I wanted to delve further into the genuine inspiration I felt from Denzel Washington's commencement speech at Dillard University from 2015 that I briefly mentioned in my first blog. Considering how this past year has been for all of us, it's encouraging to hear Denzel keeping it real and encouraging us to dream big and pursue an authentic and joyful life.
Here's a few gems from his speech that I found to be the most inspiring:
"Don't be afraid to fail."
He encourages his audience to not be afraid to fail while doing what they feel most passionate about. This is what I believe dreaming big is all about and yet, what often looms in our minds is "don't mess this up." The takeaway here is make more mistakes. When we recognize our true passions, and start setting goals to achieve what we desire, things are not going to go perfectly, and we are probably going to make a ton of mistakes. And that's ok. How can we truly know what we want if we don't make some mistakes along the way? Those mistakes help lead us to what we really want, and we also get to check off what we don't want, so it's kind of a win-win situation. I don't believe we are authentically living life to the fullest if we are afraid to make mistakes because we are not allowing the opportunity to learn and grow.
"It's not how much you have, it's what you do with what you have."
Denzel emphasizes that life is more about what we do with what we have and what we can share with others. So, while it's still good to recognize and be grateful for the things we have, he says that "success comes from the joy of helping others." It's all about what we do with our talents to help others. This resonates with me because I am a strong believer that we all have a purpose on this earth to shed some light, and shine some joy. We may not recognize those talents right away, but their roots run deep, and eventually, they sprout up and we are ready to share them with the world (take it from someone who took a long time to figure it out!). He also shares that helping others is the most selfish thing we can do because of the good vibes that come right back to us.
Say thank you in advance for what is already yours
This, to me, is the most profound part of his speech. He starts by saying, "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 while you're down there, say thank you..."
And here's where it gets really goosebump-worthy: He believes, "True desire in the heart for anything good is God's proof to you, sent beforehand, to indicate that it's yours already." While he is bringing in his own faith perspective here, what hits home the most is that he is speaking about the power of manifestation. Those wonderful desires of the heart, those dreams, are already ours. We just have to believe it and then keep moving forward in pursuit of those dreams. And we may even get a few unexpected surprises along the way. I've not only heard amazing stories as proof, but I've even experienced the joy of manifestation in my own life.
I'd love to hear from those of you who have seen your dreams manifested or are just getting the feels that good things are about to manifest in your life. Let me know!
Keep on shining, my friends.
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