J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series of books, thanked the Class of 2008 graduates at Harvard for helping her to lose weight as she sweated and worked hard to come up with a commencement speech for the 2008 graduating class.

"The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.' Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world's largest Gryffindor reunion." 

And so she began as she described her humble beginnings and how having an imagination helped her reach her goals and fight the demons that fear and failure often bring in her speech titled "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination," at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association. Listen to the speech or watch the video. (photo courtesy of J.K. Rowling).

Links:

Story in Harvard University Gazette online

Audio and Transcript

Video (.mov format)

Try this link for video if the above one doesn't work. 

---

Bookmark this site