Oprah Winfrey's 2008 Stanford Commencement Address

美國著名脫口秀主持人、哈潑娛樂集團公司董事長Oprah Winfrey於2008年史丹佛大學畢業典禮上的演講。

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Thank you, President Hennessy, and to the trustees and the faculty, to all of the parents and grandparents, to you, the Stanford graduates. Thank you for letting me share this amazing day with you.

I need to begin by letting everyone in on a little secret. The secret is that Kirby Bumpus, Stanford Class of '08, is my goddaughter. So, I was thrilled when President Hennessy asked me to be your Commencement speaker, because this is the first time I've been allowed on campus since Kirby's been here.

You see, Kirby's a very smart girl. She wants people to get to know her on her own terms, she says. Not in terms of who she knows. So, she never wants anyone who's first meeting her to know that I know her and she knows me. So, when she first came to Stanford for new student orientation with her mom, I hear that they arrived and everybody was so welcoming, and somebody came up to Kirby and they said, "Ohmigod, that's Gayle King!" Because a lot of people know Gayle King as my BFF [best friend forever].

And so somebody comes up to Kirby, and they say, "Ohmigod, is that Gayle King?" And Kirby's like, "Uh-huh. She's my mom."

And so the person says, "Ohmigod, does it mean, like, you know Oprah Winfrey?"

And Kirby says, "Sort of."

I said, "Sort of? You sort of know me?" Well, I have photographic proof. I have pictures which I can e-mail to you all of Kirby riding horsey with me on all fours. So, I more than sort-of know Kirby Bumpus. And I'm so happy to be here, just happy that I finally, after four years, get to see her room. There's really nowhere else I'd rather be, because I'm so proud of Kirby, who graduates today with two degrees, one in human bio and the other in psychology. Love you, Kirby Cakes! That's how well I know her. I can call her Cakes.

And so proud of her mother and father, who helped her get through this time, and her brother, Will. I really had nothing to do with her graduating from Stanford, but every time anybody's asked me in the past couple of weeks what I was doing, I would say, "I'm getting ready to go to Stanford."

I just love saying "Stanford." Because the truth is, I know I would have never gotten my degree at all, 'cause I didn't go to Stanford. I went to Tennessee State University. But I never would have gotten my diploma at all, because I was supposed to graduate back in 1975, but I was short one credit. And I figured, I'm just going to forget it, 'cause, you know, I'm not going to march with my class. Because by that point, I was already on television. I'd been in television since I was 19 and a sophomore. Granted, I was the only television anchor person that had an 11 o'clock curfew doing the 10 o'clock news.

Seriously, my dad was like, "Well, that news is over at 10:30. Be home by 11."

But that didn't matter to me, because I was earning a living. I was on my way. So, I thought, I'm going to let this college thing go and I only had one credit short. But, my father, from that time on and for years after, was always on my case, because I did not graduate. He'd say, "Oprah Gail"—that's my middle name—"I don't know what you're gonna do without that degree." And I'd say, "But, Dad, I have my own television show."

And he'd say, "Well, I still don't know what you're going to do without that degree."

And I'd say, "But, Dad, now I'm a talk show host." He'd say, "I don't know how you're going to get another job without that degree."

So, in 1987, Tennessee State University invited me back to speak at their commencement. By then, I had my own show, was nationally syndicated. I'd made a movie, had been nominated for an Oscar and founded my company, Harpo. But I told them, I cannot come and give a speech unless I can earn one more credit, because my dad's still saying I'm not going to get anywhere without that degree.

So, I finished my coursework, I turned in my final paper and I got the degree.

And my dad was very proud. And I know that, if anything happens, that one credit will be my salvation.

But I also know why my dad was insisting on that diploma, because, as B. B. King put it, "The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take that away from you." And learning is really in the broadest sense what I want to talk about today, because your education, of course, isn't ending here. In many ways, it's only just begun.

The world has so many lessons to teach you. I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school and our life the classrooms. And sometimes here in this Planet Earth school the lessons often come dressed up as detours or roadblocks. And sometimes as full-blown crises. And the secret I've learned to getting ahead is being open to the lessons, lessons from the grandest university of all, that is, the universe itself.

It's being able to walk through life eager and open to self-improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve, 'cause that's really why we're here, to evolve as human beings. To grow into more of ourselves, always moving to the next level of understanding, the next level of compassion and growth.

I think about one of the greatest compliments I've ever received: I interviewed with a reporter when I was first starting out in Chicago. And then many years later, I saw the same reporter. And she said to me, "You know what? You really haven't changed. You've just become more of yourself."

