#3 Key Lessons New Grads can Learn from Mark Zuckerberg's Speech The Facebook founder told the graduates to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
By Nidhi Singh
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"We all know we don't succeed just by having a good idea or working hard. We succeed by being lucky too." said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, during his commencement speech delivered at Harvard University after receiving an honorary doctorate degree. The 33-year-old billionaire dropped out of Harvard in his sophomore year to complete his project.
In his 30 minute long commencement speech, Zuckerberg touched on various subjects like entrepreneurship culture, universal basic income, income inequality and a sense of purpose.
Create A Sense of Purpose for Others:
The Facebook founder told the graduates to create a world where everyone has a sense of purpose.
"We can all make time to give someone a hand. Let's give everyone the freedom to pursue their purpose -- not only because it's the right thing to do, but because when more people can turn their dreams into something great, we're all better for it," he said.
He further added that purpose doesn't only come from work. The third way we can create a sense of purpose for everyone is by building community. And when our generation says "everyone", we mean everyone in the world.
The Greatest Successes Come From Having The Freedom To Fail :
Recalling his initial days, he said that many of our parents had stable jobs throughout their careers. Now we're all entrepreneurial, whether we're starting projects or finding or role. And that's great. He emphasized that our culture of entrepreneurship is how we create so much progress.
"An entrepreneurial culture thrives when it's easy to try lots of new ideas. Facebook wasn't the first thing I built. I also built games, chat systems, study tools and music players. I'm not alone. JK Rowling got rejected 12 times before publishing Harry Potter. Even Beyonce had to make hundreds of songs to get Halo. The greatest successes come from having the freedom to fail," he explained.
We Don't Succeed Just By Having A Good Idea Or Working Hard :
On the topic of wealth inequality, Zuckerberg told the graduates that we have a level of wealth inequality that hurts everyone. He stated that because of wealth inequality, entrepreneurs lose out the freedom to turn their idea into a historic enterprise.
"Look, I know a lot of entrepreneurs, and I don't know a single person who gave up on starting a business because they might not make enough money. But I know lots of people who haven't pursued dreams because they didn't have a cushion to fall back on if they failed," he said.
Zuckerbeg noted that one doesn't succeed just by having a good idea or working hard. Success can be attained by being lucky too.
"If I had to support my family growing up instead of having time to code, if I didn't know I'd be fine if Facebook didn't work out, I wouldn't be standing here today. If we're honest, we all know how much luck we've had," he added.
