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"

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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.