1、奥普拉在斯坦福大学 2008 毕业典礼上的演讲美国著名的脱口秀主持人。其主持和制作的节目奥普拉脱口秀（The Oprah Winfrey Show，又译作奥普拉温芙瑞秀、奥普拉秀、欧普拉温芙瑞秀、欧普拉秀等），是美国历史上收视率最高的脱口秀节目。同时，它也是美国历史上播映时间最长的日间电视脱口秀节目。从 1986 年 12月 8 日至今，这个节目已经走过了 20 多个年头，播放了多达 3000 多集。北京时间 2009 年 11 月 20 日，据国外媒体报道，在播出了 23 年之后，奥普拉脱口秀将于 2011 年 9 月 9 日结束引。Thank you, President Hennessy
2、, and to thetrustees and the faculty, to all of the parents and grandparents, to you, the Stanford graduates. Thank you for letting me share this amazing day with you.Hennessy 校长，全体教员，家长，还有斯坦福的毕业生门，非常感谢你们。感谢你们让我和你们分享这美好的一天。I need to begin by letting everyone in on a little secret. The secret is that
3、 Kirby Bumpus, Stanford Class of 08, is my goddaughter. So, I was thrilled when President Hennessy asked me to be your Commencement speaker, because this is the first time Ive been allowed on campus since Kirbys been here.我决定透漏一个小秘密给大家来作为这次演讲的开始。这个秘密就是 Kirby Bumpus，斯坦福 2008 年的毕业生，是我的义女。所以当 Hennessy
4、校长让我来做演讲时，我受宠若惊，因为自从 Kirby 来这上学以来，这是我第一次被允许到斯坦福来。You see, Kirbys a very smart girl. She wants people to get to know her on her own terms, she says. Not in terms of who she knows. So, she never wants anyone whos first meeting her to know that I know her and she knows me. So, when she first came to St
5、anford for new student orientation with her mom, I hear that they arrived and everybody was so welcoming, and somebody came up to Kirby and they said, “Ohmigod, thats Gayle King!“ Because a lot of people know Gayle King as my BFF best friend forever.正如你们知道的那样 Kirby 是一个非常聪明的女孩。她说，她希望大家通过她自己的努力了解她，而不是
6、她认识谁。因此她从来不希望每一个第一次见到她的人知道她认识我。当她和她妈妈第一次来到斯坦福参加开学典礼时，我听说每个人都十分热情。他们说：“我的天啊，那是 Gayle King”。因为很多人都知道 Gayle King 是我最好的朋友。And so somebody comes up to Kirby, and they say, “Ohmigod, is that Gayle King?“ And Kirbys like, “Uh-huh. Shes my mom.“And so the person says, “Ohmigod, does it mean, like, you know
7、Oprah Winfrey?“And Kirby says, “Sort of.“有些人走到 Kirby 面前，对 Kirby 说：“我的天啊，那是 Gayle King 吗？”Kirby 说：“嗯，她是我妈妈。”然后人们说：“我的天啊，难道说，你认识Oprah Winfrey。”Kirby 说：“有点吧。”I said, “Sort of? You sort of know me?“ Well, I have photographic proof. I have pictures which I can e-mail to you all of Kirby riding horsey wit
8、h me on all fours. So, I more than sort-of know Kirby Bumpus. And Im so happy to be here, just happy that I finally, after four years, get to see her room. Theres really nowhere else Id rather be, because Im so proud of Kirby, who graduates today with two degrees, one in human bio and the other in p
9、sychology. Love you, Kirby Cakes! Thats how well I know her. I can call her Cakes.我说：“有一点。你有一点认识我”。我还有照片为证。我可以把 Kirby 和我骑马时的照片 e-mail 给你们。因此我不仅仅只是有点认识 Kirby Bumpus。我非常高兴来到这里，因为四年来我第一次来到她的寝室。我为 Kirby 感到自豪，因为她获得了人类生物学和心理学的双学位。这就是我多么的了解她。我可以叫她 Cakes。And so proud of her mother and father, who helped her
10、 get through this time, and her brother, Will. I really had nothing to do with her graduating from Stanford, but every time anybodys asked me in the past couple of weeks what I was doing, I would say, “Im getting ready to go to Stanford.“我为她的父母感到骄傲，她的父母给了她很大帮助，还有她的哥哥 Will。我对Kirby 大学四年真的没有什么帮助。但是在过去的
