工研院的老闆許友耕在65歲生日感言

寫得真好，忍不住要分享一下 20191112

工研院的老闆許友耕在65歲生日感言：
提醒自己，千萬別做的幾件蠢事~~
領到老人証後，就提醒自己，有些事情千萬莫做，做了就蠢了。

頭1件：
萬萬不可自以為是，倚老賣老，倘若你過去真的有點成績，那多半是時勢使然，別以為你那幾招到現在還管用。

第2件：
千萬別說，辛苦了一輩子，想買塊地，蓋1間自己想要的房子，開心的過幾天乘心如意的日子，別犯傻了，你的這一生老實說沒什麼真正辛苦到，比起先父先祖，算是好狗命了，你現在的房子就很好了，沒什麼理想的房子，如果真的動手去作，那就是災難一埸。

第3件：
別説辛苦一輩子，買部好車犒賞自己，不管是笨死5百和是寶馬7系列，別忘了，你現在真正需要的是1台中古破車，去爬山時不怕丟掉，停在路邊不怕刮傷，別沒事找輛名貴轎車來伺候著。

第4件：
別把優先順序搞混了，這年紀了，吃得下，拉得出，笑得大聲，睡得安穩最重要了，國家興亡，兩岸局勢，年輕人未來，交給能人去吧，別瞎操心，別想太多，看看不爽就罵幾句，自己生命真正相關的，無非就是一口氣吧，其餘多是身外事，不相干的。

第5件：
別再為自己人生設定目標，也別爲難自己，別為自己設定2年把日文學好，1年把毛筆字練個様子，3個月學會自由式這種積極進取的事，忘記這類美德吧！
想游水就去游，沒人管你游的姿勢好不好看，也没人在乎你游得多快，有沒有進步？誰管你，寫毛筆字，也是這樣，喜歡寫拿起來就寫，別沒事找1個老師來管你，你辛苦老師也累。

第6件：
千萬別誤會自己好像來日方長，盯著養生保健節目看，吃的養生，用的健康，怎麼養生也是會死，別過得太匪類是真的，太著重身體健康也大可不必，生命是養不來的。

寫著寫著，好像沒有好提醒的，結束前，慎重提醒自己一下，網路上電視中那些「一生必遊的十大景點」、「必讀的30本好書」、「非吃不可的美食」，這些鬼話千萬別當真，我的日子要怎麼過，關他屁事！

中科院院士驗證：
60歲以後，如果你：
1.不上網。
2.不歌舞。
3.不吃喝。
4.不隨處跑。
5.不亂花錢。
養成1個良好生活習慣，久而久之，你就會驚奇地發現：老年痴呆了！

網路要上，唱歌跳舞，聚會吃喝，
到處玩樂，使勁得捨。久而久之，你會發現：返老還童啦！

水，是「長壽第1要素」。
睡覺，是「天下第1大補」。
走路，是「最好運動」。
唱歌，是「最棒娛樂」。
群組冒泡，是預防老年痴呆最好良方。

都是最好的「長壽藥」，從這5種「長壽藥」開始。

把每天當除夕，
把退休當假期，
把70當17，
把家裏當巴黎，
把朋友當親人，
把對手當知己。
     
老年任性生活唱歌，
多聚會，少窩家，窩家久，成傻瓜，
走出去，樂開懷，找朋友，説説話，
少喝酒，多喝茶，退休金，捨得花，
别總等，更老啦，耳也聾，眼也花，
衣再好，腰成蝦，飯再香，没有牙，
錢再多，床上趴，歲月失，别犯傻。

 

我的靈魂 【李家同】

我的靈魂 【李家同】

我在柏克萊念碩士的時候，交到了一位美國好朋友，他叫約翰，我當時是單身漢，他已婚，太太非常和善，常找我到他家吃飯，我有請必到，變成他們家經常的座上客。約翰夫婦都是學生，當然收入不多，可是家裡卻佈置得舒適極了，他們會買便宜貨，收集了不少的瓷娃娃，有吹喇叭的小男孩，有打傘的小女孩，也有小男孩在摸狗等等的娃娃，滿屋子都是這種擺設，窗臺上更是放了一大排。我每次到他們家，都會把玩這些瓷娃娃。

