Will Ferrells 2017 Commencement Speech (Video) - The Muse

Will Ferrells 2017 Commencement Speech (Video) - The MuseWill Ferrells 2017 Commencement Speech (Video) You may or may not have heard that Will Ferrell belted out Whitney Houstons I Will Always Love You at USCs recent commencement ceremony. But before he started singing, Ferrell, a USC alumnus himself, had a lot of wisdom to impart on the class of 2017.When he was first starting out as a comedian, not everyone thought he was funny. While some jokes were a huge hit, he faced plenty of criticism both when he first began doing stand-up, and when he eventually joined the cast of SNL. Journalists wrote horrible reviews, fans sent in insulting letters, and yet Ferrell didnt stop- because no matter how hard it was to face rejection, failure, and worst of all, his fears, he knew he had to keep goingAnd yes, I was afraid. Youre never not afraid. Im still afraid. I was afraid to write this speechBut my fear of failure never approached in magnitude my fear of what if. What if I never tried at a ll?His honesty hits home for everyone. Well always be afraid of taking risks- quitting a horrible job, leaping into a new career, moving to a new city- and that doesnt go away (even for celebrities). You just have to keep moving forward.And thats what Ferrell did. He ignored the bad reviews and instead focused on the next joke, the next script, the next step in his career. And thats how he ended up where he is today.So when there are family members telling you you cant do it, friends doubting you have what it takes, bosses holding you back, dont give up. Because fear and failure arent always warnings youre going the wrong way- rather, theyre signs youre on your way to success.If youre now in the mood to watch even more inspirational speeches, check outHoward Schultz on three questions to ask to get ahead in his 2017 speech at Arizona State UniversityBarack Obama on finding your passion and putting it into action at Howard University in 2016Sheryl Sandberg at UC Berkeley in 2016 disc ussing the power of resilience