fall forward--丹泽尔·华盛顿宾夕法尼亚大学毕业典礼演讲
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. Yeah, that's right, play 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. No I did, I really am. And I hope them the best success in the future.
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 is a little overwhelming. It's out of my comfort zone. You dress me up in army fatigues. 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 that. But a commencement speech? It’s a very serious affair. It's a very different ballgame. There’s literally thousands and thousands of people here. And for those who say—you're a movie star, millions of people watch you speak all the time…That's true. Yes, that’s technically true. But I’m not actually in the theater—watching them watching me. I think that makes sense. I mean I'm not there when they cough… or fidget around… or pull out their iPhone and text their boyfriend… or scratch their behinds. Whatever they are known to be doing in a movie theater. But from up here: I can see every single one of you. And that makes me uncomfortable. So please, don’t pull out your iPhone and don't text your boyfriend until after I’m done. But if you need to scratch your behinds, I understand. Go ahead. I was thinking about the speech, what should I say. I figured the best way to keep your attention, would be to talk about some really juicy Hollywood stuff. Like I thought about, 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. Oh, maybe not. I thought about that “private” moment. I had backstage with Angelina Jolie in the dressing room at the Oscars? But I say 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, no one, no one, this is Penn. That stuff would never go over well here. Maybe at Drexel—but not over here. I’m in trouble now. I was back to square one—and feeling the pressure. So now you're probably thinking. If it was gonna be this difficult, this much pressure. Why’d I even accept today’s invitation? In the first place? Well, you know my son goes here. That’s No.1. 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! There everybody upstairs. And there were some 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 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. I've never been a buis, I've never been a himos. 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, breaking into the dorm rooms and taking over 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 had to come exactly because I might make a fool of myself. What am I talking about? 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 have something to “fall back on” honey. But I've 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 know that. 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 to you 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 on 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, about to go on stage but the guy in front of me, he is singing like... like... like Pavarotti just go on and on and on and on. And I am just shrinking getting smaller and smaller... so I said thank you, thank you very much, you'll be here from us. So I come out with my 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 so they're not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting into it. They said "thank you, thank you very much, Mr. Washington, thank you." So I assume I didn't get the job. But the next part of audition they call me back. The next part of the audition is the acting part of audition. 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 theatre. And musical theatre is big, so they can reach everyone all the way in the back of the stadium and I was more from a realistc naturlistic kind of acting way. You know you actually talk to the person next to you. So I don't know what my line was, my line was "hand me the cup" his line was,"Well, I will hand you the cup, my dear, my cup will be there to be handed to you." I said, OK, well, should I give you the cup back? Oh yeah, you should give it back to me, because you know that is my cup. And 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 audition. I prayed and I prayed, and I prayed but I continued to fail, fail and fail. 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 are gonna get a haircut. You will catch a break. And I did catch a break. Last year I did a play called Fences on Broadway someone talked about it and I won a Tony Award. And I didn’t have to sing, by the way. And here’s the kicker—it was at the Court Theater, it's the same theater that I failed that first audition 30 years prior. The point is, and I will pick up the page. The point is, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. But do you have the guts to fail? Here's my second point about failure: If you don't fail… you’re not even trying. I'll say it again. 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. Imagine you're on your deathbed and standing around your deathbed are the ghosts representing your unfulfilled 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. And upset. “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 gonna be around your bed when your time comes? You have invested a lot in your education. And people have invested in you. And let me tell you, the world needs your talents more than it does ever. I just got back from Africa two days ago.So I am rambling on because I am jetlegged. I just got back from South Africa. It's a beautiful country, but there are places there with terrible poverty that needs help. And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Middle East needs your help.
Japan needs your help.
Alabama needes your help and Tennessee needs your help.
Louisiana needs your help.
Philadelphia needs your help.
the world...