約翰告訴我他們的瓷娃娃都是從舊貨店和舊貨攤買來的，有一天，我發現一家舊貨店，也去買了一個瓷娃娃，是一個高高瘦瘦的少女，低著頭，一臉憂鬱的表情，等約翰夫婦再請我去的時候，我將他帶去，他們大為高興，告訴我這是西班牙Lladro娃娃，這家名牌公司的娃娃個個又高又瘦，也都帶著憂鬱的表情。他們一直想要有這麼一個娃娃，可是始終沒有看到，沒有想到我買到了。

我們先後拿到碩士以後就各奔前程，約翰的研究是有關感測器，畢業後不久就自己開了一家公司，用感測器作一些防盜器材，他很快地大量使用電腦，生意也越來越大，成為美國最大的保全系統公司的老闆。由於中東問題，美國飛機好幾次被恐怖分子所劫持，約翰的公司得了大的合約，替美國大的機場設計安全系統，大概畢業二十年已後，他的身價已是快四億美金。

有一年，我決定去找他，他欣然答應接待我，那時已近耶誕節，我先去他的辦公室，他親自帶我去看他的系統展覽室，我才知道現在的汽車防盜系統幾乎都是他們的產品，體積極小，孩子帶了，父母永遠可以知道他在那裡，我也發現美國很多監獄都由他們設計安全系統，以防止犯人逃脫。看完展覽以後，約翰開車和我一起到他家去。那一天天氣變壞了，天空飄雪，約翰的家在紐約州的鄉下，全是有錢人住的地方，當他指給我看他的住家時，我簡直以為我自己在看電影，如此大的莊園，沒有一點圍牆，可是誰都看出這是私人土地，告示牌也寫得一清二楚，有保全系統，閒人莫入，約翰告訴我他的家有三層紅外線的保護，除非開飛機，否則決不可能闖入的，如果硬闖的話，不僅附近的警衛會知道，家裡的挪威納犬也會大舉出動，我這才知道約翰的公司會代人訓練這些長相兇猛的狗。

約翰的太太在門口迎接我，我們一見如故，他們的家當然是優雅之至，一進門，迎面而來的就是一個明朝的青花瓷花瓶，花瓶裡插滿了長莖的鮮花，後來才發現約翰夫婦愛上了明朝的青花瓷，滿屋子都是，他們的壁紙也一概用淡色的小花為主，好像是配這些青花瓷的。

我住的客房，附設了一個浴室，這間浴室的洗澡盆和洗臉盆都是仿製青花瓷，約翰告訴我這是他從日本訂作來的，他還訂作了一個青花瓷器，一按，肥皂水就出來了，浴室的瓷磚來自伊朗，也是青色的，聽說伊朗某一皇宮外牆就用這種瓷磚，我不敢問他們是否這也是訂作的。

這座豪宅當然有極為複雜的安全系統，我發現，入夜以後，最好不要四處走動，恐怕連到廚房裡拿杯水喝都不可能，必須打電話給主人，由他解除了系統，才可以去。

約翰家裡靜得不得了，聽不到任何聲音，可是每隔一小時，他們的落地鐘就會敲出悅耳的聲音，這個鐘聲和倫敦國會大廈的大鵬鐘一模一樣。約翰唯一的女兒在哈佛念書，那一天要開車回來，到了六點，還沒有回來，他們夫婦都有點不安，原來這個女孩子厭惡有錢人的生活方式，開一部老爺車，也不肯帶行動電話，他們擔心她老爺車會中途拋錨。

我們一直等到八點，才接到女孩子的電話，果真她的車子壞了，可是她現在安然無恙，在人家家裡，要約翰去接她。約翰弄清楚地址以後，就要我一起去接他女兒，雪已經下得很大了，他女兒落腳的地方是一幢小房子，屋主是個年輕的男孩，一臉年輕人的稚氣表情。

