高盛集團首席執行官勞爾德-貝蘭克梵在曼哈頓賈維茨中心參加了拉瓜迪亞社區大學的第41屆畢業典禮並發表演講。
麥羅校長，各位尊敬的老師，朋友，家人以及2013年的畢業生們：
我很榮幸能在今天分享你們的成就和榮耀。但是我必須承認，我是帶著一些不安來參加這次活動的。我想，曾經有更多更認真的畢業典禮發言，收到更加用心地傾聽，但是相比其他任何溝通形式，也更加迅速地被遺忘。
所以，我會盡量簡短而實用。我的全部建議都是來自我自己的經曆。而我的經曆，從很多方麵來看，和你們當中的很多並沒有什麽不同。
在我成長的環境中，大學更多是一個美好願望而不是理所當然的事情。我見證我父母大半生的奮鬥，每天僅為了維持生計而努力工作，有時甚至會打消任何他們對我的期望和夢想。他們都沒有上過大學，我唯一的兄長也沒有讀過大學。
我的父親在郵局整理郵件。他選擇夜班工作隻是因為報酬比白班多了10%，我的母親是一個防盜警報公司的接待員——這也是我所在社區為數不多的增長行業之一。我在林登小區長大，你們當中的很多都知道，這是紐約東區的一個住宅項目。
它一直都是一個貧窮的社區，但是也產生了一些有成就的人，有些是因為這一背景而成功，有些是因為克服了這一背景而做出了成績。我在托馬斯-傑斐遜高中畢業，學校在之後關閉了高中部，僅僅提供多種技能培訓項目。直到高中畢業，我一直和我龐大的家庭分享一間小小的公寓，包括了我的奶奶，我的妹妹和我的侄兒。
但是回過頭看看，我是在一個有著無限機遇的世界長大的。我每天晚上都會讀書，閱讀向我展開了整個世界。我喜歡讀曆史，尤其是傳記。在傳記裏麵，你總是能看到一個似乎是無足輕重的人，最終如何擁有與眾不同的人生。
不管是過去還是現在，傳記最吸引我的一點是，書中的人物在自己生命的初期，也就是前五十頁當中，是不會知道他或者是她會在第三百頁的時候取得的成功。他們並不知道將會出現在自己麵前的偉大。
仔細想想這點吧，這是對你們自己未來的生活保持樂觀的一個極好理由。你們所有人都僅僅在自己那本傳記的前五十頁，還有幾百頁的路要走。
在漫長的成長中，我最大的目標就是走出紐約東區。我參加了大學入學試，發誓一定要進大學。我成功了。我去讀大學的時候也是我第一次離開紐約市。
大學是一個令我心生敬畏的地方。其他學生似乎很自然的充滿信心，很多人都曾到處旅行，看起來對這個世界十分了解。直到今天，我還是沒有辦法忘記我當時的不安全感，但是這種感覺讓我更加努力地工作。
當我認識到自己的定位時，我變得更有野心了。野心是你內心的聲音，告訴你可以而且應該努力去超越人生的處境或者是限製。你必須克服障礙，扛住壓力，打消自我懷疑，你能做到這些都是因為你有足夠的野心。
你想要為了你的家人以及你自己而成功，除了通過教育和學習，沒有什麽更強大的力量能做到這一點。
我很自豪的是，拉瓜迪亞社區大學和高盛集團聯手提出了對小企業的支持。通過這個合作，我也看到了多少拉瓜迪亞社區大學的學生在學校，工作和家庭中遊刃有餘。我也看到了這些同學，還有在座的所有人如何不斷勉勵自己，而且持之以恒下去。
僅僅是今天能夠出現在這裏，你們已經證明了自己的定位。現在你們已經有了定位，接下來就去壯大自己的野心。這意味著專注，自律，嚴格，自我批判和開放的心態。事實上，你們要麵對的挑戰不會消失，而會更加嚴峻。
我的朋友們，這就是生活。但是奮鬥越是艱辛，回報也會更加豐厚。用另一個方式看問題：問問你自己，你是不是真的有選擇。當你們走進拉瓜迪亞社區大學的第一天，你們已經知道了這個問題的答案。我們必須為了自己的家庭和自己而不斷努力。
現在顯然不是最好的經濟時期，但是經濟總是有一個周期的。在你們人生的下一個五十年，你們會經曆很多周期，和這次一樣，你們能夠順利渡過。不要有任何不切實際的樂觀或者是過分的悲觀。
盡管如此，世上還會發生許多不測，帶來巨大影響。你們的安全感來自於知道如何做各種各樣的事情——而且比其他人做得都要好。
而隻有不斷追求卓越，才能獲得這些知識和能力。這意味著改變職業道路或者追求目前職業新的想法、新策略。不管是哪種情況，你都應該逼迫自己嚐試新的事物，在每一步中成長。
讀完大學，我在法學院度過了三年，之後在一間大的紐約律師事務所得到了自己夢想中的工作。雖然這曾一直是我的夢想，但是當我得到時，我發現我並不喜歡它。
雖然在我人生中，我第一次在財務上獲得了保障，但是我知道我對我自己做的那些事情並沒有足夠激情。而且，因為我並不愛的工作，我將永不可能從中得到滿足，或者是真的擅長這份工作。更愛這種工作的人會更積極地專注於它。對有些人來說，這是樂趣，對我來說，這永遠是一份苦差。
在五年的律師事務所工作之後，我決定要嚐試一些不同的東西。我回家告訴我的妻子我要辭職，她哭了，而且不是因為高興。不管怎麽說，事情還算順利，我在一間華爾街的小企業中找到了新的工作，之後被更大的企業收購，我也得以進入這個更大的機構，高盛集團。
在我的職業生涯中，我很幸運能夠認識，並且與很多全國頂級的首席執行官以及商界領袖們共同工作。我總是能夠被造就他們成功的那種激情所打動。他們也許非常有錢，權勢驚人，但是他們的激情遠遠超越了金錢和權力。
