香港中文大学硕士毕业典礼主题演讲（2013年11月23日）

Keynote Speech at CUHK Masters Degree Graduation Ceremony 

November 23, 2013

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Thank you very much for inviting me to this glorious occasion! This brings back some good memories when I was a student, and that’s about two or three decades ago. But today really belongs to the youths. I just want to say: Congratulations! Congratulation on your wonderful achievements, and best wishes to you for a great future with infinite promises and possibilities.

When I walked onto this beautiful campus today, I was honestly more nervous perhaps than many of you. Even though I have been to many conferences and given a few speeches before, but this one felt quite different. Here I’m not addressing to some colleagues or some fellow professionals, but to a bright young crowd that, with your tremendous energy and imagination, are about to make the world a better place.

At this moment, I have some strange thoughts: I wish I could be a famous person, as they often show up at this kind of occasions. In that case, my job would be much easier. Maybe I just have to say, I was born poor and did average in school, but with a lot of hard work and some stroke of luck, I made it. End of the story. Sometimes, famous people don’t have to say anything fascinating to make a fascinating speech. That’s a privilege.

Once I went to a motivational speech by a famous general. He spoke with such eloquence and confidence. His resounding tone not only attracted, but also commanded your attention. It was a great speech, which still resonates after all these years. Even though I can’t remember now what he exactly said on that day, but that didn't matter. Sometimes what you felt was more important than what you heard. To make that happen is a gift.

I admire them, I particularly admire their sense of confidence and certainty. They have earned it.

But I’m not. I’m just an ordinary person who lives an ordinary life. Every morning I wake up, I feel a sense of uncertainty. That’s the reality I’m in, that’s in my job description. Maybe some of you would come across similar feelings tomorrow or the day after, as you begin a new chapter of your life. Hopefully, you will soon realize, as I did many years ago, that the only certainty in life is uncertainty. So let’s just get on with it.

Life perhaps used to be simpler. When I got into a decent college in China, friends and neighbors all came to say: your future is all set, nice and secure, with nothing to worry about from now on. It might be true, but is that a good thing? Now the answer is probably no, because your life had been decided by many others but yourself.

Since then, the world has changed dramatically. Thanks to the advances in technology and globalization, the life that used to be plain and simple has become vibrant and complicated. The decision that used to be easy and straightforward has become difficult and uncertain. More opportunities bring forth more responsibilities, and therefore perhaps more joy and agonies. I’m fully convinced that the single biggest challenge in your life later on is to cope with these rising uncertainties, and to make right decisions at right time.

Well, that’s easier said than done. Every missed opportunity will cause painful regrets, every seized opportunity may lead to more risks down the road, and even failures. Decision is hard to make mainly because failures are so hard to take.

Many of us can manage success, but fewer can handle failures. Therefore, the ability to overcome failures is a more valuable asset, because it can only be acquired through experiences in life. Hence, as we embrace our success, let’s embrace our failures as well. And this is not just for our graduating students, but also for our caring teachers and loving parents.

Among my old classmates, the best and the brightest mostly have done well, but with their fair share of trials and errors. But interestingly, some, who didn’t necessarily do well in school, also succeeded later on. Surprised? Not necessarily. Earlier stumbles may have provided the best preparations for future adversities. Even if some of you may have taken a detour in the past few years, tomorrow is a new day, and a new beginning. As they say, life is a marathon. It’s tenacity, more than anything else, that will carry you to the finishing line.

Talking about tenacity, I want to mention someone I was privileged to know. His name is Cyril Ramaphosa. I met him a number of times, including three times in Johannesburg. He was born into a black family in South Africa, and studied law at a young age. Soon after, he became an activist in social movements and workers unions. Eventually Cyril was elected the Secretary General of the African National Congress party, or ANC, and also became the chief negotiator to end apartheid against P.W.Botha’s government. Then, at the peak of his career, Cyril left politics and became a successful businessman. But politics never left him. In last December, Cyril was elected again to be the deputy president of ANC, that will pave way for him to be the Vice President of the country next year. 

Obviously, this gentleman is no Mother Theresa. Let’s face it, in politics and in business, you have to be tough and resilient, or perhaps even shrewd and calculated. But this is not what I admire him for. What I admire Cyril most for is his perseverance over enormous adversities. In fighting against apartheid and other injustices, Cyril in fact was jailed three times, at an age not much older than many of you. But each time, the harshness and cruelty made him tougher and stronger, and left him with a greater sense of mission and responsibility. In the end, he persevered and succeeded, not just for himself, but for the destiny of his beloved country. The world knows Nelson Mandela, but Nelson Mandela couldn’t do it without many like Cyril Ramaphosa.

My dear graduates, your school years have ended, and a brand new chapter is about to begin. In school, you learned to think and reason, you discovered the beauty in arts and sciences. But in life, you will discover something much more precious, that is, yourself. Nothing is more rewarding than new discoveries In You, whether it’s some sweetness in emotion, or some flash of ingenuity, or some high calling from the bottom of your heart. Should that occur some day, my dear young friends, please, please, go for it!

Thank you very much!

Note: . Mr. Ramaphosa is the current President of South Africa.

. 在此是一份录音备存，与现场录像个别处有差别。