Tags
benefits of failure, commencement address, empathy, importance of imagination, inspiration, inspiration for graduates, J.K. Rowling
If you’re looking for a meaningful gift for a graduate, or anyone in need of inspiration, then I recommend the book Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination by J.K. Rowling. Originally, this was a commencement speech she gave at Harvard University in 2008. Now, we can all glean some wisdom from her words.
She explains her path during and after college and what she learned. I appreciate how she is so direct and honest about her own dreams and hardships and also in understanding the position of both her parents and the new graduates she’s addressing.
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.
It’s easy to relate to Rowling because she’s been in that tough spot where she lost practically everything. But she still held onto hope and empathy, which is why she values imagination so much.
[Imagination] is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.
Rowling urges graduates to imagine a better world and actually care for and help others. In a slim book, she packs in plenty of straightforward inspiration.
The Bee's Knees 