And that is really what we're all trying to do, become more of ourselves. And I believe that there's a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward. It's how you enrich your spirit. And, trust me, I know that inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain.

So, today, I just want to share a few lessons—meaning three—that I've learned in my journey so far. And aren't you glad? Don't you hate it when somebody says, "I'm going to share a few," and it's 10 lessons later? And, you're like, "Listen, this is my graduation. This is not about you." So, it's only going to be three.

The three lessons that have had the greatest impact on my life have to do with feelings, with failure and with finding happiness.

A year after I left college, I was given the opportunity to co-anchor the 6 o'clock news in Baltimore, because the whole goal in the media at the time I was coming up was you try to move to larger markets. And Baltimore was a much larger market than Nashville. So, getting the 6 o'clock news co-anchor job at 22 was such a big deal. It felt like the biggest deal in the world at the time.

And I was so proud, because I was finally going to have my chance to be like Barbara Walters, which is who I had been trying to emulate since the start of my TV career. So, I was 22 years old, making $22,000 a year. And it's where I met my best friend, Gayle, who was an intern at the same TV station. And once we became friends, we'd say, "Ohmigod, I can't believe it! You're making $22,000 and you're only 22. Imagine when you're 40 and you're making $40,000!"

When I turned 40, I was so glad that didn't happen.

So, here I am, 22, making $22,000 a year and, yet, it didn't feel right. It didn't feel right. The first sign, as President Hennessy was saying, was when they tried to change my name. The news director said to me at the time, "Nobody's going to remember Oprah. So, we want to change your name. We've come up with a name we think that people will remember and people will like. It's a friendly name: Suzie."

Hi, Suzie. Very friendly. You can't be angry with Suzie. Remember Suzie. But my name wasn't Suzie. And, you know, I'd grown up not really loving my name, because when you're looking for your little name on the lunch boxes and the license plate tags, you're never going to find Oprah.

So, I grew up not loving the name, but once I was asked to change it, I thought, well, it is my name and do I look like a Suzie to you? So, I thought, no, it doesn't feel right. I'm not going to change my name. And if people remember it or not, that's OK.

And then they said they didn't like the way I looked. This was in 1976, when your boss could call you in and say, "I don't like the way you look." Now that would be called a lawsuit, but back then they could just say, "I don't like the way you look." Which, in case some of you in the back, if you can't tell, is nothing like Barbara Walters. So, they sent me to a salon where they gave me a perm, and after a few days all my hair fell out and I had to shave my head. And then they really didn't like the way I looked.

Because now I am black and bald and sitting on TV. Not a pretty picture.

But even worse than being bald, I really hated, hated, hated being sent to report on other people's tragedies as a part of my daily duty, knowing that I was just expected to observe, when everything in my instinct told me that I should be doing something, I should be lending a hand.

So, as President Hennessy said, I'd cover a fire and then I'd go back and I'd try to give the victims blankets. And I wouldn't be able to sleep at night because of all the things I was covering during the day.

And, meanwhile, I was trying to sit gracefully like Barbara and make myself talk like Barbara. And I thought, well, I could make a pretty goofy Barbara. And if I could figure out how to be myself, I could be a pretty good Oprah. I was trying to sound elegant like Barbara. And sometimes I didn't read my copy, because something inside me said, this should be spontaneous. So, I wanted to get the news as I was giving it to the people. So, sometimes, I wouldn't read my copy and it would be, like, six people on a pileup on I-40. Oh, my goodness.

And sometimes I wouldn't read the copy—because I wanted to be spontaneous—and I'd come across a list of words I didn't know and I'd mispronounce. And one day I was reading copy and I called Canada "ca nada." And I decided, this Barbara thing's not going too well. I should try being myself.

But at the same time, my dad was saying, "Oprah Gail, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You better keep that job." And my boss was saying, "This is the nightly news. You're an anchor, not a social worker. Just do your job."

So, I was juggling these messages of expectation and obligation and feeling really miserable with myself. I'd go home at night and fill up my journals, 'cause I've kept a journal since I was 15—so I now have volumes of journals. So, I'd go home at night and fill up my journals about how miserable I was and frustrated. Then I'd eat my anxiety. That's where I learned that habit.

And after eight months, I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didn't want to pay out the contract, they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show, the moment I did, I felt like I'd come home. I realized that TV could be more than just a playground, but a platform for service, for helping other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing. It felt right. And that's where everything that followed for me began.

And I got that lesson. When you're doing the work you're meant to do, it feels right and every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid.

It's true. And how do you know when you're doing something right? How do you know that? It feels so. What I know now is that feelings are really your GPS system for life. When you're supposed to do something or not supposed to do something, your emotional guidance system lets you know. The trick is to learn to check your ego at the door and start checking your gut instead. Every right decision I've made—every right decision I've ever made—has come from my gut. And every wrong decision I've ever made was a result of me not listening to the greater voice of myself.

