Denzel Washington’s Life Advice Will Change Your Future (MUST WATCH) Motivational Speech 2019
[Music]
no one put God first put God first in
everything you do everything that you
think you see in me everything that I’ve
accomplished everything that you think I
have and I have a few things everything
that I have is by the grace of God
understand that it’s a gift 40 years ago
March 27th 1975 it was 40 years ago
just this past March I was flunking out
of college I had a one-point 7 grade
point average I hope none of you can
relate at a 1.7 grade point average I
was sitting in my mother’s beauty shop
they still call it beauty shops now what
they call it yeah I’ll sit in the beauty
parlor I was sitting in my mother’s
beauty parlor and I’m looking in the
mirror and I see behind me this woman
under the dryer and every time she
looked up she every time I looked up she
was looking at me
just look at me in the eye I didn’t know
who she was that I said you know she
said somebody give me a pen
give me a pen so I have a prophecy March
27 1975 she said boy you were gonna
travel the world and speak to millions
of people
now my job flunked out of college I’m
thinking about joining the army I didn’t
know what I was gonna do and she’s
telling me I’m gonna travel the world
and speak to millions of people well I
had to travel the world and I have spoke
to millions of people
but that’s not the most important thing
the success that I had the most
important thing is that what she taught
me in what she told me that day has
stayed with me since
I’ve been protected I’ve been directed
I’ve been corrected
I’ve kept God in my life and has kept me
humble I didn’t always stick with him
but he always stuck with me so stick
with them in everything you do if you
think you want to do what you think I’ve
done then do what I’ve done and stick
with God number two fail big that’s
right fail big today is the beginning of
the rest of your life and it can be
couldn’t be very frightening it’s a new
world out there it’s a mean world out
there and you only live once so do what
you feel passionate about passionate
about take chances professionally don’t
be afraid to fail there’s an old IQ test
was nine dots and you had to draw five
lines with a pencil within these nine
dots without lifting the pencil the only
way to do it was to go outside the box
so don’t be afraid to go outside the box
don’t be afraid to think outside the box
don’t be afraid to fail big to dream big
but remember dreams without goals are
just dreams and the ultimately fuel
disappointment so have dreams but have
goals life goals
yearly goals monthly goals daily goals I
try to give myself a goal every day
sometimes just to not curse somebody out
simple goals but have goals and
understand that to achieve these goals
you must apply discipline and
consistency in order to achieve your
goals you must apply discipline which
you have already done and consistency
every day not just want to Zay and miss
a few days you have to work at it every
day you have to plan every day you’ve
heard the saying we don’t plan to fail
we fail to plan
hard work works working really hard is
what successful people do and in this
text tweet twirl that you’ve grown up in
remember just because you’re doing a lot
more doesn’t mean you’re getting a lot
more done remember that just because
you’re doing a lot more doesn’t mean
you’re getting a lot more done
don’t confuse movement with progress my
mother told me yeah yeah cuz you can run
in place all the time and never get
anywhere so continue to strive continue
to have goals continue to progress
number three you’ll never see a u-haul
behind a hearse I’ll say it again you’ll
never see a u-haul behind a hearse I
don’t care how much money you make you
can’t take it with you
the Egyptians tried it they got robbed
that’s all they got you can’t take it
with you with you and it’s not how much
you have is what you do with what you
have we all have different talents some
of you will be doctors some lawyers some
scientists some educated some nurses
some teachers yeah okay
some preachers the most selfish thing
you can do in this world is help someone
else why is it selfish because the
gratification the goodness that comes to
you the good feeling the good feeling
that I get from helping others nothing’s
better than that well one or two things
but nothing’s better than that not not
jewelry not big house I have not the
cars but it’s the joy that’s where the
joy is in helping others that’s where
the success is in helping others
finally I pray that you put your
slippers way under the bed tonight
so that when you wake up in the morning
you have to get on your knees to reach
them and whine while you’re down there
say thank you for grace
thank you for mercy thank you for
understanding
thank you for wisdom thank you for
parents
thank you for love thank you for
kindness thank you for humility
thank you for peace thank you for
Prosperity say thank you in advance for
what’s already yours it’s how I live my
life that’s why I am one of the reasons
why I am today say thank you in advance
for what is already yours true desire in
the heart for anything good is God’s
proof to you sit before hand to indicate
that it’s yours already I’ll say it
again true desire in the heart that itch
that you have whatever it is you want to
do that thing that you want to do to
help others and to grow and to make
money that desire that it’s that’s God’s
proof to you sit before hand already to
indicate that it’s yours and anything
you want good you can have
so claim it work hard to get it when you
get it reach back pull someone else up
each one teach one
don’t just aspire to make a living
aspire to make a difference 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
that’s important I got three reasons and
and you can pick up your iPhone’s 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’s no doubt about it and
I know that’s probably not a traditional
message for a graduation ceremony but eh
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 perfect role
for me I thought except for the fact
that I can’t sing
so I’m in the wings I’m about to go on
stage but the guy in front of me he’s
singing like like like Pavarotti
he’s just just going on and on and on
and I’m just shrinking I’m getting
smaller and smaller so they say oh thank
you very much thank you very much and
you will you’ll be hearing from us so I
come out with my little sheet music and
it was it was a just my imagination by
the temptations that’s what I came up