The world needs a lot—and we need it from you, we really do, we need it from you, young people. I mean I am not speaking for the rest of us up here. I know I am getting a little greyer. we need it from you, the young people. So remember this. So get out there. You gotta 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. I'll say that again. You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. I will say it again 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 is: So 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?
Alright 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 still can't say it. “Cardiac Morphogenesis.” I couldn’t read it. I couldn't say it… and I am sure I couldn't pass it. Then I decided to go into pre-law. Then journalism. With no academic focus, my grades took off in their own direction: down. I was a 1.8 GPA in one semester, and the university very politely suggested 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 old woman who was considered one of the eldest in the town. I didn't know her personally. I was looking in the mirror. Everytime I looked into the mirror, I can see it behind me. She was staring at me. She just kept looking at me. Everytime 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, somebody gives me a piece of paper. She said,“Young boy,”“I have a prophecy: a spiritual prophecy: she said you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people.” I mind you I'm twenty years old. I've flunk out of school. In fact, like a wise-ass, I’m thinking to myself: Maybe she's got something in that crystal ball about me getting back to school next fall? But maybe she was onto 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 about acting? You’re good at that.” When I got back to Fordham that fall. I got in. I changed my major once again for the last time. And in the years that followed just as that woman prophesized 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. And they couldn't see me, because they could only see the movie. They couldn't see the real me.But I see you today. And I'm encouraged by what I see. And I'm strengthened by what I see. And I love what I see. one more page, and I'll shut up. Let me conclude with this one final point. Actually the president kind of brought it up. It has to do with the movie "Philadelphia". She stole my material. Many years ago, I did this movie called "Philadelphia". We filmed some of the scenes right here on campus. Philadelphia came out in 1993, when most of you were probably still in diapers. Some of the professors, too. I cracked up myself. But it was a good movie. Rent it on Netflix. It's a good movie. I get 23 cents every time you rent it. Parents up there, rent it from Netflix please. 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 a risk 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. In the course of the film, the character I play begins to take small steps. Small risks He very very very slowly begins to overcome his fears, and 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 commencement at one of the best universities in the country. 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. 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.
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. Yeah, that's right, play 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. No I did, I really am. And I hope them the best success in the future.
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 is a little overwhelming. It's out of my comfort zone. You dress me up in army fatigues. 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 that. But a commencement speech? It’s a very serious affair. It's a very different ballgame. There’s literally thousands and thousands of people here. And for those who say—you're a movie star, millions of people watch you speak all the time…That's true. Yes, that’s technically true. But I’m not actually in the theater—watching them watching me. I think that makes sense. I mean I'm not there when they cough… or fidget around… or pull out their iPhone and text their boyfriend… or scratch their behinds. Whatever they are known to be doing in a movie theater. But from up here: I can see every single one of you. And that makes me uncomfortable. So please, don’t pull out your iPhone and don't text your boyfriend until after I’m done. But if you need to scratch your behinds, I understand. Go ahead. I was thinking about the speech, what should I say. I figured the best way to keep your attention, would be to talk about some really juicy Hollywood stuff. Like I thought about, 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. Oh, maybe not. I thought about that “private” moment. I had backstage with Angelina Jolie in the dressing room at the Oscars? But I say 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, no one, no one, this is Penn. That stuff would never go over well here. Maybe at Drexel—but not over here. I’m in trouble now. I was back to square one—and feeling the pressure. So now you're probably thinking. If it was gonna be this difficult, this much pressure. Why’d I even accept today’s invitation? In the first place? Well, you know my son goes here. That’s No.1. 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! There everybody upstairs. And there were some 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 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. I've never been a buis, I've never been a himos. 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, breaking into the dorm rooms and taking over 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 had to come exactly because I might make a fool of myself. What am I talking about? 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 have something to “fall back on” honey. But I've 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 know that. 