I remember that the feeling inside of me, and a need to change my life, and that voice at the back of my head - it took on the specific question, and the question was “What if ...?”You know that voice in the back of your head and said “what if……”? “What if I tried that much harder?” “What if I pushed one more time?” “What if ...?” It’s the part of you that dreams.A disempowered conversation will do a couple of things that will look for blame, and it’s concerned with the past. It’ll go, “What happened before? Why didn’t it work out?” It will count what is not there.An empowered conversation is unconcerned with blame. It simply says, “what’s next?” and it steps forward with a willingness to be responsible for what happens next. That is the difference between empowered and disempowered conversation. And I stood at that doorway and I knew nothing in my history took away from the fact that I still had a choice.
Life is a miracle. You don’t have to be stuck in a situation that you are in. If there is something in your life that is holding you back, you have to identify what that is, because, I promise you, there is a way to break pasted.I want you to identify that voice inside of yourself and begin to trust it. And ask yourself what is it that has been in my way and how do I unblock that? Dig deep inside.Life does not wait for anyone, and your life isn’t later. Your life is right now.
Ever tried, Ever failed.
屡战屡败。
No matter, try again, fail again, fail better.
屡败屡战。纵然失败，更加出彩。
I had so many dream, of where I wanted to go, who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.
我有太多梦想，想游历何方，想成为何人，想做什么。
You have your own story to tell.
你有自己的故事要讲述。
Feeder companies, I wanted to start with classmates.
我想与同学合开的剧团。
Movies I wanted to be in, directors I wanted to work with, stories I needed to tell.
想参演的电影，想合作的导演，想表达的故事。
I packed the life that I knew, with socks and toothbrush into my backpack.
我把过去熟悉的生活与袜子牙刷一起，打包进了我的行囊。
And I slept on couch, after couch, after couch, after couch, at friend's apartment in New York.
在纽约，我睡了一张沙发又一张沙发，或者住在朋友的公寓里。
Until I wore out the rent paying roommates' welcome.
直到我透支了那些需要付房租的室友的好意。
I didn't want a day job. I was an actor. I was a writer. I had to get a day job.
我不想做全职工作。我是一名演员，我是一个作家。但我不得找一份全职工作。
I dusted pianos at a piano store on Whitelow Street for five months.
我在惠特沃街的一家钢琴店给钢琴掸了五个月的灰。
I worked on the property of a shakespearean scholar for a year, plane weeds and removing bee's nests.
我在一名莎士比亚学者家里工作了一年，给他除草、除蜂窝。
I went on unemployment once, but for not for long, I coudn't handle the guilt.
也曾尝试过不工作，但持续不了多久，内心愧疚让我重拾工作。
Eventually I was able to pay rent for a spot on the floor of an apartment on the lower east side.
终于，我能够支付在下东区的一个公寓底层的租金。
But my roommate had to break down and disappeared.
我的室友精神崩溃，消失了。
I helped hanging paintings at galleries, paintings that inspire inspire you to think I could do that.
我曾在画廊帮忙挂画，那些激励你想"我也能成事"的那种画。
And then finally, after two years job and couch surfing, I got a job. In application process.
后来终于，经历两年换工作和换沙发，我找到了一个工作，处理应用程序
As a data enterer at a place called professional examination services.
作为一个数据输入员，在一个称为专业考试服务的地方。
And I stayed for six years, six years.
我在那里干了六年。六年!
From the age of 23 to 29, well they loved me there, I was funny. I smoked in the loading docks with the guys from the mailroom, and we shared how hungover we all were.
从23岁直到29岁，他们很喜欢我，我很搞笑。在装卸区，我和收发室的同事抽烟，分享我们都曾如何宿醉的经历。
I Called in sick almost every Friday because I was that late the night before, I hated that job and I clung to that job. Because of that job I could afford my own place.
我几乎每个星期五都打电话请病假，因为前一天晚上混到很晚，我讨厌那份工作，但又不得不做，它让我得以支付房租。
My dream of running a theater company with my friend and fellow, Bennington Graduate Ian Bell had died.
我和我的朋友，一起从本宁顿毕业的同学，伊恩贝尔一同运营一家剧团的梦想破灭了。
I had only the one window.
我只有一个窗户。
I myself could not look out the window. It was it was quite high. No acting ager.
我自己看不到窗外。它挺高的。我也没有经纪人。
When I was 29, I told myself the next acting job I get. No matter what it pays, I will from now on for better or worse, be a working actor.
当我29岁时我告诉自己，无论下份工作薪水如何，我将从现在起，做一个职业演员
But something good happened, I got a low-paying theater job in a play called imperfect love, which led to a film called 13 moons with the same writer, which led to other roles which led to other roles, and I've worked as an actor ever since.
但是好事发生了，我在一个叫《不完美的爱》的句中得到了一个微不足道的小角色，这让我获得了同一个编剧所编电影《13个月亮》的演出机会，因此也获得了一个又一个的角色，从此展开演员生涯。
I didn't know that would happen.
但当时我不知道会发生什么。
At 29 walking away from Data processing, I was terrified.