with so I hand it to the the the
accompany us and she looks at it and
looks at me and excited the director and
was like so I start you know that I’m
gonna sing and they’re not saying
anything so I’m thinking I’m getting
better I start getting into it yeah yeah
thank you thank you thank you thank you
very much mr. Washington thank you so I
assumed I didn’t get the job but the
next part of the audition he called me
back the next part of the audition is
the acting part of the audition so I’m
like hey okay maybe I can’t sing but I
know I can act so they pair me with this
guy and again I didn’t know about
musical theater and musical theater is
big so they can reach everyone all the
way in the back of the stadium and I’m
more from realistic naturalistic kind of
acting where you you know you actually
talk to the person next to you so I
don’t know what my line was my line was
will hand me the cut and his line was
well I will hand you the cup my dear the
cup would be there to be handed to you
I said okay well should I give you the
cup back oh yes you should give it back
to me because you know that is my cup
and 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 it to
prepare for the next audition and the
next audition and the next audition I
prayed I prayed and I prayed but I
continued to fail and fail and fail but
it didn’t matter because you know what
there’s an old saying you hang around
the barbershop long enough sooner or
later you’re gonna get a haircut so you
will catch a break and I did catch a
break last year I did a play called
fences on Broadway if someone talked
about it won the Tony Award and I didn’t
have to sing by the way but here’s the
kicker
he was at the Court Theatre he was at
the same theatre that I failed that
first audition 30 years prior the point
is and I’ll pick up the pace 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’s a motivational
speaker you made an analogy about this
says 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 they say we we came
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 going to be around
your bed when your time comes you go
best you you’ve invested a lot in your
education and people that invested in
you and let me tell you the world needs
your talents and does it ever I just got
back from Africa like two days ago so if
I’m rambling on it’s because I’m jetlag
I just got back from South Africa it’s a
beautiful country but there are places
there with terrible Parvat poverty that
need help when Africa is just the tip of
the iceberg the Middle East needs your
help
Japan needs your help Alabama needs your
help
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’m not speaking for the
rest of us up here but I know I’m
getting a little grayer we needed from
you the young people because remember
this so you got to get out there you got
to give it everything you got
whether it’s your time your your your
talent your prayers or your treasures
because remember this you will never see
a u-haul behind a hearse
I’ll say it again you will 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 what are
you going to do with what you have I’m
not talking about 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
patients some of you have kindness some
of you have loved 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 all right 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 the cardiac
morphus I still can’t see it cardiac
cardiac morphogenesis I couldn’t read it
I couldn’t say it I sure couldn’t pass
it so then I decided to go into pre-law
then journalism and with no academic
focus my grades took off in their own
direction
they’re down I was a 1.8 GPA one
semester and the University very
politely suggested that it might be
better to take some time off I was
twenty years old I was at my lowest
point and then one day and I remember
the exact day March 27 1975 I was
helping my mother in her beauty shop my
mother owned a beauty shop up in my
Vernon and there’s there was this older
woman who was considered one of the
elders in the town and I didn’t know her
personally but I was looking in the
mirror and every time I looked at the
mirror I could see her behind me and she
was staring at me she just kept looking
at me every time I looked at it she kept
giving me these strange looks so she
finally took the dryer off her head and
said to sump she said something I’ll
never forget
first of all she said somebody give me a
piece of paper give 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 now mind you I’m 20
years old I’m flunked out of school
in fact like a wiseass I’m thinking to
myself maybe she’s got something in that
crystal ball about me getting back at
the school next fall but maybe she was
onto something because later that summer
while working as a counselor to YMCA
camp in Connecticut we put on a talent
show for the campers and after the show
another counselor came up to me and
asked have you ever thought about acting
you’re good at that so when I got back
to Fordham that fall I got in and I
changed my major once again for the last
time and in the years that follow just
as that woman prophesized I have
traveled the world and I have spoken to
millions of people through my movies
millions who up til this day couldn’t
see me i up till this day I couldn’t see
while I was talking to them and they
couldn’t see me 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
[Music]
one more page now shut up let me
conclude with this one final point
actually the president kind of brought
it up 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
most of you were probably still in
diapers
some of the professor’s too but that
cracked me up but it was a good movie
renting on it what do you call it
Netflix it’s a good movie
renting I get 23 cents every time you
ran it please rent rent rent it
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 the
homophobic ambulance chaser lawyer
played by yours truly takes on the case
in a way if you watched the movie you’ll
see everything I’m talking about today
you’ll see what I mean about taking risk
or being willing to fail because taking
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’s very very very slowly begins to
overcome his fears and I feel 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 out of commencement
at one of the best country vesica
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 you 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 give
everything you’ve got and when you fall
throughout life and remember this fall
forward
you
