Inspirational Phrases and Inspirational Comments Light Up JK Rowling's Speech.
We remember the inspirational phrases and inspirational reflections that have moved us.
We can't help it.
JK Rowling's Harvard Commencement Address was full of them. The motivational and inspirational comments she made humbled me. And made me proud.
Have you heard JK Rowling's speech?
If not, here it is. It's broken up into three segments.
I quote the inspirational phrases from her speech:
"The Benefits of Failure"
"The Importance of Imagination"
I'm sure these phrases took the new Harvard graduates by surprise. After completing degrees from one of the most prestigious universities in the US, a speech on failure was probably the last topic on their minds.
They probably expected a motivational speech on success. Or maybe on goals, hard work and perseverance.
But failure is just the other side of success.
So how can failure be motivational?
And yet JK Rowling managed to make it so. Her inspirational reflections on failure were full of humility and candour.
"Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential."
Is it because we appreciate failure in hindsight?
JK Rowling's story is well-known to us. We've heard about her struggle as an impoverished single mother. We also know that her first Harry Potter novel had been rejected by publishers many times.
She's certainly come a long way from failure.
There are the books, the Harry Potter series. There are the Harry Potter movies. And now the Harry Potter Theme Park in Florida.
But perhaps it is because she has succeeded so spectacularly, that we can agree with her inspirational comments.
Perhaps, it is because of her success that we can believe that failure indeed has its benefits.
As an artist myself, I waited expectantly for the second part of JK Rowling's address.
"The Importance of Imagination"
Again, it was not what I expected.
JK Rowling did not talk about the type of imagination that is often attributed to artists, writers and children. Not the imagination in the sense of making up stories. And I must admit, it would have been nice to have had an insight into how she invented her stories.
But she talked about imagination in the sense of being able to empathize with others. And imagine possiblities.
I found myself replaying JK Rowling's speech a few times. I hope to remember her inspirational reflections on failure and imagination.
The two inspirational phrases--an unlikely combination--are going to be forever intertwined in my memory.