11、几周里，每当人们问我在做什么时，我都会说：“我正准备去斯坦福”I just love saying “Stanford.“ Because the truth is, I know I would have never gotten my degree at all, cause I didnt go to Stanford. I went to Tennessee State University. But I never would have gotten my diploma at all, because I was supposed to graduate back in 1975,
12、 but I was short one credit. And I figured, Im just going to forget it, cause, you know, Im not going to march with my class. Because by that point, I was already on television. Id been in television since I was 19 and a sophomore. Granted, I was the only television anchor person that had an 11 oclo
13、ck curfew doing the 10 oclock news.我就是喜欢这样说 Stanford（用一种奇怪的语调）。因为这是真的，我知道根本不会拿到我的学位，因为我没有去斯坦福念书。我去了 Tennessee 州立大学。但是我本来不会拿到我的毕业证，因为我本应该在 1975 年毕业，但是我少了一个学分。我认为我还是会忘了这件事。你们知道，我不会比得上我的同班同学。因为我已经上了电视。我在 19 岁还是大学二年级的时候就已经上了电视。我是唯一一个电视节目主持人，虽然有 11 点的宵禁，却做着 10 点钟的新闻。Seriously, my dad was like, “Well, tha
14、t news is over at 10:30. Be home by 11.“But that didnt matter to me, because I was earning a living. I was on my way. So, I thought, Im going to let this college thing go and I only had one credit short. But, my father, from that time on and for years after, was always on my case, because I did not
15、graduate. Hed say, “Oprah Gail“thats my middle name“I dont know what youre gonna do without that degree.“ And Id say, “But, Dad, I have my own television show.“严肃地说，我爸爸告诉我，“好吧，新闻 10：30 结束。11 点之前到家。”但是这对我并不重要，因为我已经自食其力了。我在走我自己的路。所以我想，我不能让关于我大学的那件事就这么过去，我还少一个学分。但是我的父亲从那时起却成了问题。由于我没有毕业，他总是说：“Oprah Gail
16、（我的中间名字），我不知道没有学位你能做些什么。”然后我说：“但是，爸爸，我已经有我自己的电视节目啦。”And hed say, “Well, I still dont know what youre going to do without that degree.“And Id say, “But, Dad, now Im a talk show host.“ Hed say, “I dont know how youre going to get another job without that degree.“他说：“好吧，但是我还是不知道没有那个学位你能干什么。”我说：“但是，爸爸，现
17、在我已经是脱口秀的主持人了”。他还是说：“我不知道没有那个学位你怎么去找其他的工作。”So, in 1987, Tennessee State University invited me back to speak at their commencement. By then, I had my own show, was nationally syndicated. Id made a movie, had been nominated for an Oscar and founded my company, Harpo. But I told them, I cannot come and
18、 give a speech unless I can earn one more credit, because my dads still saying Im not going to get anywhere without that degree.在 1987 年，Tennessee 州立大学邀请我回去做他们的毕业典礼演讲。在那时，我已经有了自己的电视节目，并加入了国家联合会。我制作了一部电影，并被奥斯卡提名，而且成立了我自己的公司 Harpo。可我告诉他们，我不能去演讲除非我得到那一个学分，因为我爸爸总是说没了那学位我将一事无成。So, I finished my coursewor
19、k, I turned in my final paper and I got the degree.And my dad was very proud. And I know that, if anything happens, that one credit will be my salvation.因此，我完成了我的课程，上交了我的毕业论文，然后拿到了学位。我的爸爸非常的骄傲。从此我知道，无论什么事发生，那一个学分是我的救世主But I also know why my dad was insisting on that diploma, because, as B. B. King p
20、ut it, “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take that away from you.“ And learning is really in the broadest sense what I want to talk about today, because your education, of course, isnt ending here. In many ways, its only just begun.但是我知道为什么我爸爸总是坚持让我获得文凭，因为，正如 B. B. King 所说：“关于学习
21、的美好在于别人不会把知识从你身上拿走”学习正是我今天想说的，因为你们的教育并没有在这里结束。在很多情况下，这才是刚刚开使。The world has so many lessons to teach you. I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school and our life the classrooms. And sometimes here in this Planet Earth school the lessons often come dressed up as detours or roadblocks. And s