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 to you 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 on 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, about to go on stage but the guy in front of me, he is singing like... like... like Pavarotti just go on and on and on and on. And I am just shrinking getting smaller and smaller... so I said thank you, thank you very much, you'll be here from us. So I come out with my 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 so they're not saying anything. I think I must be getting better, so I start getting into it. They said "thank you, thank you very much, Mr. Washington, thank you." So I assume I didn't get the job. But the next part of audition they call me back. The next part of the audition is the acting part of audition. 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 theatre. And musical theatre is big, so they can reach everyone all the way in the back of the stadium and I was more from a realistc naturlistic kind of acting way. You know you actually talk to the person next to you. So I don't know what my line was, my line was "hand me the cup" his line was,"Well, I will hand you the cup, my dear, my cup will be there to be handed to you." I said, OK, well, should I give you the cup back? Oh yeah, you should give it back to me, because you know that is my cup. And 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 audition. I prayed and I prayed, and I prayed but I continued to fail, fail and fail. 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 are gonna get a haircut. You will catch a break. And I did catch a break. Last year I did a play called Fences on Broadway someone talked about it and I won a Tony Award. And I didn’t have to sing, by the way. And here’s the kicker—it was at the Court Theater, it's the same theater that I failed that first audition 30 years prior. The point is, and I will pick up the page. The point is, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. But do you have the guts to fail? Here's my second point about failure: If you don't fail… you’re not even trying. I'll say it again. 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. Imagine you're on your deathbed and standing around your deathbed are the ghosts representing your unfulfilled 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. And upset. “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 gonna be around your bed when your time comes? You have invested a lot in your education. And people have invested in you. And let me tell you, the world needs your talents more than it does ever. I just got back from Africa two days ago.So I am rambling on because I am jetlegged. I just got back from South Africa. It's a beautiful country, but there are places there with terrible poverty that needs help. And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Middle East needs your help.
Japan needs your help.
Alabama needes your help and Tennessee needs your help.
Louisiana needs your help.
Philadelphia needs your help.
the world...
The world needs a lot—and we need it from you, we really do, we need it from you, young people. I mean I am not speaking for the rest of us up here. I know I am getting a little greyer. we need it from you, the young people. So remember this. So get out there. You gotta 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. I'll say that again. You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. I will say it again 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 is: So 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?
Alright 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 still can't say it. “Cardiac Morphogenesis.” I couldn’t read it. I couldn't say it… and I am sure I couldn't pass it. Then I decided to go into pre-law. Then journalism. With no academic focus, my grades took off in their own direction: down. I was a 1.8 GPA in one semester, and the university very politely suggested 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 old woman who was considered one of the eldest in the town. I didn't know her personally. I was looking in the mirror. Everytime I looked into the mirror, I can see it behind me. She was staring at me. She just kept looking at me. Everytime 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, somebody gives me a piece of paper. She said,“Young boy,”“I have a prophecy: a spiritual prophecy: she said you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people.” I mind you I'm twenty years old. I've flunk out of school. In fact, like a wise-ass, I’m thinking to myself: Maybe she's got something in that crystal ball about me getting back to school next fall? But maybe she was onto 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 about acting? You’re good at that.” When I got back to Fordham that fall. I got in. I changed my major once again for the last time. And in the years that followed just as that woman prophesized 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. And they couldn't see me, because they could only see the movie. They couldn't see the real me.But I see you today. And I'm encouraged by what I see. And I'm strengthened by what I see. And I love what I see. one more page, and I'll shut up. Let me conclude with this one final point. Actually the president kind of brought it up. It has to do with the movie "Philadelphia". She stole my material. Many years ago, I did this movie called "Philadelphia". We filmed some of the scenes right here on campus. Philadelphia came out in 1993, when most of you were probably still in diapers. Some of the professors, too. I cracked up myself. But it was a good movie. Rent it on Netflix. It's a good movie. I get 23 cents every time you rent it. Parents up there, rent it from Netflix please. 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 a risk 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. In the course of the film, the character I play begins to take small steps. Small risks He very very very slowly begins to overcome his fears, and 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 commencement at one of the best universities in the country. 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. 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.
