With Friday’s release of the final Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2“, I’ve chosen a commencement address delivered by JK Rowling, the creator of the Potter franchise, for this week’s Sunday Video. It’s an excellent look into the mind of the woman who’s given endless hours of enjoyment to millions of readers and movie-goers throughout the world.
In Rowling’s speech to the Harvard graduating class of 2008, she reflected on life lessons she’s learned on failure and imagination. “I have asked myself what I had wished I had known at my own graduation,” Rowling said, “and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that have expired between that day and this. I have come up with two answers.”
Rowling’s answers: the benefits of failure and the crucial importance of imagination.
I encourage you to take 20 minutes today to listen to Rowling share her story about hitting rock bottom seven years out of college and dealing with the worst and best of humanity while working for Amnesty International. As her books are beautifully written, so too is her speech.
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For the full transcript of Rowling’s speech, visit harvardmagazine.com.
Hat tip to TED’s “Best of the Web“