他女兒告訴我們，她車子壞了以後，就去呼救，沒有想到家家戶戶都裝了爸爸公司設計的安全系統，使她完全無法可施。總算有一家門口有一個電話，可是屋主坦白地告訴她，屋主本人是一個弱女子，在等她丈夫回來，不敢放她進去，因為她不知道會不會受騙。

她女兒說當她被拒的時候，她相信家家戶戶都在放聖誕音樂，平安夜，聖善夜，聖誕節應該是充滿了愛與關懷的日子，可是她卻被大家拒於千里之外，虧得她最後找到了這一座又破又舊的小房子，她知道這座小房子是不會用安全系統的，果然也找到了這位和氣而友善的屋主。

這位年輕的男孩子一面給我熱茶喝，一面發表他一個奇特的看法，他說家家戶戶都裝了安全系統，耶穌會到那裡去降生呢？可憐的聖母瑪利亞，可能連馬槽都找不到。約翰聽了這些話，當然很不是滋味，可是他一再謝謝這位好心的年青人，也邀他一起去吃晚飯，年青人一聽到有人請他吃晚飯，立刻答應了，我想起我年青的時候，也是如此，從未拒絕過任何一頓晚飯的邀約。

晚餐在一張長桌上吃的，夫妻兩人分坐長桌的兩端，一位臉上沒有表情穿制服的僕人來回送菜，每一道菜都是精點，每一種餐具更是講究無比，可是我想起當年我們在約翰家廚房吃晚飯情形，我覺得當年的飯好吃多了。約翰的女兒顯得有點不自然，那位年青人卻是最快樂的人，有多少吃多少，一副不吃白不吃的表情，吃完飯，已經十點了，約翰的女兒將年青人送走了。我卻有一個疑問，那些可愛的瓷娃娃到那裡去了？我不敢問，因為答案一定是很尷尬的。

第二天約翰送我到機場，他似乎稍微沉默了一點，下了汽車，他碰到另一部汽車，立刻警鈴大作，這又是他的傑作，自作自受地，我假裝沒有聽到，可是我看到他一臉不自然的表情。他也無法送我去候機室，安全系統規定送客者早就該留步了。

一年以後，我忽然在《華爾街日報》上看到一則消息，約翰將他的公司賣掉了他一夜間得到了四億多美金，他的豪華住宅賣了五百萬美金，約翰在記者會上宣布，他留下一個零頭，用四億多美金成立一個慈善基金會，基金會的董事們全是社會上有頭有臉的人，他不是董事，他也不會過問這個基金會如何行善，他完全信任這些董事們。幾天以後，約翰夫婦不見了，他的親人替他們保密，他的女兒已和那位年青人結了婚，到非洲去幫助窮人了，這位科技名人就此失蹤了。

可是我有把握約翰會找我的，因為我們的友誼比較特別，果真我收到他的信了，他告訴我他現在住在英國一個偏遠的鄉下，這裡沒有一家人用安全系統，他給我他的電話和地址，可是他故意不給我他的門牌號碼，他叫我去找他們夫婦二人，而且他說我一定會找到他家的。

我找了一個機會去英國開會，也和約翰約好了去看他的時間，下了火車，我找到了那條街，那條街的一邊面對一大片山谷，沒有一幢房子，所以我只要看街的另一邊就可以了。我在街上閒逛，忽然看到一幢房子的落地大玻璃窗與眾不同，因為這個窗臺上放滿了瓷娃娃，好可愛的瓷娃娃，我想這一定是一家舊貨店，我想起約翰夫婦喜歡瓷娃娃，決定進去買一個送他們，沒有想到當我抬起頭來的時候，我看到約翰在裡面，這不是舊貨店，這是他們的家，只是他們的家完全對外開放，又放滿了瓷娃娃，才使我誤解了。