If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. That's the lesson. And that lesson alone will save you, my friends, a lot of grief. Even doubt means don't. This is what I've learned. There are many times when you don't know what to do. When you don't know what to do, get still, get very still, until you do know what to do.

And when you do get still and let your internal motivation be the driver, not only will your personal life improve, but you will gain a competitive edge in the working world as well. Because, as Daniel Pink writes in his best-seller, A Whole New Mind , we're entering a whole new age. And he calls it the Conceptual Age, where traits that set people apart today are going to come from our hearts—right brain—as well as our heads. It's no longer just the logical, linear, rules-based thinking that matters, he says. It's also empathy and joyfulness and purpose, inner traits that have transcendent worth.

These qualities bloom when we're doing what we love, when we're involving the wholeness of ourselves in our work, both our expertise and our emotion.

So, I say to you, forget about the fast lane. If you really want to fly, just harness your power to your passion. Honor your calling. Everybody has one. Trust your heart and success will come to you.

So, how do I define success? Let me tell you, money's pretty nice. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you that it's not about money, 'cause money is very nice. I like money. It's good for buying things.

But having a lot of money does not automatically make you a successful person. What you want is money and meaning. You want your work to be meaningful. Because meaning is what brings the real richness to your life. What you really want is to be surrounded by people you trust and treasure and by people who cherish you. That's when you're really rich.

So, lesson one, follow your feelings. If it feels right, move forward. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it.

Now I want to talk a little bit about failings, because nobody's journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong, you hit a dead end—as you will—it's just life's way of saying time to change course. So, ask every failure—this is what I do with every failure, every crisis, every difficult time—I say, what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson, you get to move on. If you really get the lesson, you pass and you don't have to repeat the class. If you don't get the lesson, it shows up wearing another pair of pants—or skirt—to give you some remedial work.

And what I've found is that difficulties come when you don't pay attention to life's whisper, because life always whispers to you first. And if you ignore the whisper, sooner or later you'll get a scream. Whatever you resist persists. But, if you ask the right question—not why is this happening, but what is this here to teach me?—it puts you in the place and space to get the lesson you need.

My friend Eckhart Tolle, who's written this wonderful book called A New Earth that's all about letting the awareness of who you are stimulate everything that you do, he puts it like this: He says, don't react against a bad situation; merge with that situation instead. And the solution will arise from the challenge. Because surrendering yourself doesn't mean giving up; it means acting with responsibility.

Many of you know that, as President Hennessy said, I started this school in Africa. And I founded the school, where I'm trying to give South African girls a shot at a future like yours—Stanford. And I spent five years making sure that school would be as beautiful as the students. I wanted every girl to feel her worth reflected in her surroundings. So, I checked every blueprint, I picked every pillow. I was looking at the grout in between the bricks. I knew every thread count of the sheets. I chose every girl from the villages, from nine provinces. And yet, last fall, I was faced with a crisis I had never anticipated. I was told that one of the dorm matrons was suspected of sexual abuse.

That was, as you can imagine, devastating news. First, I cried—actually, I sobbed—for about half an hour. And then I said, let's get to it; that's all you get, a half an hour. You need to focus on the now, what you need to do now. So, I contacted a child trauma specialist. I put together a team of investigators. I made sure the girls had counseling and support. And Gayle and I got on a plane and flew to South Africa.

And the whole time I kept asking that question: What is this here to teach me? And, as difficult as that experience has been, I got a lot of lessons. I understand now the mistakes I made, because I had been paying attention to all of the wrong things. I'd built that school from the outside in, when what really mattered was the inside out.

So, it's a lesson that applies to all of our lives as a whole. What matters most is what's inside. What matters most is the sense of integrity, of quality and beauty. I got that lesson. And what I know is that the girls came away with something, too. They have emerged from this more resilient and knowing that their voices have power.

And their resilience and spirit have given me more than I could ever give to them, which leads me to my final lesson—the one about finding happiness—which we could talk about all day, but I know you have other wacky things to do.

Not a small topic this is, finding happiness. But in some ways I think it's the simplest of all. Gwendolyn Brooks wrote a poem for her children. It's called "Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward." And she says at the end, "Live not for battles won. / Live not for the-end-of-the-song. / Live in the along." She's saying, like Eckhart Tolle, that you have to live for the present. You have to be in the moment. Whatever has happened to you in your past has no power over this present moment, because life is now.

