If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Before I knew it, I was chasing espresso shots with black coffee. By junior year, my friends and I started getting into Diet Coke, Red Bull, and even 5-hour Energy. One thing we've learned is the first step is admitting you have a problem, and I admit it: I leave Yale a full-fledged caffeine addict.
Delivered with aplomb, the speaker took an adeptly right-handed swipe at President Obama. The response from the crowd was a predictable smattering of applause and boos, and while most sat in stunned silence, I was flabbergasted.
Graduate School of Education student Sammy Lemoonga, shares a farewell prayer. Sammy is a member of the Samburu tribe in northern Kenya and (along with his wife), recreated an official tribal ceremony of sending forth.
Commencement speeches are the worst kind of speech, because you need to be enthusiastic and inspiring in your own voice. There is nothing cheesier than that.
Given commencement is right down the road, it seemed only fitting to share these comedy life lessons with parents and their graduates....
We live in a world where bad things can happen to good people. When they do, commitment matters. And when one finds oneself in dark moments it's worth remembering what Martin Luther King, Jr. said: "Only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars."
It is tempting for a nation and for a society to feel overwhelmed by transformational change. Today's Egypt should not. All of its challenges are surmountable, especially if the country retains its unity, commonality of purpose, and purity of aspiration.
The Dalai Lama said, "There is nothing amazing about being highly educated; there is nothing amazing about being rich. Only when the individual has a warm heart do these attributes become worthwhile."
Joining the Interfaith Council at USC and engaging in dialogue and service became ways in which I could strengthen my own faith, by viewing it through the prism that unites all faiths.
Popular wisdom is that there is an oversupply of actors, songwriters, violin players, novelists, potters and poets. Competition is fierce, wages are depressed, and only a few become "stars."
In my travels in this country and abroad, to the worst neighborhoods in the most impoverished countries, the most impressive people I meet are not the mayors and governors, the warlords and prime ministers. The people I remember are the idealistic youths.
"I believe the key to happiness is someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to." -Elvis Presley The King had it right. If...
Sunday, May 8 is Mother's Day this year. It is also graduation day at Northern Kentucky University. I'll be at Northern, watching my nephew, Nick McNay, go through the graduation procession.
What advice should I share with 6,000 graduates? What could I wear to accent that huge black robe? Those were some of the thoughts running through my mind when I read the e-mail inviting me to deliver the 2010 keynote speech at UC-Berkeley's commencement ceremony.
The idea for the Interfaith Youth Core first hit me at a conference at Stanford 12 years ago, so I considered it an honor to be the Baccalaureate speaker at Stanford's Commencement ceremonies. Here's what I told the Class of 2010.
I shared with the graduates the seven pieces of advice that I have found to be most helpful in building brands, raising a family, and simply being happy.