22、ometimes as full-blown crises. And the secret Ive learned to getting ahead is being open to the lessons, lessons from the grandest university of all, that is, the universe itself.这个世界将会教会你们很多。我认为这个世界，这个地球，就像一个学校和我们人生的教室。有时这些课程会是弯路和障碍。有时会充满危机。我所学的应付这一切的秘密就是去勇于面对，正如我们面对大学课程一样。Its being able to walk th
23、rough life eager and open to self-improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve, cause thats really why were here, to evolve as human beings. To grow into more of ourselves, always moving to the next level of understanding, the next level of compassion and growth.我们能够充满激情的去生活和自我提高，这就是我
24、们存在的意义。不断自我提高，去追求人生的更高境界，去追求更高级别的怜悯和自我提高。I think about one of the greatest compliments Ive ever received: I interviewed with a reporter when I was first starting out in Chicago. And then many years later, I saw the same reporter. And she said to me, “You know what? You really havent changed. Youve j
25、ust become more of yourself.“我记得我所受到的最大的赞扬就是当我刚刚在芝加哥开始工作时，我采访了一个记者。很多年以后我们又见面了。她对我说：“你知道吗？你一点也没有变。你变得更为自我了。”And that is really what were all trying to do, become more of ourselves. And I believe that theres a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how
26、 you move forward. Its how you enrich your spirit. And, trust me, I know that inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain.这就是我们一直努力在做的，去做我们自己。我坚信你们会从每一件做过的事上学到经验，这样你们就会取得进步。这样你们丰富了心灵。相信我，内在的智慧比外在的财富更加珍贵。你越是使用它，你就得到更多。So, today, I just want to share a few lesso
27、nsmeaning threethat Ive learned in my journey so far. And arent you glad? Dont you hate it when somebody says, “Im going to share a few,“ and its 10 lessons later? And, youre like, “Listen, this is my graduation. This is not about you.“ So, its only going to be three.今天我想和大家分享我人生的三个经验。你们难道不觉得高兴吗？你们是
28、否会反感，当有人对你说：“我想分享一些”但事实上却是 10 个经验。你们肯定在想：“听着，这是我的毕业典礼，不是你的”。因此这里只有三个经验我想和大家分享。The three lessons that have had the greatest impact on my life have to do with feelings, with failure and with finding happiness.这三个经验对我的人生产生了很大影响，它们是关于感情，失败和追求幸福。A year after I left college, I was given the opportunity to
29、 co-anchor the 6 oclock news in Baltimore, because the whole goal in the media at the time I was coming up was you try to move to larger markets. And Baltimore was a much larger market than Nashville. So, getting the 6 oclock news co-anchor job at 22 was such a big deal. It felt like the biggest dea
30、l in the world at the time.当我离开大学一年后，在 Baltimore 我得到了一个共同主持 6 点新闻的机会。在那时媒体界的最大目标就是获得更大的市场，而 Baltimore 是一个比Nashville 大得多的市场，因此在 22 岁时得到这个机会对我来说非常重要。它那时对我来说它仿佛是世界上最重要的事。And I was so proud, because I was finally going to have my chance to be like Barbara Walters, which is who I had been trying to emula
31、te since the start of my TV career. So, I was 22 years old, making $22,000 a year. And its where I met my best friend, Gayle, who was an intern at the same TV station. And once we became friends, wed say, “Ohmigod, I cant believe it! Youre making $22,000 and youre only 22. Imagine when youre 40 and
32、youre making $40,000!“我非常自豪，因为我终于有机会去效法 barbara Walters。而她正是我从业以来一直效法的对象。那时我 22 岁，每年挣 22,000 美元。我遇到了在电视台做实习生的 Gayle，我们立刻成了好朋友。我们说：“我的天啊，真难以置信。你在 22 岁时挣每年能挣 22,000 美元。想象一下吧，当你 40 岁时你每年就会挣40,000 美元”When I turned 40, I was so glad that didnt happen.当我真的 40 岁时，我很高兴这并没有成真。So, here I am, 22, making $22,00