But I think she's also saying, be a part of something. Don't live for yourself alone. This is what I know for sure: In order to be truly happy, you must live along with and you have to stand for something larger than yourself. Because life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward you have to give back. And to me, that is the greatest lesson of life. To be happy, you have to give something back.

I know you know that, because that's a lesson that's woven into the very fabric of this university. It's a lesson that Jane and Leland Stanford got and one they've bequeathed to you. Because all of you know the story of how this great school came to be, how the Stanfords lost their only child to typhoid at the age of 15. They had every right and they had every reason to turn their backs against the world at that time, but instead, they channeled their grief and their pain into an act of grace. Within a year of their son's death, they had made the founding grant for this great school, pledging to do for other people's children what they were not able to do for their own boy.

The lesson here is clear, and that is, if you're hurting, you need to help somebody ease their hurt. If you're in pain, help somebody else's pain. And when you're in a mess, you get yourself out of the mess helping somebody out of theirs. And in the process, you get to become a member of what I call the greatest fellowship of all, the sorority of compassion and the fraternity of service.

The Stanfords had suffered the worst thing any mom and dad can ever endure, yet they understood that helping others is the way we help ourselves. And this wisdom is increasingly supported by scientific and sociological research. It's no longer just woo-woo soft-skills talk. There's actually a helper's high, a spiritual surge you gain from serving others. So, if you want to feel good, you have to go out and do some good.

But when you do good, I hope you strive for more than just the good feeling that service provides, because I know this for sure, that doing good actually makes you better. So, whatever field you choose, if you operate from the paradigm of service, I know your life will have more value and you will be happy.

I was always happy doing my talk show, but that happiness reached a depth of fulfillment, of joy, that I really can't describe to you or measure when I stopped just being on TV and looking at TV as a job and decided to use television, to use it and not have it use me, to use it as a platform to serve my viewers. That alone changed the trajectory of my success.

So, I know this—that whether you're an actor, you offer your talent in the way that most inspires art. If you're an anatomist, you look at your gift as knowledge and service to healing. Whether you've been called, as so many of you here today getting doctorates and other degrees, to the professions of business, law, engineering, humanities, science, medicine, if you choose to offer your skills and talent in service, when you choose the paradigm of service, looking at life through that paradigm, it turns everything you do from a job into a gift. And I know you haven't spent all this time at Stanford just to go out and get a job.

You've been enriched in countless ways. There's no better way to make your mark on the world and to share that abundance with others. My constant prayer for myself is to be used in service for the greater good.

So, let me end with one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King. Dr. King said, "Not everybody can be famous." And I don't know, but everybody today seems to want to be famous.

But fame is a trip. People follow you to the bathroom, listen to you pee. It's just—try to pee quietly. It doesn't matter, they come out and say, "Ohmigod, it's you. You peed."

That's the fame trip, so I don't know if you want that.

So, Dr. King said, "Not everybody can be famous. But everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service." Those of you who are history scholars may know the rest of that passage. He said, "You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love."

In a few moments, you'll all be officially Stanford's '08.

You have the heart and the smarts to go with it. And it's up to you to decide, really, where will you now use those gifts? You've got the diploma, so go out and get the lessons, 'cause I know great things are sure to come.

You know, I've always believed that everything is better when you share it, so before I go, I wanted to share a graduation gift with you. Underneath your seats you'll find two of my favorite books. Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth is my current book club selection. Our New Earth webcast has been downloaded 30 million times with that book. And Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future has reassured me I'm in the right direction.

I really wanted to give you cars but I just couldn't pull that off! Congratulations, '08!

Thank you. Thank you.

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Hennessy 校長，全體教員，家長，還有史丹佛的畢業生們，非常感謝你們。感謝你們讓我和你們分享這美好的一天。

我決定透漏一個小秘密給大家來作為這次演講的開始。這個秘密就是 Kirby Bumpus，史丹佛 2008 年的畢業生，是我的義女。所以當 Hennessy 校長讓我來做演講時，我受寵若驚，因為自從 Kirby 來這上學以來，這是我第一次被允許到史丹佛來。

正如你們知道的那樣 Kirby 是一個非常聰明的女孩。她說，她希望大家通過她自己的努力瞭解她，而不是她認識誰。因此她從來不希望每一個第一次見到她的人知道她認識我。當她和她媽媽第一次來到史丹佛參加開學典禮時，我聽說每個人都十分熱情。他們說："我的天啊，那是 Gayle King" 。因為很多人都知道 Gayle King 是我最好的朋友。