29岁，离开了数据处理，我很害怕。
Ten years in a place without heat, six years of a job I felt stuck in, maybe I was afraid of change. Are you?
十年住在一个没有暖气的地方，六年被困在一个工作里，或许我恐惧改变。你呢?
But this made me very hungry, literally.
但这让我吃不饱，真的吃不饱。
I couldn't be lazy.
我不能偷懒。
I couldn't be.
我不能。
And so at 29 in a very long last, I was in the company of the actors, writers and directors, I'd shought out that first year, that first day after school.
所以29岁时，很长一段时间，在演员、编剧和导演的陪伴下,我开始了第一年的生活，毕业后第一天真正的人生。
I was. I am by their sides. Raise the rest of your life to meet you.
我曾经，我现在依旧在他们身旁。押上你的余生，去寻找真正的自己。
Don't search for defining moments because they will never come.
不要去寻找决定性时刻，因为它们永远不会到来。
The moment that define you have already happened, and they will already happen again.
决定你的时刻已经发生，也会再次发生。
And it passes so quickly, so please bring each other along with you.
稍纵即逝。所以请与友同行。
You just get a bit derailed.
你只是有点迷失。
But soon something starts to happen. Trust me. A rhythm sets in.
但很快就会出现契机。相信我，你会找到轨道。
Just try not to wait until like me, you're 29 before you find it.
不要像我一样，等到29岁找到它。
And if you are, that's fine too, Some of us never find it.
如果你真等到那时候，也行，有些人一辈子都没有找到它。
But you will, I promise you, you are already here.
但你会找到的，我保证。你已经在这里了。
You'll find your rhythm, or continue the one you have already found.
你会找到你的轨道，或者在你已经找到的道路上继续前进。
Don't wait until they tell you you are ready. Get in there，sing.
不要等到他们告诉你，你准备好了。自己上场，歌唱。
The world might say you are not allowed to yet.
世界可能会告诉你你不行。
I waited a long time out the world before I gave myself permission to fail.
在认输之前，我等了这个世界很久。
Please don't even bother asking.
恳请各位，甚至不用特地去问。
Don't bother telling the world you are ready. Show it. Do it.
不用特地告诉世界你准备好了。展现自己，证明自己!
What it Beckett say?
贝克特说了什么?
Ever tried, ever failed.
屡战屡败。
No matter try again.
屡败屡战。
Fail again, fail better.
纵然失败，更加出彩。
We burn very brightly. Please don't ever stop .
我们燃烧得如此耀眼，请不要停止。
The World is yours.
世界是你的。
Treat everyone Kindly and light up the night.
善待每个人，然后照亮夜晚。
Maybe I was afraid of change, are you?
也许我是害怕改变，你呢?
When all else is lost, the future still remains.
就是失去了一切别的，也还有未来。
The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
对明天做最好的准备就是今天做到最好!
The reason why a great man is great is that he resolves to be a great man.
伟人之所以伟大，是因为他立志要成为伟大的人。
Suffering is the most powerful teacher of life.
苦难是人生最伟大的老师。
The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
世界上对勇气的最大考验是忍受失败而不丧失信心。
There's only one corner of the universe you can be sure of improving, and that's your own self.
这个宇宙中只有一个角落你肯定可以改进，那就是你自己。Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.
如果你想要成功，不要去追求成功;尽管做你自己热爱的事情并且相信它，成功自然到。
A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.
只要一个人还有追求，他就没有老。直到后悔取代了梦想，一个人才算老。
Live a noble and honest life. Reviving past times in your old age will help you to enjoy your life again.
过一种高尚而诚实的生活。当你年老时回想起过去，你就能再一次享受人生。
I waited a long time out in the world before I gave myself permission to fail. Please don't even bother asking. Don't bother telling the world you are ready. Show it. Do it.
I hate that word — 'lucky.' It cheapens a lot of hard work
I spend my nights just sitting and reading a book and drinking my tea and walking my dog. That's about as exciting as my life gets.
[on his dwarfism] When I was younger, definitely, I let it get to me. As an adolescent, I was bitter and angry and I definitely put up these walls. But the older you get, you realize you just have to have a sense of humour. You just know that it's not your problem. It's theirs.
That's one of the things about theater vs. film - with theater, actors have a little more control, and one of the disappointing things about films is that once you're done shooting, anything can happen, you know?
Animals on factory farms all face pain and fear, just like the animals we share our homes with, yet are repeatedly abused in shocking ways.
I love working with the same actors repeatedly. That happens a lot. It's kind of inevitable, especially if you work with the same writers and directors and you start to form a company of actors. You gravitate towards each other.I never lived in an abandoned railroad station.
I was opposed to doing TV for a long time because I thought the quality of writing wasn't very strong, as opposed to film, but there's been a shift in term of the quality of scripts. HBO has attracted a tremendous amount of great writing talent.
Game of Thrones' is an amazing show, and I have no problem speaking of the virtues of HBO.
Maybe everyone is a little too reassuring that things are going to be OK to college graduates. It gives them a false sort of security.