33、0 a year and, yet, it didnt feel right. It didnt feel right. The first sign, as President Hennessy was saying, was when they tried to change my name. The news director said to me at the time, “Nobodys going to remember Oprah. So, we want to change your name. Weve come up with a name we think that pe
34、ople will remember and people will like. Its a friendly name: Suzie.“这就是我，22 岁时每年挣 22,000 美元，然而，这种感觉并不好。首先，正如Hennessy 校长所说，当他们试图让我改名字。那时导演对我说：“没人会记住Oprah 这个名字。因此我们想让你改名字。我们已经为你想了一个大家都会记住和喜欢的名字Suzie。”Hi, Suzie. Very friendly. You cant be angry with Suzie. Remember Suzie. But my name wasnt Suzie. And,
35、 you know, Id grown up not really loving my name, because when youre looking for your little name on the lunch boxes and the license plate tags, youre never going to find Oprah.Suzie，一个很友善的名字。你不会厌恶 Suzie。记住 Suzie 吧。但是我的名字不是 Suzie。你们可以看到，自小我就不怎么喜欢我的名字。因为当你在午餐箱和牌号寻找你的名字时，你永远也不会找 Oprah。So, I grew up no
36、t loving the name, but once I was asked to change it, I thought, well, it is my name and do I look like a Suzie to you? So, I thought, no, it doesnt feel right. Im not going to change my name. And if people remember it or not, thats OK.我从小就不怎么喜欢我的名字，但是当我被告知去改名字时，我想，好吧，那时我的名字，但是 Suzie 真的适合我吗？因此我想，它并不
37、适合我。我不会改我的名字。我也不介意人们是否记得住我的名字，这没什么大不了的。And then they said they didnt like the way I looked. This was in 1976, when your boss could call you in and say, “I dont like the way you look.“ Now that would be called a lawsuit, but back then they could just say, “I dont like the way you look.“ Which, in cas
38、e some of you in the back, if you cant tell, is nothing like Barbara Walters. So, they sent me to a salon where they gave me a perm, and after a few days all my hair fell out and I had to shave my head. And then they really didnt like the way I looked.Because now I am black and bald and sitting on T
39、V. Not a pretty picture.然后他们还对我说他们不喜欢我的长相。那是在 1976 年，你的老板可以那么说。但是如果是现在的话，那就是一件很严重的事了。可是那时他们还是说：“我不喜欢你的造型。”我根本不像 Barbara Walters。于是他们把我送到沙龙，给我烫了发。可是几天后我的头发一团糟。我不得不剃光我的头发。此时他们更不喜欢我的造型了。因为作为一个光头黑人坐在摄影机前，我肯定不漂亮的。But even worse than being bald, I really hated, hated, hated being sent to report on other p
40、eoples tragedies as a part of my daily duty, knowing that I was just expected to observe, when everything in my instinct told me that I should be doing something, I should be lending a hand.比光头更令我讨厌的是我不得不把播报别人遭受的痛苦作为我的日常工作。我深知我期待去观察，我的内心告诉我，我应该做些什么了。我需要为他人提供帮助。So, as President Hennessy said, Id cove
41、r a fire and then Id go back and Id try to give the victims blankets. And I wouldnt be able to sleep at night because of all the things I was covering during the day.正如 Hennessy 校长所说的那样，我播报了一起火灾，然后应当去给受害者拿毯子。由于白天播报的那些新闻导致我晚上难以入睡。And, meanwhile, I was trying to sit gracefully like Barbara and make my
42、self talk like Barbara. And I thought, well, I could make a pretty goofy Barbara. And if I could figure out how to be myself, I could be a pretty good Oprah. I was trying to sound elegant like Barbara. And sometimes I didnt read my copy, because something inside me said, this should be spontaneous.