有些人走到 Kirby 面前，對 Kirby 說："我的天啊，那是 Gayle King 嗎？" Kirby 說："嗯，她是我媽媽。"然後人們說："我的天啊，難道說，你認識 Oprah Winfrey 。" Kirby 說："有點吧。" 我說："有一點。你有一點認識我"。我還有照片為證。我可以把 Kirby 和我騎馬時的照片 e-mail 給你們。因此我不僅僅只是有點認識 Kirby Bumpus 。我非常高興來到這裏，因為四年來我第一次來到她的寢室。

我為 Kirby 感到自豪，因為她獲得了人類生物學和心理學的雙學位。這就是我多麼的瞭解她。我可以叫她 Cakes 。

我為她的父母感到驕傲，她的父母給了她很大幫助，還有她的哥哥 Will 。我對 Kirby 大學四年真的沒有什麼幫助。但是在過去的幾周裏，每當人們問我在做什麼時，我都會說："我正準備去史丹佛" 我就是喜歡這樣說 Stanford （用一種奇怪的語調）。因為這是真的，我知道根本不會拿到我的學位，因為我沒有去史丹佛念書。我去了 Tennessee 州立大學。但是我本來不會拿到我的畢業證書，因為我本應該在 1975 年畢業，但是我少了一個學分。我認為我還是會忘了這件事。你們知道，我不會比得上我的同班同學。因為我已經上了電視。我在 19 歲還是大學二年級的時候就已經上了電視。我是唯一一個電視節目主持人，雖然有 11 點的宵禁，卻做著 10 點鐘的新聞。

嚴肅地說，我爸爸告訴我，"好吧，新聞 10 ： 30 結束。 11 點之前到家。"但是這對我並不重要，因為我已經自食其力了。我在走我自己的路。所以我想，我不能讓關於我大學的那件事就這麼過去，我還少一個學分。但是我的父親從那時起卻成了問題。由於我沒有畢業，他總是說：" Oprah Gail （我的中間名字），我不知道沒有學位你能做些什麼。"然後我說："但是，爸爸，我已經有我自己的電視節目啦。"

他說："好吧，但是我還是不知道沒有那個學位你能幹什麼。"我說："但是，爸爸，現在我已經是脫口秀的主持人了"。他還是說："我不知道沒有那個學位你怎麼去找其他的工作。"

在 1987 年， Tennessee 州立大學邀請我回去做他們的畢業典禮演講。在那時，我已經有了自己的電視節目，並加入了國家聯合會。我製作了一部電影，並被奧斯卡提名，而且成立了我自己的公司 Harpo 。可我告訴他們，我不能去演講除非我得到那一個學分，因為我爸爸總是說沒了那學位我將一事無成。

因此，我完成了我的課程，上交了我的畢業論文，然後拿到了學位。我的爸爸非常的驕傲。從此我知道，無論什麼事發生，那一個學分是我的救世主。

但是我知道為什麼我爸爸總是堅持讓我獲得文憑，因為，正如 B. B. King 所說："關於學習的美好在於別人不會把知識從你身上拿走"。學習正是我今天想說的，因為你們的教育並沒有在這裏結束。在很多情況下，這才是剛剛開始。這個世界將會教你們很多。我認為這個世界，這個地球，就像一個學校和我們人生的教室。有時這些課程會是彎路和障礙。有時會充滿危機。我所學的應付這一切的秘密就是去勇於面對，正如我們面對大學課程一樣。

我們能夠充滿激情的去生活和提高自我，這就是我們存在的意義。不斷自我提高，去追求人生的更高境界，去追求更高級別的憐憫和自我提高。

我記得我所受到的最大的讚揚就是當我剛剛在芝加哥開始工作時，我採訪了一個記者。很多年以後我們又見面了。她對我說："你知道嗎？你一點也沒有變。你變得更為自我了。"

這就是我們一直努力在做的，去做我們自己。我堅信你們會從每一件做過的事上學到經驗，這樣你們就會取得進步。這樣你們豐富了心靈。相信我，內在的智慧比外在的財富更加珍貴。你越是使用它，你就得到更多。

今天我想和大家分享我人生的三個經驗。你們難道不覺得高興嗎？你們是否會反感，當有人對你說："我想分享一些"但事實上卻是 10 個經驗。你們肯定在想："聽著，這是我的畢業典禮，不是你的"。因此這裏只有三個經驗我想和大家分享。

這三個經驗對我的人生產生了很大影響，它們是關於感情，失敗和追求幸福。

當我離開大學一年後，在 Baltimore 得到了一個共同主持 6 點新聞的機會。在那時媒體界的最大目標就是獲得更大的市場，而 Baltimore 是一個比 Nashville 大得多的市場，因此在 22 歲時得到這個機會對我來說非常重要。它那時對我來說它仿佛是世界上最重要的事。