約翰夫婦熱情地招待我，他們的家比以前的豪宅小太多了，據他們說，這座小房子比他們當年佣人住的房子還小，也比他們當年的花房小，我記起他們家在冬天也有如此多的花，原來是有花房的緣故。他們的明朝青花瓷器完全不見了，約翰夫婦將那些瓷器捐給了紐約的一家博物館，他們夫婦二人認為人類文明的結晶，應該由人類全體所共享。他們的園子也小得很，可是約翰夫婦仍然在園子裡種了花草，他們的後園對著一大片森林，約翰說據說當年羅賓漢就出沒在這一片森林裡，而他們所面對的山谷由英國詩人協會所擁有，他們不會開發這片荒原的，英國人喜歡荒原，約翰夫婦也養成了在荒原中散步的習慣。

約翰告訴我為什麼他最後決定放棄一切。他的公司得到了一個大合同，改善整個加州監獄的安全系統，他發現了加州花在監獄上的錢比花在教育上的還多，而他呢？他越來越有錢，卻越來越像住在一座監獄裡面。美國人一向標榜「自由而且開放社會，其實美國人卻越來越將自己封閉起來，越來越使自己失去自由。約翰決心不再拼命賺錢，只為了找回失去了好久的自由。

約翰夫婦在附近的一家高中教書，這所學校其時有點像專科學校，約翰教線路設計，學生所設計出來的線路經常得獎，他捐了很多錢給這所學校，使這所學校有很好的圖書館和實驗室，他太太在那裡教英文。約翰告訴我他們兩人的薪水就足足應付他們的生活了，因為他們生活得很簡單，平時騎自行車上班，連汽油都用得很少。

當我們坐下來吃晚飯的時候，我才發現我的那座女孩子瓷娃娃放在桌子中間，他們當時念舊，捨不得丟掉那些瓷娃娃，可是替他們設計內部裝潢的設計師不讓他擺設這些不值錢的東西，現在那些值錢的東西都不見了，不值錢的瓷娃娃又出現了。我總算吃到了我當年常吃到的晚飯，也重新享受到約翰夫婦家中的溫暖。

我離開的時候，約翰送我去火車站，他告訴我他還有一些錢，他的女兒不會要他的這些錢，等他和太太都去世了，他的錢就全部捐出去了。我說我好佩服他，因為他已經捐出他的全部所有，他忽然一笑，告訴我他仍然有一樣寶物，沒有捐掉。我對此大為好奇，問他是什麼，他說他要賣一個關子，他用一張小紙寫了下來，交給我，但叫我現在不要看，等火車開了以後再看，上面寫的是他不會捐出去的寶物。火車開了，我和站在月台上的約翰揮手再見，等我看不見他以後，打開了那張紙，紙上寫的是「我的靈魂」。

我坐在火車裡，不禁一直想著，有些人什麼都有，卻失落了自己的靈魂。

備註：這是來自網路上轉寄的文章，版權所有，翻印必究，要轉寄之前，請先徵原作者同意。

Denzel Washington’s Famous Fall Forward Speech

6/11/2019(Tuesday)

I found  left nothing in life is worthwhile  unless you take the risks. Nelson Mandela said  "there is no passion  to be found playing small and settling "

為什麼你應該趕緊去失敗 ► 給人生最好的建議 - 丹佐.華盛頓 Denzel Washington https://youtu.be/22y9RBUZ7fM 「人生中沒有任何一件事值得你去做，除非你願意去冒險」 「生命將失去應有的熱情，如果你只做平凡的小事」 「如果你不曾失敗過，代表你從未盡力過」 「你想獲得你不曾擁有的東西，你必須嘗試你從未做過的事」 「當你臨終時，床邊會圍繞著多少遺憾的鬼魂？」 丹佐.華盛頓 (Denzel Washington) 2002年獲得奥斯卡最佳男主角奖，2016年獲得終身成就獎。 他所主演的電影《艾利之書》The Book of Eli 讓人印象深刻。

Denzel Washington’s Famous Fall Forward Speech (Full Transcript)

Here is the full transcript (Edited version) of Actor Denzel Washington’s Famous “Fall Forward” Speech at University of Pennsylvania. The event occurred on Monday, May 16, 2011.

