-commencement-address

            In order to succeed in life you have to fail at some point. J.K. Rowling knows that failure is an important part of success. "On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure." Some people might question this and wonder how in the world failure can help you succeed. Failure can push you to succeed, to be better and to over come your mistakes and misfortunes. "You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success." Many people are afriad of failure and so was J.K. Rowling "What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure." I believe that you can't fear failure because then you will never be able to achieve your goals because you're too scared of dissapointment. Instead of fearing failure you should accept it. Accept that it is a part of life and let it be the force propelling you to be successful.
               Everyone experiences failure at some point in their lives, famous people, professional athletes, even people who have graduated from Yale or Harvard. Conan O'brien said in his commencement speech at Dartmouth University " But today I tell you that whether you fear it or not, disappointment will come.  The beauty is that through disappointment you can gain clarity, and with clarity comes conviction and true originality." J.K. Rowling shared her experience with failure in her speech "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."
              You may experience failure early in life, J.K. Rowling said "I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak." That failure that you experience can be life changing. It can make you see the world in a new way. For J.K. Rowling failure meant courage. " 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." No one is perfect. Perfect is boring. If we were all perfect what would we have to live for? Our failures are what make us who we are. The type of person you are is how you respond to failure, whether you let it tear you down or make you a new person. In Conan O'Brien's commencement speech at Dartmouth University he said "It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique.  It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can be a catalyst for profound re-invention." You may become the most successful and accomplished person in the world, but you will never get there without failing first.