我非常自豪，因為我終於有機會去效法 Barbara Walters 。而她正是我從業以來一直效法的對象。那時我 22 歲，每年掙 22,000 美元。我遇到了在電視臺做實習生的 Gayle ，我們立刻成了好朋友。我們說："我的天啊，真難以置信。你在 22 歲時掙每年能掙 22,000 美元。想像一下吧，當你 40 歲時你每年就會掙 40,000 美元。"

當我真的 40 歲時，我很高興這並沒有成真。 這就是我， 22 歲時每年掙 22,000 美元，然而，這種感覺並不好。首先，正如 Hennessy 校長所說，當他們試圖讓我改名字。那時導播對我說："沒人會記住 Oprah 這個名字。因此我們想讓你改名字。我們已經為你想了一個大家都會記住和喜歡的名字—— Suzie 。"

Suzie，一個很友善的名字。你不會厭惡 Suzie 。記住 Suzie 吧。但是我的名字不是 Suzie 。你們可以看到，自小我就不怎麼喜歡我的名字。因為當你在午餐箱和牌號尋找你的名字時，你永遠也不會找 Oprah 。

我從小就不怎麼喜歡我的名字，但是當我被告知去改名字時，我想，好吧，那時我的名字，但是 Suzie 真的適合我嗎？因此我想，它並不適合我。我不會改我的名字。我也不介意人們是否記得住我的名字，這沒什麼大不了的。

然後他們還對我說他們不喜歡我的長相。那是在 1976 年，你的老闆可以那麼說。但是如果是現在的話，那就是一件很嚴重的事了。可是那時他們還是說："我不喜歡你的造型。"我根本不像 Barbara Walters 。於是他們把我送到沙龍，給我燙了髮。可是幾天後我的頭髮一團糟。我不得不剃光我的頭髮。此時他們更不喜歡我的造型了。因為作為一個光頭黑人坐在攝影機前，我肯定不漂亮。

比光頭更令我討厭的是我不得不把播報別人遭受的痛苦作為我的日常工作。我深知我期待去觀察，我的內心告訴我，我應該做些什麼了。我需要為他人提供幫助。 正如 Hennessy 校長所說的那樣，我播報了一起火災，然後應當去給受害者拿毯子。由於白天播報的那些新聞導致我晚上難以入睡。

此時我儘量表現的優雅一些，使我更像 Barbara 。我認為我可能會成為一個傻傻的 Barbara 。如果我做回我自己，我就會成為一個很棒的 Oprah 。我努力像 Barbara 那樣優雅。有時我並不讀我的稿件，因為我的內心告訴我這是不自主的。所以我想為大家播報一些我想要的新聞。

有時，我不會播報像 6 個人在連環車禍中受傷這類的新聞。哦，我的天啊。 有時出於內心的本能，我不會去播報一些新聞。我還會遇到一些不認識的和念錯的詞。一天當我播新聞時，我把加拿大讀錯了。我想這樣下去學 Barbara 可不大好。我應該做回我自己。

但那是我爸爸卻對我說："這是你一生的機會。你最好繼續那份工作。"我的老闆也說："這是晚間新聞。你是播報員，不是福利工作者。還是做你的本職工作吧。"

我歪曲了這些期待和義務，並感覺很糟。晚上回到家後我會寫日記。自從 15 歲時我就開始寫日記了，於是現在我已經有了好幾本日記。我晚上回到家後，我會記錄下我是多麼的不幸和沮喪，因此我消除了焦慮。這就是我如何養成了那個習慣。

8 個月後我失去了那份工作。他們說我太情緒化了。但因為他們不想違背合約，他們就讓我去 Baltimore 主持一檔脫口秀節目。從我開始主持那檔節目的一刻開始，我感覺好像回到了家一樣。我意識到電視不應該僅僅是一個娛樂場，更應該是一個以服務為目的的平臺，以幫助他人更好的生活。當我開始主持節目的時間侯，就像呼吸一樣。感覺好極啦。這就是我工作的真正開始。

這就是我學到的經驗。當你做的是一份你喜歡的工作時，那感覺棒極了。無論你能掙到多少錢，你都會有很大收穫。

這是真的。但是你怎麼知道你所做的是對的呢？你怎麼知道呢？我所知道的就是你的內心是你人生的導航系統。當你應該或者不應該改做某事時，你的內心會告訴你怎樣去做。關鍵是去面對你自己，面對你自己的內心。我所做過的所有正確選擇都是源自我內心的。我所做過的所有錯誤選擇都是因為沒有聽取來自我內心的聲音。

