Graduation Commencement Quotes:

Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable.

- Wendy Wasserstein

topic: Graduation, Encouraging, Dream, Grad, Inspirational Graduation

Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.

- Susan B. Anthony

topic: Love, Life, Birthday, Inspirational Graduation, Milestone

Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated.

- Garry Trudeau

source: "Peace, war, economy dominate graduation speeches" by Patricia McCormack, www.upi.com. May 29, 1982.

topic: Graduation, College, World, Grad, Inspirational High School Graduation

At commencement you wear your square-shaped mortarboards.My hope is that from time to time you will let your minds be bold, and wear sombreros.

- Paul A. Freund

topic: Graduation, Squares, Mind, High School Graduation, Sombreros

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you are the guy who'll decide where to go.

- Dr. Seuss

source: Theodor Seuss Geisel, “Oh, The Places You'll Go”

topic: Life, Graduation, Confidence, Going To College, Seeing Yourself

Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate.

- Jon Bon Jovi

topic: Inspirational, Passion, Important, Inspirational Passion, Life And Passion

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

- Albert Einstein

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Success, About Success, Mediocre Minds

There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.

- Conan O'Brien

topic: Inspirational, Graduation, Dartmouth, Memorable Graduation, Changing Course

You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.

- Tom Brokaw

topic: Motivational, Graduation, Education, Memorable Graduation, Graduation Day

The definition of success changes. Success is to live your life with integrity and not give in to peer pressure to be something you're not. Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else's path; unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path, then by all means, you should follow that.

- Ellen DeGeneres

topic: Graduation, Integrity, Mean, Commencement, Stay True To Yourself

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.

- Robert Louis Stevenson

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Interesting Life, Planting Seeds

There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.

- Orrin Hatch

topic: Graduation, Exercise, Reason, Memorable Graduation, High School Graduation

Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.

- Richard Halliburton

topic: Graduation, Adrift, Months, Inspirational Graduation, Memorable Graduation

Life is an improvisation. You have no idea what's going to happen next and you are mostly just making things up as you go along.

- Stephen Colbert

topic: Graduation, Ideas, Next, Memorable Graduation, Life After High School

I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which, was that you can fail at what you don't want so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love

- Jim Carrey

topic: Father, Doing What You Love, Want, Commencement Speech, Convocation

My favorite animal is the turtle. The reason is that in order for the turtle to move, it has to stick its neck out.

- Ruth Westheimer

source: "‘Other People’s Rejection Letters’: 8 Of The Craziest Rejection Letters" by Bill Shapiro, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 11, 2010.

topic: Moving, Animal, Order, Inspirational High School Graduation, Inspiring Graduation

If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on.

- Steve Jobs

topic: Inspirational, Life, Graduation, Way In Life, Innovation And Business

Don't settle, as with all matters of the heart you'll know when you find it

- Steve Jobs

source: Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered 12 June 2005, Palo Alto, CA

topic: Change, Work, Life Changing, Way In Life, Innovation And Business

Do not follow where the path may lead.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

topic: Path, Bikers, May, Solo Travel, Journey Inspirational

Nothing worth knowing can be taught.

- Oscar Wilde

topic: Graduation, Knowing, Taught, Grad, Off To College

Interviewing is tough, especially if you don't know what you're looking for.

- Charlyne Yi

source: Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

topic: Funny Inspirational, Tough, Full Of Yourself, Murphys Law, Graduation Commencement

Just remember, you can't climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pockets.

- Arnold Schwarzenegger

source: "Six Rules on How to Be Successful". Speech at the University of Southern California, www.graduationwisdom.com. May 15, 2009.

topic: Graduation, Hands, Pockets, Climbing The Ladder, Commencement Speech

Life has a very simple plot: first you're here and then you're not.

- Eric Idle

source: "17 Funniest Lines from Monty Python Star Eric Idle’s Commencement Speech" By Gillian Frew, www.huffingtonpost.com. May 21, 2013.

topic: Graduation, Simple, Plot, Commencement, Commencement Speech

There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.