Denzel Washington – Academy Award-winning and Tony Award-winning actor and director.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

I am obviously the most unorganized; everybody else has nice boxes when they’re script up and I just kind of got all my stuff here and put inside of a magazine, so. So in fact, I don’t even have it in the right order, wait a minute. Let me get it in the right order here….

So if it starts like flying around the stage, just run around and grab it for me, bring it back up here for me. I’ll keep going as I can.

President Gutmann; Provost Price; Board Chair Cohen; fellow honorees; beautiful honorees and today’s graduates.

I’m honored and grateful for the invitation today. It’s always been great to be on the Penn campus. I’ve been here before a lot of times for basketball games. My son played at the Palestra, played on the basketball team. Coach didn’t give him enough playing time, but we’ll talk about that later.

No, I’m really pleased with the progress that Coach Allen has made and no, I do. I am, I really am. And I hope him the best success in the future.

I’d always get a warm welcome when I come to Pennsylvania, when I come to Philadelphia — except on the few occasions when I’d wear my Yankees cap.

It’s like taking your life in your hands around it when you wear Yankee cap, I am telling you. I met a couple of guys and they were like: “Hey, 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 jock shirts, my Yankee underwear. Not my Yankee cap.

Still, I’ll be honest with you: I’m a little nervous. I am not used to speaking at a graduation of this magnitude, it’s a little overwhelming. This is out of my comfort zone.

Dress me up in army fatigues. Or throw me on top of a moving train, someone said unstoppable or ask me to play Malcolm X, Rubin Hurricane Carter, Alonzo from Training Day: I can do all that.

But a commencement speech? It’s a very serious affair and it’s a different ballgame. There are literally thousands and thousands of people here.

And for those who say— well you’re a movie star, millions of people watch you speak all the time…… Yes, that’s technically true.  But I’m not actually there in the theater — watching them watching me. I think that makes sense. I mean I’m not there when they cough… or fidget… or pull out their iPhone and text their boyfriend or scratch their behinds.

But from up here: I can see every single one of you. And that makes me uncomfortable.

So please, don’t pull out your iPhones and don’t text your boyfriend until after I’m done. Please.

But if you need to scratch your behinds, go right ahead. I’ll understand.

I was thinking about the speech, which I should say. I figured the best way to keep your attention would be to talk about something really, juicy Hollywood stuff. I thought I could start with me and Russell Crowe getting into some arguments on the set of American Gangster…but no. You’re a group of high-minded intellectuals. You’re not interested in that.

I thought about “private” moment I had backstage with Angelina Jolie in her dressing room at the Oscars?… I said no, I don’t think so. This is an Ivy League school. Angelina Jolie half-naked in her dressing room…? Who wants to hear about that?

No one, no one, this is Penn. That stuff wouldn’t go over well here. Maybe at Drexel—but not over here.

I’m in trouble now.

I was back to square one feeling the pressure. So now you’re probably thinking — if it was going to be this difficult, why’d I even accept today’s invitation in the first place?

Well, you know my son goes here. That’s number one. That’s a good reason. And I always like to check to see how my money’s being spent. And I’m sure there’s some parents out there who can relate to what I’m talking about!

And there were other good reasons for me to show up. Sure, I got an Academy Award… but I never had something called “Magic Meatballs” after waiting in line for half an hour at a food truck.

Yes, I’ve talked face-to-face with President Obama… but I never talked face to face with a guy named “Kweeder” who sings bad songs at Smokes on a Tuesday night.

Yes, I’ve played a detective battling demons… but I’ve never been to a school in my life where the squirrel population has gone bananas. I mean they break into the dorm rooms and they’re walking around campus. I think I saw some carrying books on the way to class.

So I had to be here. I had to come… even though I was afraid I might make a fool of myself. In fact, if you really want to know the truth: I had to come exactly because I might make a fool of myself.

What am I talking about?

