I know you know that， because that’s a lesson that‘s woven into the very fabric of this university. It’s a lesson that Jane and Leland Stanford got and one they‘ve bequeathed to you. Because all of you know the story of how this great school came to be， how the Stanfords lost their only child to typhoid at the age of 15. They had every right and they had every reason to turn their backs against the world at that time， but instead， they channeled their grief and their pain into an act of grace. Within a year of their son’s death， they had made the founding grant for this great school， pledging to do for other people‘s children what they were not able to do for their own boy.
The lesson here is clear， and that is， if you’re hurting， you need to help somebody ease their hurt. If you‘re in pain， help somebody else’s pain. And when you‘re in a mess， you get yourself out of the mess helping somebody out of theirs. And in the process， you get to become a member of what I call the greatest fellowship of all， the sorority of compassion and the fraternity of service.
The Stanfords had suffered the worst thing any mom and dad can ever endure， yet they understood that helping others is the way we help ourselves. And this wisdom is increasingly supported by scientific and sociological research. It’s no longer just woo-woo soft skills talk. There‘s actually a helper’s high， a spiritual surge you gain from serving others. So， if you want to feel good， you have to go out and do some good.
But when you do good， I hope you strive for more than just the goodfeeling that service provides， because I know this for sure， that doing good actually makes you better. So， whatever field you choose， if you operate from the paradigm of service， I know your life will have more value and you will be happy.
I was always happy doing my talk show， but that happiness reached a depth of fulfillment， of joy， that I really can‘t describe to you or measure when I stopped just being on TV and looking at TV as a job and decided to use television， to use it and not have it use me， to use it as a platform to serve my viewers. That alone changed the trajectory of my success.
So， I know this-that whether you’re an actor， you offer your talent in the way that most inspires art. If you‘re an anatomist， you look at your gift as knowledge and service to healing. Whether you’ve been called， as so many of you here today getting doctorates and other degrees， to the professions of business， law， engineering， humanities， science， medicine， if you choose to offer your skills and talent in service， when you choose the paradigm of service， looking at life through that paradigm， it turns everything you do from a job into a gift. And I know you haven‘t spent all this time at Stanford just to go out and get a job.
You’ve been enriched in countless ways. There‘s no better way to make your mark on the world and to share that abundance with others. My constant prayer for myself is to be used in service for the greater good.
So， let me end with one of my favorite quotes from Martin Luther King. Dr. King said，“Not everybody can be famous.”And I don’t know， but everybody today seems to want to be famous.
But fame is a trip. People follow you to the bathroom， listen to you pee. It‘s just-try to pee quietly. It doesn’t matter， they come out and say，“Ohmigod， it‘s you. You peed.”
That’s the fame trip， so I don‘t know if you want that.
So， Dr. King said，“Not everybody can be famous. But everybody can be great， because greatness is determined by service.”Those of you who are history scholars may know the rest of that passage. He said，“You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don‘t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve. You don‘t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don‘t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love.”
In a few moments， you’ll all be officially Stanford‘s ’08. You have the heart and the smarts to go with it. And it‘s up to you to decide， really， where will you now use those gifts？ You’ve got the diploma， so go out and get the lessons， cause I know great things are sure to come.
You know， I‘ve always believed that everything is better when you share it， so before I go， I wanted to share a graduation gift with you. Underneath your seats you’ll find two of my favorite books. Eckhart Tolle‘s A New Earth is my current book club selection. Our New Earth webcast has been downloaded 30 million times with that book. And Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind： Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future has reassured me I‘m in the right direction.
I really wanted to give you cars but I just couldn’t pull that off！ Congratulations， ‘08！ Thank you. Thank you.
汉语回放（王鹏译）
首先感谢亨尼斯校长，感谢所有的教职工，感谢每一位到场的家长，最后，要感谢的是你们，斯坦福大学的毕业生们。感谢你们让我和你们一起分享这美妙的一天！
在演讲的开始我要和大家分享一个小秘密。这个小秘密就是：08届斯坦福大学的毕业生柯比·彭波斯是我的干女儿。所以当亨尼斯校长要求我做你们毕业典礼演讲人时，我非常激动。因为自从柯比进入这里以后，我还是第一次被大学邀请作毕业演讲。
你们知道，柯比是一个非常聪明的女孩。她希望大家通过她自己来认识她，而不是通过她认识的其他人来认识她。所以她从来不想让第一次见到她的人知道她认识我，我认识她。我听说当她第一次和她母亲一起参加斯坦福大学的新生迎新活动的时候，大家对她们的到来表达了极大的热情，甚至有人走向柯比说：“哦，天啊，那是盖莉·金！”因为很多人都知道盖莉·金是我永远的好朋友。
于是更多的人走向柯比说：“我的天，那个是盖莉·金吧？”而柯比就会类似说：“啊……啊，她是我的妈妈。”
于是那个人说道：“我的天，那意思就是说，你认识奥普拉·温弗瑞？”柯比回答：“可能吧。”
我说：“可能？你可能认识我？”好吧，我可是有照片作为证据的。我有柯比与我玩骑马游戏时的照片，这些我都可以用电子邮件发给你们。所以，我可不仅仅是可能认识柯比·彭波斯这么简单。我现在很高兴站在这里，因为在四年以后，我看到了她生活与学习的地方。这真是我最想来到的地方，因为柯比如此让我引以为傲，她以两个学位顺利毕业，一个是人体生物学，另外一个是心理学。爱你，柯比宝贝！我就是这样熟悉她，熟悉到可以叫她宝贝！
我也为她的爸爸妈妈感到自豪，是他们以及柯比弟弟威尔的陪伴使柯比度过了这段时光。我对于柯比从斯坦福毕业这件事真的没有做什么，但是每次有人问我在过去的几周在做什么的时候，我都会说：“我正准备去斯坦福大学。”
我就是喜欢说“斯坦福”。我喜欢说“斯坦福”的原因是，我知道我永远都不可能在这里拿到我的学位，因为我没有进斯坦福大学。我去了田纳西州立大学。我本来应该在1975年毕业的，但由于差一个学分，我知道我永远都不可能拿到我的学位了。但是我认为我会忘记这件事的，因为，你们知道，我和我的同学不一样。那个时候，我已经上了电视，在我19岁大二那年我已经上了电视。诚然，我是唯一一个在11点实行宵禁的那段时间里报道10点新闻的主播。