今天我在這裏不是要告訴你們金錢和權力的壞處。隻要你的頭腦中有一個更大目標，錢與權相當有益。如果你對自己的工作沒有激情，或者是沒有動力為你的孩子打造比你自己更好人生，那麽你就不會有那些讓你持續前進的東西。
所以，我想給你們一些更加具體的建議，希望能夠保持你們繼續前進。
首先，信心真的很重要。
要認識到你已經贏得了自信的權力。你們中的絕大多數都是付出了巨大的犧牲，克服了巨大的障礙才有了現在的成就。你們有了其他起步更早的人所沒有的能力，這些能力將會在你們的餘生為你們效力。
我進入大學並讀完它的努力最終成為我的一個優勢。你曾有的不足已成為你個人經曆和職業紀錄的曆史，它們都會在之後的人生中變成你的優勢。所以，你們有理由充滿信心。
第二點，找到一個你喜歡的工作。
你會做得更好，而且做得更長。雖然是這樣說，在一個艱難的經濟形勢中，需要因為家庭壓力做出一些讓步，你並不是總能夠在職業選擇上承擔風險。而且，毫無疑問的是，我們將會很多次的妥協。
但是，不要讓一時的必要選擇成為一生慣性的借口。要不斷試圖讓自己走到正確的地方。如果我繼續做一名律師，我可能會幹得還不錯，但是我不會輝煌，因為我並不愛這個工作。
第三，做一個全麵、完整的人。
你們中的很多人會繼續接受教育或者是職業培訓。學習維持生計必須的東西當然是很重要的。但是不要忘了閱讀，學習曆史，文化以及時事。
你會變得更吸引人，對你自己也更加有趣，會在你的工作上更加成功。我讀過的絕大部分書對我的工作甚至這個行業都沒有直接的用處，但是書中的經驗教訓總會以意想不到的方式發揮作用。
第四點，參與社區活動。
找到可以讓你感到自豪的貢獻方式，為你的孩子們樹立榜樣。謀生並不是生活，隻是達到目的的一個手段，而不是目的本身。你需要為自己感到自豪。總會有人需要為生計努力，對他們來說社區工作並不是一個現實的選擇，但是請努力嚐試。
在過去的歲月裏我做了很多事情來讓自己進步。但是年紀越大，我越來越能夠從服務和幫助他人進步中得到滿足。事實上，我最初結識麥羅校長和拉瓜迪亞社區大學就是因為我們共同發起的這個10000家小企業項目。
最後，要明白人生是不可預測的，所以不要自我設限。
試試和那些一樣具有野心的人為伍，讓你置身於可以成長的環境中——在那種你不僅僅可以讓自己進步，其他人也會推動你前進的環境。
一個從貧困小區長大的孩子掌管世界上最大金融機構的機會有多大？你永遠也不會知道。不可預測性是生活最偉大的一點。你改變，這個世界也在改變。
你們生活在一個仍然擁有得天獨厚機會的國家。讓你自己對無限可能的世界敞開胸懷。你們有野心，你們有智慧和堅韌，所以，請翻開自己的傳記——你們已經打開了人生的新一個篇章。
祝你們和你們的家人好運，也祝賀你們和你們的家人。
以下是英文版：
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein gave the keynote address at LaGuardia Community College's 41st commencement today at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
President Mellow, distinguished faculty, friends, family, and the Graduating Class of 2013.
It is a great honor for me to share in your accomplishment and pride today. But I must admit that I approached this address with some trepidation. I suppose that more commencement speeches have been delivered more seriously, listened to more attentively, and forgotten more promptly than any other form of human communication.
So I will try to be brief and practical. My advice is grounded in my own experience. And my own experience, in many respects, is not that different from many of yours.
I grew up with the idea that college was more an aspiration than an expectation. I saw my parents struggle most of their lives and the daily battle to keep afloat sometimes even drained what hopes and dreams they had for me. They didn't go to college and neither did my only, older sibling.