Well, here it is: I’ve found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Nothing.

Nelson Mandela said: “There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that’s less than the one you’re capable of living.”

I’m sure in your experiences in school… in applying to college… in picking your major… in deciding what you want to do with life, people have told you to make sure you have something to “fall back on.” Make sure you got something to fall back on, honey. But I never understood that concept, having something to fall back on.

If I’m going to fall, I don’t want to fall back on anything, except my faith. I want to fall forward. At least I figure that way I’ll see what I’m about to hit.

Fall forward.Here’s what I mean:

Reggie Jackson struck out twenty-six-hundred times in his career — the most in the history of baseball. But you don’t hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs.

Fall forward.

Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn’t either, because 1,001 was the light bulb.

Fall forward.

Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. You’ve got to take risks. And I’m sure you’ve probably heard that before.  But I want to talk about why it’s so important.

I’ve got three reasons and then you can pick up your iPhones.

First… you will fail at some point in your life. Accept it. You will lose.  You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something. There is no doubt about it. That’s probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony.

But, hey, I’m telling you—embrace it. Because it’s inevitable.

And I should know: In the acting business, you fail all the time. Early in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. A perfect role for me, I thought—except for the fact that I can’t sing.

So I’m in the wings, I am about to go on stage but the guy in front of me is singing like Pavarotti and I am just shrinking getting smaller and smaller…

So I come out with my little sheet music and it was “Just My Imagination” by the Temptations, that’s what I came up with.

So I hand it to the accompanist, and she looks at it and looks at me and looks at the director, so I start to sing and they’re not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting into it.

But after the first verse, the director cuts me off: “Thank you. Thank you very much, you’ll be hearing from me.”

I assumed I didn’t get the job.

But the next part of the audition, he called me back. The next part of the audition is the acting part. I figure, I can’t sing, but I know I can act.

So they paired me with this guy and again I didn’t know about musical theater. In musical theater it’s big, so they can reach everyone all the way in the back. And I am more from a realistic naturalistic kind of acting where you actually talk to the person next to you.

So I got to know what my line was. My line was, “Well, hand me the cup.”

His line was: “Well, I will hand you the cup, my dear. The cup will be there to be handed to you.”

I said OK. “Should I give you the cup back?”

Yes, he said, give it back to me, because you know that is my cup, that it should be given back to me.

I didn’t get the job.

But here’s the thing: I didn’t quit. I didn’t fall back.

I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition, and the next audition, and the next one. I prayed and I prayed, but I continued to fail, and failed, and failed.

But it didn’t matter. Because you know what? There is an old saying: You hang around a barbershop long enough — sooner or later you will get a haircut.

So you will catch your break. And I did catch a break.

Last year I did a play called Fences on Broadway and I won a Tony Award. And I didn’t have to sing for it, by the way.

And here’s the kicker—it was at the Court Theater, the same theater where I failed that first audition 30 years prior.

The point is, and I will pick up the pace… the point is every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. But do you have guts to fail?

Here’s my second point about failure:

If you don’t fail… you’re not even trying.

My wife told me this great expression: “To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”

Les Brown, a motivational speaker, made an analogy about this. He says, “Imagine you’re on your deathbed—and standing around your bed are the ghosts representing your unfilled potential. The ghosts of the ideas you never acted on. The ghosts of the talents you didn’t use. And they’re standing around your bed. Angry. Disappointed. Upset. They say “We came to you because you could have brought us to life,” they say.  “And now we have to go to the grave together.”

So I ask you today: How many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes?

You invested a lot in your education. And people have invested in you. And let me tell you, the world needs your talents. Man, does it ever.

I just got back from Africa like two days ago, so I am rambling with a jetlag. I just got back from South Africa, it’s a beautiful country, but there are places with terrible poverty that need help. And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg. The Middle East needs your help. Japan needs your help. Alabama needs your help. Tennessee need your help. Louisiana needs your help. Philadelphia needs your help.

The world needs a lot—and we need it from you, the young people.