43、So, I wanted to get the news as I was giving it to the people. So, sometimes, I wouldnt read my copy and it would be, like, six people on a pileup on I-40. Oh, my goodness.与此同时我尽量表现的优雅一些，使我更像 Barbara。我认为我可能会成为一个傻傻的 Barbara。如果我做回我自己，我就会成为一个很棒的 Oprah。我努力像 Barbara 那样优雅。有时我并不读我的稿件，因为我的内心告诉我这是不自主的。所以我想为大
44、家播报一些我想要的新闻。有时，我不会播报像 6 个人在连环车祸中受伤这类的新闻。哦，我的天啊。And sometimes I wouldnt read the copybecause I wanted to be spontaneousand Id come across a list of words I didnt know and Id mispronounce. And one day I was reading copy and I called Canada “ca nada.“ And I decided, this Barbara things not going too we
45、ll. I should try being myself.有时出于内心的本能，我不会去播报一些新闻。我还会遇到一些不认识的和念错的词。一天当我播新闻时，我把加拿大读错了。我想这样下去学 Barbara 可不大好。我应该做回我自己。But at the same time, my dad was saying, “Oprah Gail, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. You better keep that job.“ And my boss was saying, “This is the nightly news. Youre an ancho
46、r, not a social worker. Just do your job.“但那是我爸爸却对我说：“这是你一生的机会。你最好继续那份工作。”我的老板也说：“这是晚间新闻。你是播报员，不是福利工作者。还是做你的本职工作吧。”So, I was juggling these messages of expectation and obligation and feeling really miserable with myself. Id go home at night and fill up my journals, cause Ive kept a journal since I w
47、as 15so I now have volumes of journals. So, Id go home at night and fill up my journals about how miserable I was and frustrated. Then Id eat my anxiety. Thats where I learned that habit.我歪曲了这些期待和义务，并感觉很糟。晚上回到家后我会记日记。自从 15 岁时我就开始记日记了，于是现在我已经有了好几卷日记。我晚上回到家后，我会记录下我是多么的不幸和沮丧。然后我消除了焦虑。这就是我如何养成了那个习惯。And
48、after eight months, I lost that job. They said I was too emotional. I was too much. But since they didnt want to pay out the contract, they put me on a talk show in Baltimore. And the moment I sat down on that show, the moment I did, I felt like Id come home. I realized that TV could be more than ju
49、st a playground, but a platform for service, for helping other people lift their lives. And the moment I sat down, doing that talk show, it felt like breathing. It felt right. And thats where everything that followed for me began.8 个月后我失去了那份工作。他们说我太情绪化了。但因为他们不想违背合约，他们就让我去 Baltimore 主持一档脱口秀节目。从我开始主持那档节目的一刻开始，我感觉好像回到了家一样。我意识到电视不应该仅仅是一个娱乐场，更应该是一个以服务为目的的平台，以帮助他人更好的生活。当我开始主持节目的时间侯，就像呼吸一样。感觉好极啦。这就是我工作的真正开始。And I got that lesson. When youre doing the work youre mea
