Failure & Imagination at Harvard

I hate sitting through commencements but I love to read or watch some of the unique and insightful words from commencements speakers who address these excited and talented graduates.  I ran across one today that captured my attention.

J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivered the Commencement Address at Harvard entitled “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,”

With wit and candor she encouraged these new graduates to make a difference in the world amid times of failure and to harness their imaginations to help the hurting and oppressed in the world. 

Here are a few quotes that stood out to me:

On the Benefits of Failure - “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 realized, 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.

On the Power of the Imagination - 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 empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

On Helping the Voiceless & Powerless - If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

Click here to listen or read this address.

Name That Band

I love checking out the names of bands. The more unique and unusual the better. Think of the great names like —- The Smashing Pumpkins, They Might Be Giants, Rage Against the Machine, Six Pence None the Richer, Led Zeppelin…. Ever tried to come up with a great name? Well, here is your chance. Tony Morgan blogged about a fun way to not only pick a unique name for your band but to also name your first album and pick your album cover photo. Here’s how it works:

1. Band Name - The first article title on the page is the name of your band.

2. Album Title - The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.

3. Album Cover Art - The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

I think my album is going platinum!

                            

Animation War

Just saw this cool animation at Kem Meyer’s blog.  Click on the image below and enjoy.