11 Inspirational Graduation Speech Quotes

Best words of wisdom to motivate you to move forward.

Wise Words - The best graduation speeches encourage you to reflect on past accomplishments and turn a hopeful eye toward the future. Here, some of the best quotes that will motivate you to move forward — whether your graduation day is a distant memory or coming up soon. By Kenrya Rankin Naasel

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Wise Words - The best graduation speeches encourage you to reflect on past accomplishments and turn a hopeful eye toward the future. Here, some of the best quotes that will motivate you to move forward — whether your graduation day is a distant memory or coming up soon. By Kenrya Rankin Naasel

Michelle Obama @ Dillard University (2014) - “You all have opportunities and skills and education that so many folks who came before you never could have dreamed of. So just imagine the kind of impact that you're going to make. Imagine how you can inspire those around you to reach higher and complete their own education.” (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Michelle Obama @ Dillard University (2014) - “You all have opportunities and skills and education that so many folks who came before you never could have dreamed of. So just imagine the kind of impact that you're going to make. Imagine how you can inspire those around you to reach higher and complete their own education.” (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Shonda Rhimes @ Dartmouth College (2014) - “Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being, or maybe you're paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is. The truth is, it doesn't matter. You don't have to know. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new. It doesn't have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real. Just ... do.” (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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Shonda Rhimes @ Dartmouth College (2014) - “Ditch the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being, or maybe you're paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is. The truth is, it doesn't matter. You don't have to know. You just have to keep moving forward. You just have to keep doing something, seizing the next opportunity, staying open to trying something new. It doesn't have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real. Just ... do.” (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Christian Louboutin @ Fashion Institute of Technology (2014) - “Speak up and take risks. What's the worst that can happen? You'll learn something that you didn't know before. Ask a lot of questions. Don't be afraid. Calmly give your opinions — don't wait to be asked. For me, it wasn't that I was confident; I wasn't. I was just really naive. I never thought it wouldn't work. I still don't think my crazy ideas won't work, and if they don't work, oh well. I'll do something else.” (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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Christian Louboutin @ Fashion Institute of Technology (2014) - “Speak up and take risks. What's the worst that can happen? You'll learn something that you didn't know before. Ask a lot of questions. Don't be afraid. Calmly give your opinions — don't wait to be asked. For me, it wasn't that I was confident; I wasn't. I was just really naive. I never thought it wouldn't work. I still don't think my crazy ideas won't work, and if they don't work, oh well. I'll do something else.” (Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

Wynton Marsalis @ The University of Vermont (2013) - “It’s harder to build than destroy. To build is to engage and change. In jazz, we call progressing harmonies changes. Changes are like obstacles on a speed course. They demand your attention and require you to be present. They are coming...they are here…and then they are gone. It’s how life comes. Each moment is a procession from the future into the past and the sweet spot is always the present. Live in that sweet spot. Be present.” (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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Wynton Marsalis @ The University of Vermont (2013) - “It’s harder to build than destroy. To build is to engage and change. In jazz, we call progressing harmonies changes. Changes are like obstacles on a speed course. They demand your attention and require you to be present. They are coming...they are here…and then they are gone. It’s how life comes. Each moment is a procession from the future into the past and the sweet spot is always the present. Live in that sweet spot. Be present.” (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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President Barack Obama @ Barnard College (2012) - “But how far your leadership takes this country, how far it takes this world — well, that will be up to you. You’ve got to want it. It will not be handed to you…. Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.”  (Photo: EPA/PETER FOLEY /LANDOV)

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President Barack Obama @ Barnard College (2012) - “But how far your leadership takes this country, how far it takes this world — well, that will be up to you. You’ve got to want it. It will not be handed to you…. Don’t just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table.”  (Photo: EPA/PETER FOLEY /LANDOV)

Denzel Washington @ University of Pennsylvania (2011) - “The world needs a lot — and we need it from you, the young people. So get out there. Give it everything you’ve got — whether it’s your time, your talent, your prayers or your treasure. Because remember this: You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. You can’t take it with you. The Ancient Egyptians tried it — and all they got was robbed! So what are you going to do with what you have?” (Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)

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Denzel Washington @ University of Pennsylvania (2011) - “The world needs a lot — and we need it from you, the young people. So get out there. Give it everything you’ve got — whether it’s your time, your talent, your prayers or your treasure. Because remember this: You’ll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. You can’t take it with you. The Ancient Egyptians tried it — and all they got was robbed! So what are you going to do with what you have?” (Photo: Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)

Oprah Winfrey @ Howard University (2007) - “Don't be afraid. All you have to know is who you are because there is no such thing as failure. There is no such thing as failure. What other people label or might try to call failure, I have learned is just God's way of pointing you in a new direction. So it's true. You may take several paths that end up on what might be a dead end for you at the moment, but this is what I also know for sure: You must trust in the words of my favorite Bible verse that says, 'And know that the Lord will lead you to a rock that's higher than thou.' Every one of us has a calling.”  (Photo: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

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Oprah Winfrey @ Howard University (2007) - “Don't be afraid. All you have to know is who you are because there is no such thing as failure. There is no such thing as failure. What other people label or might try to call failure, I have learned is just God's way of pointing you in a new direction. So it's true. You may take several paths that end up on what might be a dead end for you at the moment, but this is what I also know for sure: You must trust in the words of my favorite Bible verse that says, 'And know that the Lord will lead you to a rock that's higher than thou.' Every one of us has a calling.”  (Photo: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

Alice Walker @ Naropa University (2007) - “Be compassionate to everyone. Don’t just search for whatever it is that annoys and frightens you — see beyond those things to the basic human being. Especially see the child in the man or woman. Even if they are destroying you, allow a moment to see how lost in their own delusion and suffering they are.”  (Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images) 

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Alice Walker @ Naropa University (2007) - “Be compassionate to everyone. Don’t just search for whatever it is that annoys and frightens you — see beyond those things to the basic human being. Especially see the child in the man or woman. Even if they are destroying you, allow a moment to see how lost in their own delusion and suffering they are.”  (Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images) 

Whoopi Goldberg @ Montclair State University (2007) - “If you’re willing to stand for what you believe in, you won’t need advice from me, because you will be able to handle whatever comes.” (Photo: Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

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Whoopi Goldberg @ Montclair State University (2007) - “If you’re willing to stand for what you believe in, you won’t need advice from me, because you will be able to handle whatever comes.” (Photo: Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

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Toni Morrison @ Wellesley College (2004) - “You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human without wealth. What it feels like to be human without domination over others, without reckless arrogance, without fear of others unlike you, without rotating, rehearsing and reinventing the hatreds you learned in the sandbox. And although you don't have complete control over the narrative (no author does, I can tell you), you could nevertheless create it…. So, from my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art.”  (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

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Toni Morrison @ Wellesley College (2004) - “You are your own stories and therefore free to imagine and experience what it means to be human without wealth. What it feels like to be human without domination over others, without reckless arrogance, without fear of others unlike you, without rotating, rehearsing and reinventing the hatreds you learned in the sandbox. And although you don't have complete control over the narrative (no author does, I can tell you), you could nevertheless create it…. So, from my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as already artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for you to make it art.”  (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

Maya Angelou @ University of California Riverside (1977) - “I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve.”  (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for AWRT)

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Maya Angelou @ University of California Riverside (1977) - “I encourage you to live with life. Be courageous, adventurous. Give us a tomorrow, more than we deserve.”  (Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for AWRT)