It might be short, but it is a wonderful read for recent grads and not-so-recent grads alike!

I didn't know this was a speech by JK Rowling at Harvard's 2008 graduation ceremony when I bought it, but it is POWERFUL. LOVE this woman and even I was moved by these words.

I have listened to this speech over and over. It’s beautiful and powerful.

Use your imagination for empathy.

It's obviously amazing...

"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already"

Tutti abbiamo paura di sbagliare, di non essere abbastanza all'altezza delle aspettative che ci imponiamo e quindi di fallire, ma la scrittrice inglese J.K. Rowling, in un discorso tenuto ad Harvard per i nuovi laureati, diventato successivamente un saggio intitolato “Buona Vita a Tutti”, parla proprio di quanto sia importante fallire nella vita, quasi come un beneficio, per poter crescere ed essere persone migliori, perché dopotutto quando si tocca il fondo si può solo risalire.

Prima di esser diventata una delle scrittrici più famose al mondo, J.K. Rowling racconta di quanto sia stata difficile la sua vita, fatta di povertà, sacrifici e moneti di dolore, ma ciò non l’ha fermata a diventare la persona che è oggi perché:

“Non occorre la magia per trasformare il mondo. Dentro di noi abbiamo già tutto il potere che ci serve: il potere di immaginarlo migliore.”

Un altro importante insegnamento, che la scrittrice ci lascia per essere persone migliori, è quello di cercare sempre di metterci nei panni altrui, perché è un nostro dovere.

Insomma questo piccolo saggio, è un piccolo capolavoro di umanità, da tenere sempre vicino sul comodino per quando ci sentiamo giù. L’importante non è di quanto possa essere lunga la vita, ma che sia buona.

“Auguro buona vita a tutti.”

Buona Lettura,

Vavi Verlaine

A very positive little book that reminds us to be bold and be the change we wish to see in the world.

I read this and watched the video of her giving the speech and all I can say is this woman can write! She is outstanding!

Short (obviously), but powerful.

I loved Rowling's emphasis on failure, because -- let's be real, it's a part of life. And often some of the best things IN life come because of an epic failure where you had to pick yourself back up and figure things out all over again.

I also loved that her emphasis on imagination had a different spin on it than you'd expect -- the way she focused on the unique human ability to imagine lives and experiences outside of their own direct experience. The human ability for empathy is a sign of our imagination, and I loved that.

Towards the end of her speech, she shared a quote from Plutarch:

"What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality"

.

I just found that so powerful for some reason. This idea that as we work on and better ourselves (or don't I suppose), that affects other people in the world around us. The thing we learn and take with us, the ways we grow - they impact other lives, and the world we live in. We are not just individuals, drifting along in the sea, but rather in this life together, constantly impacting one another and the greater world.

As a side note as I end this review, I have to say -- I do love that they've started publishing some of these particularly powerful or famous keynotes as individual books. I know they're short, but they're also often so resonant to more than just the "20xx" graduating class of . It's nice to have them out in the world, with some fancy fonts and artwork, so the rest of us plebes can enjoy them.

I enjoyed Rowling's message and I would of enjoyed watching her speech. There was nothing new or revolutionary but it was certainly a nice read.

A very, very inspirational read! I have seen bits and pieces of this speech on the internet, but this is the first time I've read the whole thing and I loved it! The design of the book is simple and readable too.