- Oprah Winfrey

topic: Graduation, Moving, Trying, Mistakes Happen, Law Of Averages

Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

- Neil Gaiman

topic: Inspirational, Graduation, Mistake, Inspirational Graduation, Inspire Students

Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

- Steve Jobs

source: Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered 12 June 2005, Palo Alto, CA

topic: Inspirational, Death, Sorry, Old Job, Stanford University

Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.

- Conan O'Brien

topic: Inspirational, Funny, Motivational, Dartmouth, Graduation Commencement

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

- Steve Jobs

topic: Heart, Follow Your Heart, Intuition, Inner Voice, Business Life

Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

- Dr. Seuss

source: "Personal Quotes/ Biography". www.imdb.com.

topic: Inspirational Life, Be Who You Are, Mind, Keep Smiling, Way In Life

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

- Dr. Seuss

topic: You Choose, Just Believe In Yourself, Inspirational Confidence, Inspirational Student, Inspire Students

You might as well take a chance on doing what you love.

- Jim Carrey

source: "Jim Carrey Receives Honorary Diploma from Maharishi University of Management". Jim Carrey's commencement speech at Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, www.iowasource.com. May 24, 2014.

topic: Doing What You Love, Might, Chance, Memorable Graduation, Commencement

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

- Steve Jobs

topic: Inspirational, Death, People, Someone Who Is Dying, Meaningful Death

The fireworks begin today. Each diploma is a lighted match. Each one of you is a fuse.

- Ed Koch

topic: Success, Graduation, Education, Memorable Graduation, Inspirational High School Graduation

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that 'individuality' is the key to success.

- Robert Orben

source: "A Few Tips for the Graduates". The Topeka Capital-Journal, abcnews.go.com. May 20, 2007.

topic: Funny, Graduation, Education, Master Ceremony, Grad

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

- Steve Jobs

source: Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered 12 June 2005, Palo Alto, CA

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Interesting Life, Inner Voice

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might has well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.

- J. K. Rowling

topic: Inspirational, Success, Graduation, Failure In Life, Inspirational Harry Potter

Openness isn't the end. It's the beginning.

- Margaret Heffernan

source: "Dare to disagree". TED Talk, www.ted.com. June 2012.

topic: Graduation, Senior, College, Memorable Graduation, Inspirational High School Graduation

Never follow anyone else's path, unless you're in the woods and you're lost.

- Ellen DeGeneres

source: "12 Inspiring Graduation Speeches by Amazing Women" by Kelly Conniff, time.com. May 18, 2014.

topic: Woods, Path, Lost, Memorable Graduation, Inspiring Graduation

Go, and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.

- Neil Gaiman

source: Neil Gaiman's Commencement Address at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, www.uarts.edu. May 17, 2012.

topic: Inspirational, Graduation, Mistake, Inspirational Graduation, Inspirational High School Graduation

Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking.

- Steve Jobs

source: Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered 12 June 2005, Palo Alto, CA

topic: Inspirational, Life, Graduation, Job Growth, Inner Life

Harry taught me that death isn't the end, it's the beginning.

- Jennifer Love Hewitt

source: "Dexter: Popping Cherry". TV series, 2006.

topic: Graduation, Senior, College, Inspirational Graduation, Memorable Graduation

You cannot climb the ladder of success dressed in the costume of failure.

- Zig Ziglar

topic: Motivational, Attitude, Failure, Climbing The Ladder, Commencement Speech

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

- Steve Jobs

source: Commencement Address at Stanford University, delivered 12 June 2005, Palo Alto, CA

topic: Love, Inspirational, Life, Inner Voice, Job Growth

All there will ever be is what's happening here. Decisions we make in this moment are based on either love or fear. So many of us choose our path out of fear, disguised as practicality.

- Jim Carrey

topic: Decisions We Make, Choices, Path, Practicality, Commencement Speech