如果感覺不好，就不要去做。這就是我的經驗。我的朋友，這個經驗會幫你避免很多痛苦。甚至懷疑都意味著不要去做。這就是我所學到的。有很多次當你不知道如何去做時，什麼也不要做，直到你知道怎麼做為止。

當你什麼也不要做時，讓你的內心作為驅動力。不僅僅你的個人生活會提高，你在工作中也會獲得競爭力。正如 Daniel Pink 在他的暢銷書 A Whole New Mind 中所說的那樣，我們進入了一個新時代，一個他稱之為概念時代的時代。人們的內心使人與人之間產生隔閡。他說，重要的不僅僅是邏輯上的，線性的，直尺式的思維方式。移情，快樂，目標和內部特質同樣也有卓越的價值。

當我們做自己喜歡的事時，當我們全身心的投入到工作中時，這些特質就會煥發生機。因此我對你說，忘掉那些快車道吧。如果你真的想飛翔，就把你的力量投入到你的激情當中。尊重你內心的召喚。每一個人都會有的。相信你的心靈，你會成功的。

那麼我是如何定義成功的呢？讓我告訴你，錢很美好。我不會告訴你們成功與錢無關，因為錢是好東西。我喜歡錢。它能買東西。

但是擁有很多錢並不能使你自然而然的成為一個成功者。你想要的是錢和意義。你想你的工作更有意義。因為有意義使你的生活更加充實。你所希望得到的是被信任你珍視你的人包圍。這才是你真正富有的時候。因此，第一個經驗，跟隨你的心靈。如果感覺對了，就繼續前進。如果感覺不對，就不要做了。

現在我想談談失敗。沒有人他的一生是一帆風順的。我們都會遇到困難，受到挫折。如果事情出錯了，你進入了死胡同，這正是生活在告訴你是時候改變了。所以，每當遇到困難和危機時，我都會問它教會了我什麼？只要你吸取了教訓，你就會繼續前進。如果你真正吸取了教訓，你就會順利通過考驗，不用再取經受失敗了。如果你沒有吸取教訓，它會以另外一種形式給出現在你面前並給你一些補救。

我注意到當你沒有仔細對待生活的細節時，困難就會出現。因為生活總是提前低聲的告戒你。如果你忽視了這個低聲的告誡，過不了多久你就會得到一個驚聲尖叫，無論你怎樣反抗。但是如果你不去想為什困難會發生，而是去反思困難會教給我什麼時，你就會學到你需要的東西。

我的朋友 Eckhart Tolle 。他寫了一本非常棒的書，名叫 A New Earth 。這本書就是關於讓你的意識激勵你去做事。他說，不要去反抗困境，相反，要融入到其中。事情會變的越來越好的。因為暫時的屈服並不意味著放棄，它意味著一種責任感。

你們當中很多人都知道，正如 Hennessy 校長所說，我在非洲創辦了一個學校。我希望給南非的女孩們一個像你們一樣的未來。我花了 5 年時間來確保學校會像學生們一樣好。我想讓每一個女孩感覺到自己的價值受到重視。所以我檢查了每一個設計圖，親自挑選每個枕頭，甚至檢查磚塊間的水泥。我知道每一個細節。每一學生都是我從 9 個省的村落裏親自選出來的。然而，去年的秋天我卻遇到了一個我從未預料的危機。我被告知有一名宿舍管理員涉嫌性虐待。

你們可以想像得到這是多麼令人沮喪的消息啊。首先，我哭了，啜泣了大約半個小時。然後我說，我們得面對它。一個半小時，這就是你全部所能得到的。你需要把注意力集中到現在，現在你應該做些什麼。所以我聯繫了一位兒科創傷專家。我派了一隊調查人員。我確定女孩們得到了安慰和支持。 Gayle 和我坐上飛機飛向南非。

整個過程中我都在問自己："這件事教會了我什麼？"雖然這個經歷十分困難，但是我學到了很多。我意識到自己所犯的錯誤，因為我一直以來都把注意力集中在錯事上。我從外向內建造了那所學校，然而正真對我有意義的是從內向外的去建造它。最重要的是我對正直，品質和美好的理解。我學到了那個教訓。我也明白女孩們也學到了一些事。她們從中恢復了過來並意識到她們的聲音是有影響力的 。

她們的恢復力和精神給了我很多東西，以至於比我給她們的還多。接下來是我最後的經驗—關於尋找幸福，我可以談論一整天，但是我有其他古怪的事要做。

追求幸福並不是一個小話題。但在某種程度上來說它又是最簡單的話題。 Gwendolyn Brooks 為她的孩子寫了一首詩，詩名是 Speech to the Young : Speech to the Progress-Toward. 在詩的最後她說到，不要為了戰勝而生活，不要為了歌曲的結尾而生活，要享受生活。她說，你應當為了現在而生活，無論過去發生了什麼都不應該影響到現在，因為生活就是過好現在。

