10 Motivational Speeches to Keep You Going

“Life itself is a series of challenges, whether large or small. How do we habitually respond to daily life? Do we easily panic and become frantic, or do we stay positive and energetic? Do we make small problems big, or do we make big problems small and dissolve them into nothing? How we face the normal events of each day is generally how we will face the bigger challenges.” – Dr. TRK Facing Life’s Challenges

”Really, when I look back on it, I wouldn’t change a thing. I mean, it was so important for me to lose everything because I found out what the most important thing is … to be true to yourself. Ultimately, that’s what’s gotten me to this place. I don’t live in fear. I’m free. I have no secrets and I know I’ll always be OK, because no matter what, I know who I am.” – Ellen DeGeneres: Tulane University Commencement Speech (2009)

“What I wish for all of you—the bad as well as the good. Fall down. Make a mess. Break something occasionally. Know that your mistakes are your own unique way of getting to where you need to be. And remember that the story is never over….” – Conan O’Brien Harvard University, 2000

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.” -Denzel Washington: “Fall Forward” (2011)

“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.” – Oprah Winfrey Stanford University, 2008

You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing the things that will make you great. You cannot succeed without the risk of failure. You cannot have a voice without the risk of criticism. You cannot love without the risk of loss. You must take these risks.” -Charlie Day: Merrimack College Commencement Speech (2014)

“As you grow, you’ll realize the definition of success changes. For many of you today, success is being able to hold down 20 shots of tequila. For me, the most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity and not to give in to peer pressure to try to be something that you’re not, to live your life as an honest and compassionate person, to contribute in some way. So to conclude my conclusion, follow your passion , stay true to yourself. Never follow anyone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path and by all means you should follow that. Don’t give advice, it will come back and bite you in the ass. Don’t take anyone’s advice. So my advice to you is to be true to yourself and everything will be fine.” – Ellen DeGeneres, 2009 Tulane University

“Most people don’t want to try something new, yet they want to experience change in their fortune, they don’t want to leave their comfort zone yet they want to attain new heights, they only want to work when they feel like it yet they want unlimited access to the good things of life… Unfortunately life rarely works that way” – Selahsomeone 2017
“Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going [after being fired from Apple] was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. 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. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs Stanford University, 2005

“You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.

How?

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be pave.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings!

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. “ – Bryan Dyson, the former CEO of Coca Cola, as a commencement address at Georgia Tech in 1996.