“You are certain to change with time and there’s a chance your bliss may evolve too. Not to worry: The skills you acquire can always be effectively redeployed.”
— Tom Freston, the former Viacom whose commencement speech we’ve run in three parts since Wednesday.
As we said, except for Apple’s Steve Jobs’ extraordinary speech to Stanford grads in 2005, Freston’s talk — which he delivered at his son Andrew’s graduation from Emerson in 2007, less than a year after Sumner Redstone fired him — is one of our all-time favorites. The speech hasn’t been circulated until now.
If you haven’t read it this week on Postcards, do check it out. In Part One, Freston sets up his life lessons by talking about his remarkable career. In Part Two, he talks about chasing your bliss and bouncing back from setbacks. Part Three is about getting a grip on the world and being curious — and staying young, no matter your age. The life and career lessons from Freston — who has moved on to work with Oprah and Bono and travel the globe — are timely today, when most of us are asking: “Am I in the right job for me, and what else might I do?”
By the way, what’s your favorite commencement speech? Let us know! — Pattie Sellers