A Magical Inspiration

Today my blog post is all about business storytelling. I have decided to focus my post on a speaker who has inspired me throughout my life. As the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling has been an active influencer on the world for the past two decades. She not only inspires me to fulfill my dreams but also motivates me to do better in life.

In 2008, J.K. Rowling gave the commencement speech for the graduates of Harvard University. After watching her speech I immediately became overwhelmed with inspiration. Rowling’s particular style of presenting is amazing to watch. She dives into a poised storytelling method full of detailed sentences, which truly paints a picture of her life.

Rowling’s begins the speech with a comedic tactic that allows the audience to see past her celebrity status and see her as a real human being. Throughout the speech she mentions two pieces of advice, failure and imagination. Rowling’s elaborates on these ideas by telling stories of her experiences. As she describes each, I began to connect emotionally to her past and how she was able to overcome struggle. In particular, Rowling’s mentions that her biggest fear when leaving college was failing. Seven years after graduation her biggest fear came true, and she ended up failing on her marriage, career, and finances. It wasn’t until after she failed that she realized she needed to pursue what made her happy, Harry Potter. After a long road, she succeeded and now she is one of the most successful women in the world (oh and a BILLIONAIRE).

J.K. Rowling’s life is the age-old story of the underdog making anything possible. Business CAN come from a single dream. I’ve been able to take from her speech and apply it to my own ideas. Rowling’s is definitely someone I aspire to be. I admire her strength, success, and overall grace when speaking.

Another great commencement I stumbled upon is by Amy Poehler. Check it out here! I won’t go over it too much, but it’s hilarious and a fun watch! Her style is completely different from Rowling’s but still inspiring. Poehler’s speech energized me to keep a light-hearted attitude with whatever you set out to accomplish.