Any swagger is just defense. When youre reminded so much of who you are by people - not a fame thing, but with my size, constantly, growing up - you just either curl up in a corner in the dark or you wear it proudly, like armor or something. You can turn it on its head and use it yourself before anybody else gets a chance.
You can say no. You can not be the object of ridicule.
Saying I was lucky negates the hard work I put in and spits on that guy who’s freezing his ass off back in Brooklyn.
I love animals. All animals. I wouldn't hurt a cat or a dog — or a chicken, or a cow. And I wouldn't ask someone else to hurt them for me. That's why I'm a vegetarian.
I was fortunate enough to have an upbringing that made me more accepting of who I am.
George Martin is an incredible writer.
I dress and eat like a fifth-grader, basically. I like sandwiches and cereal and hooded sweatshirts.
your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
A university professor started off his class by picking out of his back pocket a 20-pound note. And in this lecture hall of about 200 people he asked, “How many of you would like this note?”
Naturally, all 200 hands went up. He said, “Interesting.” He then said, “Before i let you have it, let me ask you this question.” He took the note and folded it in half twice, and then he said, “How many of you want this note?” Still 200 hands went up. Now he said, “Let me try something else.” He took the note and he crumpled it.
And he said, “How many of you want this note now?” Still 200 hands went up. Finally he chucked the note on the floor. He screwed it with his shoe and crumpled it even more, picked it back up, now with dirt, and said, “How many of you want this note?”
Being on television, playing the same character for many years, for me, I think that would get a little tedious.
So I won't say I'm lucky. I'm fortunate enough to find or attract very talented people. For some reason I found them, and they found me.
Bad guys are complicated characters. It's always fun to play them. You get away with a lot more. You don't have a heroic code you have to live by.
I think a lot of great male comic actors are introspective, quiet personalities, which I really admire. But they are really able to turn it up when the camera's on.
I like playing the guy on the sidelines. They have more fun.
My family had a habit of collecting creatures that didn't always want to be pets. The first animal I can remember was a Lab named Zoe.
Call me Elf......one more time!
I don't socialize. I'm kind of a hermit. The life of an actor can be very lonely.
I feel really lucky, although I hate that word - 'lucky'.
I think if actors are successful at one thing, they paint themselves into a corner sometimes, and what's the fun in that?
I do not fault anyone else who makes choices to play characters that they wished they hadn't... Because at the end of the day, none of us are happy with our jobs all the time.
All 200 hands were still up. He said, “Today, you’ve leraned an important lesson. No matter how much i crumpled that note, how much i scrunched it up, how many times it was trodden on, you still wanted it, because it was still worth 20-pounds.”
In the same way that that 20-pound note held its value,so do you.”
No matter how many times life will tread on you, life will crumple you, life will scrunch you, and life squeeze you, you will always keep your value, that spark within us all of bliss, knowledge, and eternity that exists, that spark will never be taken away.
Our value is not created by the price of our clothes or our bank balance or the job title that we have. See, we should be building life and not just building our CVs. The challenge we have is that we only talk about people’s failures when they succeed.
A university professor started off his class by picking out of his back pocket a 20-pound note. And in this lecture hall of about 200 people he asked, “How many of you would like this note?”
Naturally, all 200 hands went up. He said, “Interesting.” He then said, “Before i let you have it, let me ask you this question.” He took the note and folded it in half twice, and then he said, “How many of you want this note?” Still 200 hands went up. Now he said, “Let me try something else.” He took the note and he crumpled it.And he said, “How many of you want this note now?” Still 200 hands went up. Finally he chucked the note on the floor. He screwed it with his shoe and crumpled it even more, picked it back up, now with dirt, and said, “How many of you want this note?”
All 200 hands were still up. He said, “Today, you’ve leraned an important lesson. No matter how much i crumpled that note, how much i scrunched it up, how many times it was trodden on, you still wanted it, because it was still worth 20-pounds.”
that’s why they become this taboo or we feel like their failures never happened. We need to share these stories earlier.
We need to bring out these stories and experiences on the journey so that people who are on the jouney can actually follow in those footsteps. And that’s why Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots moving forward. You only can when you’re looking backwards.”
President Gutmann; Provost Price; Board Chair Cohen; fellow honorees; and today’s graduates:
I’m honored and grateful for the invitation today.
It’s always great to be on the Penn campus. I’ve been to a lot of basketball games at the Palestra because my son played on the team. Coach didn’t give him enough playing time, but we’ll talk about that later. No, I’m very pleased with the progress Coach Allen has made and I wish them success in the future.
I’d always get a warm welcome here—except on the few occasions when I’d wear my Yankees cap.
It’s like taking your life in your hands. People would say: “We love you Denzel. But you walking around with that hat on…we don’t care who you are.”
So you’ll be happy to see that I’m not wearing my Yankees cap today.
But I am wearing my Yankees socks, my Yankees t-shirt, and my Yankees underwear.
Still, I’ll be honest with you: I’m a little nervous. Speaking at a graduation of this magnitude is a little overwhelming.
This is out of my comfort zone.