Denzel Washington· Soundbite0:00
I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Nothing. Nelson Mandela said, "There is no passion to be found playing small and settling for a life that's less than the one you're capable of living." Now, I'm sure in your experiences in school, and applying to college, and picking your major, and deciding what you wanna do with life, I'm sure people have told you to make sure you have something to fall back on. "Make sure you got something to fall back on, honey." But I never understood that concept, having something to fall back on. If I'm going to fall, I don't wanna fall back on anything except my faith. I wanna fall forward. I figure at least this way I'll see what I'm going to hit. 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 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. The perfect role for me, I thought, except for the fact that I can't sing. But I continued to fail, and fail,

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