Be Curious, Not Cool

I love college graduation season…it is inspiring to see young people ready to take on the world. I also love hearing/reading many of the commencement speeches that go viral. This year was no different and I am once again sharing one of my recent favorites in this space.

I have always been a fan of Ken Burns’ work. He first hooked me with his “Baseball” documentary back in 1994. I love his speaking style and the way he works in powerful quotes from history.

Below is his speech from Brandeis University’s graduation…warning: at the 13:07 mark he gets political (feel free to skip to the 14:25 mark if you want to avoid). It is a beautiful speech…my favorite part:

“Be curious, not cool. Insecurity makes liars of us all. Remember, none of us get out of here alive. The inevitable vicissitudes of life, no matter how well gated our communities, will visit us all. Grief is a part of life, and if you explore its painful precincts, it will make you stronger.

Do good things, help others. Leadership is humility and generosity squared. Remember, the opposite of faith is not doubt. Doubt is central to faith. The opposite of faith is certainty. The kinship of the soul begins with your own at times withering self-examination. Try to change that unchangeable human nature of Ecclesiastes but start with you. ‘Nothing so needs reforming,’ Mark Twain once chided us, ‘As other people’s habits.’

Don't confuse success with excellence. Do not descend too deeply into specialism. Educate all of your parts, you will be healthier. Do not get stuck in one place. ‘Travel is fatal to prejudice,’ Twain also said. Be in nature, which is always perfect and where nothing is binary. Its sheer majesty may remind you of your own atomic insignificance, as one observer put it, but in the inscrutable and paradoxical ways of wild places, you will feel larger, inspirited, just as the egotist in our midst is diminished by his or her self-regard.”

Ken Burns- 2024 Keynote Address to Brandeis University's 2024 Graduates

- Gary Weiss, July 2024

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