There comes a time in our lives when we all might need just that little push, a dash of inspiration and a shove in the right direction to carry on and move forward. In these intense times of lack of motivation, we look for any opportunity that can give us even that little bit of sunshine to make our days happy and inspiring.
To give you those moments of hope and aspiration, we have made up a list of some speeches, given by some prolific personalities that will not only motivate you to keep going but will also help you to learn and grow more in life.
Here are the speeches:
‘I have a Dream’ by Martin Luther King
This 1963 speech has been listened to and inspired many young minds. With words like “Love thy neighbour and keep fighting the good fight”, Martin Luther King in his speech talked about equality and how to seize the opportunity.
The most quoted lines of his speech are, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!” The statement talks about believing in a future where people will not be judged.
Taking inspiration from this, men should ponder and motivate themselves on the ideas of equality and make sure to never judge people on trivial things.
‘Fall Forward’ by Denzel Washington
During commencement speech at University of Pennsylvania in 2011, Denzel Washington talked about failure. He said, “Every failed experiment is one step closer to success”. He talked about failure being an important part in anyone’s journey and an inevitable part of our lives.
A huge learning for our lives. With the growing stress and anxiety about and around failure, it’s important to learn that only after failure one can learn and succeed.
‘How to live before you die’ by Steve Jobs
At Stanford University, Steve Jobs talked about the importance of time in his speech. He made it more interesting by telling three stories from his personal life: his adoption, getting fired from his own company and the third one about death.
Talking through personal examples, Steve Jobs told us all to live life keeping in mind that death is the ultimate truth of it all. He gave the important learning that time and tide waits for none. Men, take a note.
Barack Obama’s speech to the class of 2020
Previous years have not been great for any of us. Considering the same, Barack Obama talked to the class of 2020 and motivated them for what is next to come. In his speech, Former US President talks about the effects of the pandemic and how this generation will have to grow up faster. He inspired students to be ‘part of the solution and not to be the problem’.
Barack Obama also talked about the importance of community and helping everyone learn more. An important lesson for many of us is to not let the drive of success and competition make us envy our neighbour, but bring about a change that is beneficial for all.
‘Be Stupid’ by Vir Das
The actor-comedian gave a commencement speech at Knox University. In his 20 minute speech, Vir Das talked about being stupid in life. He told the students to embrace the stupidity in life, which eventually will lead them to a happy one.
One important lesson that the comedian taught was not to really take life that seriously. He says that, ‘life is not realistic’ and neither should you be.