我想她還說過，去參與一些事。不要僅僅為了自己而生活。我可以非常肯定的是為了追求真正的快樂，你必須為了一些更有意義的事而生活。生活是互動的。為了前進，你必須後退。對於我而言，這是人生中最重要的經驗。想要獲得快樂你必須付出。

我知道你們已經很瞭解了，因為這個經驗已經深深的融入了史丹佛。這個經驗是 Jane and Leland 傳承給你們的。因為你們所有的人都知道這座偉大的大學是如何建成的。史丹佛夫婦的獨子在 15 歲時得了傷寒離開了他們。他們有權利和理由去恨這個世界，但是他們卻用優雅的行動疏導了心中的悲傷。在他們兒子死後不到一年內，他們已經這所偉大的大學籌集了建設經費，並發誓要為別人的孩子做一些他們自己的孩子不能得到事。

這個經驗非常明顯，那就是，如果你受了傷，你需要幫助他人減輕傷痛。如果你感到痛苦，幫助他人減輕痛苦。如果你的生活一團糟，去幫助其他處在困難中的人擺脫困境。這樣一來，你就變成了婦女聯誼會或是互助會中最偉大的一個員。

史丹佛夫婦遭受了世上父母所能遭受的最大痛苦，然而他們懂得通過幫助他人來幫助自己。這種智慧漸漸的被科學和社會學研究所證實。這不僅僅是某種軟技能的談話。這事實上是在幫助者的高度，一種從幫助別人而獲得的精神大爆發。所以如果你想快樂，去幫助別人吧。但是當你做好事時，我希望你不僅僅是為了獲得的快樂，因為我深知做好事可以讓你變得更棒。所以無論你怎樣選擇，若你能以服務他人為榜樣，我相信你的生活會更有價值，你也會更快樂。

我也很高興做我的脫口秀節目，那種快樂是一種更深層次的成就感，我很難去表達和衡量。我決定以電視作為我的職業，我要用電視這個平臺來為我的觀眾服務，而不是讓電視利用我。這改變了我成功的軌跡。

我知道無論你是否是一名演員，你都應該把你的才智貢獻給能夠鼓舞他人的事業。如果你是一名剖析家，你應當把你們的智慧投入到醫治他人當中。無論你是否被召喚，你們中的很多人在經濟，法律，人權，科學，醫藥方面都獲得了 諸如 博士一類的學位，如果你們決定把你們的技能和智慧奉獻給服務他人們，選擇把服務他人作為榜樣，你們的工作就會變成一種天賦。我知道你們在史丹佛所在的一切就是為了出去找一份工作。

你們在很多方面都得到了提高。沒有其他更好的方式能夠分享你的豐富的才智了。我永恆的祈禱就是讓自己能夠為他人提供更好的服務。就讓我引用馬丁．路德．金的話來作為結束語吧。他說："不是所有人都會出名。"我不知道，但似乎今天所有人都想出名。

但是成名也是一種代價。有些人會尾隨你到洗手間，聽你尿尿。你會儘量尿的輕一些。這沒什麼大不了的。他們會對你說："我的天啊，是你！你尿尿啦。" 這就是成名的代價，我不知道你們是否喜歡。

所以，正如馬丁．路德．金所說，"不是所有人都會成名。但每個人都可以變的偉大，因為偉大是通過為他人服務而界定的。"你們當中學歷史的人可能會知道他接下來會說，"為別人提供服務，並不一定要有大學學歷，並不一定要主謂一致，並不一定要認識柏拉圖和亞里斯多德，並不一定要會愛因斯坦的相對論，並不一定要瞭解熱力學第二定律。你所需要的是一顆優雅的心靈和充滿愛的靈魂。"

不久你們就會正式成為史丹佛大學 2008 年的畢業生了。

你們有聰明才智。你們將會決定如何利用它。說真的，你們將會如何利用它呢？你們拿到了學位。走向社會吧，我堅信偉大的事將會發生的。

你們知道，我一直堅信，如果你和他人分享，那麼事情就會變得更好。所以在我離開之前，我想和大家分享一下畢業禮物。在你們的座位底下，你們會發現兩本我最喜歡的書。 Eckhart Tolle 的 A New Earth 流行書俱樂部的精選品。我們的 New Earth 廣播已經被下載 3 億次。 Daniel Pink 的 A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future 使我確定我在人生的正軌上。

我真的想送大家轎車，只是開不過來！祝賀大家！ 08 年的畢業生們！

謝謝大家！謝謝！