Larry Ellison's speech at Yale University

hkn

Larry Ellison's speech at Yale University [Copy link]

Yale graduates, I'm sorry if you don't like this opening. I want you to do something for me.
Please - take a good look around, look at the student standing to your left, look at the student standing to your right. Please imagine this: five years from now, ten years from now, or thirty years from now, the person standing to your left today will be a loser; the person standing to your right, too, will be a loser. And you, the guy in the middle, what do you think will happen? A loser. A failed experience. A failed overachiever.
To be honest, I don't see the bright futures of a thousand graduates standing here today. I don't see a thousand outstanding leaders in a thousand industries. I only see a thousand losers. You are understandably frustrated. Why would I, Ellison, a dropout, spread heresy so brazenly in the most prestigious university in the United States?
I'll tell you why. Because I, Ellison, the second richest man on the planet, am a dropout, and you are not. Because Bill Gates, the richest man on the planet -- for now -- is a dropout, and you're not. Because Allen, the third richest man on the planet, also dropped out, and you didn't. Just to give you a little more evidence, because Dell, the ninth richest man on the planet -- and he's rising in the rankings, is also a dropout. And you, aren't. ...
You're very frustrated, and understandably so. You're going to need these useful work habits in the future. You're going to need this "therapy" in the future. You need them, because you didn't drop out, so you're never going to be the richest man in the world. Oh, sure, you can, maybe, work your way up to number 10, 11, like Steve. But I didn't tell you who he was working for, did I? For the record, he dropped out of graduate school, and he was a little late to enlightenment.
Right now, I guess many of you, maybe most of you, are wondering, "What can I do? Is there any future for me?" Of course not. It's too late, you've absorbed too much, you think you know too much. You're not 19 anymore. You have built-in hats, and I don't mean the mortarboards on your heads.
Well... you're already pretty frustrated. Understandably so. So now might be the time to get down to business - and not for you, the Class of 2000. You've been written off. I guess you're just going to sneak off to your miserable $200,000-a-year job where your paycheck is signed by your classmate who dropped out two years ago.
In fact, I'm pinning my hopes on the students who haven't graduated yet. I'm saying to them, get out of here. Pack up your stuff, take your ideas, and don't come back. Drop out and get started.
I'm telling you, a hat and gown are bound to get you down... just as bound to get me off this stage as these security guards are about to... (At this point, Larry Ellison is being escorted off the stage)

Note: Larry Ellison is the founder of Oracle Software Corporation and is currently worth $26 billion.

mdreamj

"I am pinning my hopes on the students who have not yet graduated. I want to tell them to leave here. Pack up your things, take your ideas with you, and don't come back. Drop out and take action." I am afraid that it will take a very long time for us to choose to leave in China. But as he said, we have really reached the point where "a hat and a graduation gown will inevitably lead to your downfall"!!