Henry Winkler (00:00):
Thank you. Okay. I have so many things I want to say and so little time to say it, but in the words of Meyer Angelou, "They gave me 10 minutes. I decided to take 15." I'm going to tell you a little bit about my life and what I've learned and maybe you can identify.
(00:37)
First, I'm going to talk to the parents. You may experience this. Our youngest son finished high school. He said, "Wow, I am exhausted. I don't think I'm going to go to college." I said, "But you know what? I think you better go to college. Maybe you can learn about yourself. Maybe you can find some friends. Maybe you can learn about what you want to do." He said, "God will provide." So he went to college and he graduated and then he said, "You know, I'm not going to get a job." I said, "Oh my goodness, I think you better get a job. You might meet somebody. You need a nest egg. You might want to get a house." He said, "God will provide." He got a job. He said, "You know, I'm only going to go in three days a week." I mean, it's hard. I said, "But you know what? They're going to fire you. They're going to think that you're not interested. It doesn't show leadership." He said, "God will provide." I know two things about our son. He's a slacker and he thinks I'm God.
(01:49)
I grew up in New York City. I had very, very, very short German parents. I wanted to be an actor. My father wanted me to take over the lumber business that he brought from Europe. I said, "I'm not interested in wood." He said, "Why do you think I brought it over here?" I said, "Besides being chased by the Nazis, Dad, was there a bigger reason than that?" The only wood I was interested in was Hollywood, but I was told that I would never achieve. I am in the bottom 3% academically in America. Everything except for lunch was difficult. The headmaster of my high school said, "Winkler, I want to know why you're not achieving." I said, "Hey, that makes two of us."
(02:52)
I took geometry for four years, same course. I took it in regular school, summer school, regular school, summer school, regular school, summer school, regular school, summer school. I finally passed it in August of 1963 with a D minus. If I didn't get that D minus, I could not come to the one college that said yes of the 28 I applied to, Emerson. I love Emerson. They took me in and they nurtured me and it was only one block at that time. It was Beacon Street at that time.
(03:40)
When I was growing up, my life was like a cylinder of stainless steel, no handholds, no footholds, and I kept trying to pull myself up into the sun and I kept failing at everything. And finally, finally, I pulled myself up into the sun and I started to get work in commercials. And of course my parents were not happy with me at all. I embarrassed them, but I had a dream and I never let that dream out of my mind.
(04:16)
I live by two words, tenacity and gratitude. Tenacity will get you where you want to go and gratitude will make you enjoy the journey no matter how bumpy. Here it is. No matter whether you procrastinated or you got your assignment done immediately as it came tumbling out of your professor's mouth, whether it's hard to learn or you are the top of your class, you're all here in your seats.
(04:55)
So I go to Hollywood and I have long hair down to my shoulders and I go to Paramount Studios and I try out for a new show and I walk in and there's the producer, Gary Marshall, and 11 other men and women in that room. And I said, "Okay, honesty is the best policy. This sweat stain that looks like the Hudson River under my shirt is due to my fear that is running through my body." I had six lines. I went, "Hey, don't look at me like that." I threw the script up in the air and I sauntered out of that room.
(05:33)
On my birthday, 1973, they called me and said, "Would you like to join us?" I said, "Yes. Yes, I would." So I go to the studio. I go to Paramount Studios on the first day and there it says in the script, "Go to the mirror, comb your hair." I said, "I don't want to comb my hair. I want to be original. Every actor has combed their hair. Do anything, write anything. I will do it." They said, "Oh, the producer wrote go to the mirror, comb your hair." I go to the mirror, I pull out my comb, go, "Hey, look at that. I don't have to because it's perfect."
(06:14)
So here's the lesson. This is the lesson I learned. You are not hired no matter what you do to fill time and space. You are hired to fill that time and space with your imagination. You listen to your tummy. Your tummy knows everything. Your mind only knows a few things. You listen to your tummy. Okay. You're thinking, "All right, I'm going to graduate from college. Outside those walls, it's really tough. It is scary. I might be prepared." Some of you might not be prepared, but here it is. You're going to find out that you can do it, that it is no secret out there. All it is you and your wonderful intellect and your tummy and you will do what you have to do.
(07:09)
And then I will tell you something else. It was said in Washington not too long ago, "America, the problem with America, we have too much empathy." Well, you can live a life, you can accomplish, you can accumulate a lot of stuff, you can fill your house and then fill your garage and fill your basement, but you cannot live a rich life if you don't have empathy.
(07:36)
I will end with this. Every one of you is powerful. Some of you know your power. Some of you are scared of your power. Some of you haven't touched it yet. You're not aware it's even there yet. And I want to tell you, you are powerful and in you is a great gift and your job is to figure out what your gift is because this world needs every single one of you and your job is to find that gift and give it to the world. It doesn't matter what it is. We need it. Go. Thank you. Thank you.