So you got to get out there. You got to give it everything you’ve got—whether it’s your time, your talent, your prayers, or your treasures.

Because remember this: You’ll never see a U-haul behind a hearse. You can’t take it with you. The Egyptians tried it—and all they got was robbed!

So the question: What are you going to do with what you have? And I’m not talking how much you have.

Some of you are business majors. Some of you are theologians, nurses, sociologists. Some of you have money. Some of you have patience. Some of you have kindness. Some of you have love. Some of you have the gift of long-suffering.

Whatever it is… whatever your gift is. What are you going to do with what you have?

Now here’s my last point about failure:

Sometimes it’s the best way to figure out where you’re going. Your life will never be a straight path.

I began at Fordham University as a pre-med student. I took a course called “Cardiac Morphogenesis.” I couldn’t it, I couldn’t say it… and I couldn’t pass it.

Then I decided to go pre-law. Then journalism. And with no academic focus, my grades took off in their own direction: down.

I was a 1.8 GPA one semester, and the university very politely suggested that it might be better to take some time off.

I was 20 years old, I was at my lowest point.

And then one day—and I remember the exact day: March 27th, 1975—I was helping my mother in her beauty shop; my mother owned a beauty shop up in Mount Vernon.

There was this older woman who was considered one of the elders in the town, I didn’t know her personally but I was looking in the mirror. And every time I looked to the mirror I could see her behind me and she was staring at me.

Every time I looked at her she kept giving me these strange looks. She finally took the drier off her head and said something to me I’ll never forget:

First of all, she said, somebody give me a piece of paper. Give me a piece of paper. She said “Young boy, I have a spiritual prophecy: you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people.”  

Like a wise-ass, I’m thinking to myself: “Does she got anything in that crystal ball about me getting back to college in the fall?”

But maybe she was on to something. Because later that summer, while working as a counselor at a YMCA camp in Connecticut, we put on a talent show for the campers.

After the show, another counselor came up to me and asked: “Have you ever thought of acting? You should. You’re good at that.”

When I got back to Fordham that fall I changed my major once again —for the last time.

And in the years that followed—just as that woman prophesied, I have traveled the world and I have spoken to millions of people through my movies.

Millions who—up ‘till today—I couldn’t see while I was talking to them.

But I do see you today. And I’m encouraged by what I see. I’m strengthened by what I see. I love what I see.

One more page, then I will shut up.

Let me conclude with one final point.

Many years ago I did this movie called Philadelphia. We actually filmed some scenes right here on campus.

Philadelphia came out in 1993, when most of you were probably still crawling around in diapers. Some of the professors, too.

But it’s a good movie. Rent it on Netflix. I get 23 cents every time you do. Tell your friends, too!

It’s about a man, played by Tom Hanks, who’s fired from his law firm because he has AIDS. He wants to sue the firm, but no one’s willing to represent him until a homophobic, ambulance-chasing lawyer—played by yours truly—takes on the case.

In a way, if you watch the movie, you’ll see everything I’m talking about today.

You’ll see what I mean about taking risks or being willing to fail.

Because taking risks is not just about going for a job. It’s also about knowing what you know and what you don’t know. It’s about being open to people and to ideas.

Over the course of the film, the character I play begins to take small steps, small risks. He very very very slowly begins to overcomes his fears, and I feel ultimately his heart becomes flooded with love.And I can’t think of a better message as we send you off today.

To not only take risks, but to be open to life.

To accept new views and to be open to new opinions.

To be willing to speak at a commencement at one of the country’s best universities… even though you’re scared stiff.  While it may be frightening, it will also be rewarding.

Because the chances you take… the people you meet… the people you love…the faith that you have—that’s what’s going to define your life.

So members of the class of 2011: This is your mission:

When you leave the friendly confines of Philly: Never be discouraged. Never hold back. Give everything you’ve got.

And when you fall throughout life and maybe even tonight after a few too many glasses of champagne, remember this: fall forward.

Congratulations, I love you, God bless you, I respect you.