My father sorted mail for the post office. He worked nights because it paid 10% more than a day shift. My mother was a receptionist at a burglar alarm company — one of the few growth industries in our neighborhood. I grew up in the Linden Houses, which, as some of you know, is a housing project in East New York.
It was and is a tough neighborhood, though it produced some accomplished people who, despite or because of their background, did well. I attended Thomas Jefferson high school, which has since shut down as a high school and operates different training programs for various skills. Up until high school, I shared a small apartment with my extended family, which included my grandmother, my sister and my nephew.
But looking back, I grew up in a world of unlimited opportunity. Each night I would read, and reading opened up the world to me. I love reading history and especially biography. In biographies, you are almost always reading about people who started out unimportant but ended up having a significant life.
What I liked most about biographies then and now is that the person you are reading about is in his or her early life on page 50, doesn't know about the success he or she will achieve on page 300. They couldn't see the greatness that lay ahead. If you think about it, that's a great justification for the optimism that you should have for the life ahead of you. All of you are only on about page 50 of your biography, with hundreds of pages to go.
Growing up, my biggest goal was just to get out of East New York. I took the college entrance exam and committed myself to getting into college. I did. The day I left for college was one of the first trips I made out of New York City.
College was an intimidating place for me. The other students seemed naturally confident; many had traveled and seemed to understand the world. To this day, I can't forget how insecure I felt, but it made me work harder.
Once I realized I belonged, I became more ambitious. Ambition is your inner voice that tells you you can and should strive to go beyond your circumstances or station in life. You have overcome obstacles, pressures and self-doubt and you have done it because you have ambition. You want to succeed for your families and yourselves. And there is no more powerful force through which to do that than through education and know how.
I'm proud that LaGuardia and Goldman Sachs have teamed up to support small businesses. Through this partnership, I've seen how many LaGuardia students are juggling school, job and family. And, I've seen how these students and all of you push yourselves and persevere.
By virtue of being here today, you have proven to yourself that you belong. And now that you belong, feed off your ambition. That means being focused, disciplined, demanding, self critical and open minded. Your challenges won't fall away. In fact, they may get steeper.
That, my friends, is life. But just as the struggles are great, so are the rewards. There's another way to look at it: ask yourself if you really have a choice. You already knew the answer to that question the first day you walked into LaGuardia. We owe it to our families and to ourselves to keep striving.
This is certainly not the easiest of economic times, but there's always an economic cycle. In the course of the next 50 years of your life, you'll see alot of cycles, and like this one, you'll get through it. Don't get caught up in unrealistic optimism or detached pessimism.
Still, a lot can change rapidly and with a lot of force. Your security rests in knowing how to do a variety of things -- and being able to do them better than others.
And that knowledge and ability can be obtained only through a willingness to strike out for something better. That could mean changing careers or pushing for a new idea or strategy in your current one. In either case, push yourself to try something new and to grow with each move.
After college, I went to law school for three years, and then into my dream job at a big NY law firm. But even though it had been my dream, I didn't like it once I got there.
For the first time, I was feeling financially secure, but I knew I wasn't passionate enough about what I was doing. And because I didn't love it, I would never be fulfilled from it, or be really good at it. Someone who loved it more would have greater enthusiasm an focus. For some it was fun; for me it was always going to be a chore.
After five years at a law firm, I decided I wanted to try something different. I came home and told my wife I was quitting, and she cried. And not out of happiness. Anyway, it worked out. I got a new job at a small Wall Street firm, we got bought out by a larger firm, and I ended up remaining at a large firm... Goldman Sachs.
In my career, I've been fortunate to know and work with many of this country's top CEOs and business leaders. I'm always struck by a certain passion that defines them. While they may be wealthy and powerful, their passion goes beyond money and power.
I won't stand here and tell you those are bad things. They can be pretty good, but only if you have a larger purpose in mind. If you don't have passion for your work or the drive to make a better life for your kids than your own, then you won't have what it takes to keep you going.
So, I'd like to leave you with some specific advice that will hopefully keep you going:
First, confidence really matters. Recognize you have earned the right to be confident. Most of you have made great sacrifices and overcome great obstacles to get where you are today. You built up muscles that others who've had an easier time don't have. Those muscles will serve you for the rest of your life.
My struggle to get to and through college turned out to be an advantage for me. The disadvantages you have had become part of your personal history and track record, all advantages in your later life. So confidence is justified.
Second, find a job that you like. You'll be better at it and you'll last longer in it. Having said that, in a tough economy, or because of family pressures, you may not aways be able take a risk with a job choice. And, no doubt, we've all settled at various times.
But, don't let necessity in a give moment become the excuse for a lifetime of inertia. Keep trying to get yourself to the right place. If I'd stayed a lawyer, I could have made it work for a while, but I would have fizzled out and eventually because I didn't love it.
Third, be a well rounded, complete person. many of you will go for further education or career training. Of course, it's important to learn the things that you need to make a living. But, don't forget to read, and to learn history, literature and about current events.
You'll be more interesting to others, more interesting to yourself and you'll be more successful in your job. Most of the books I've read didn't apply directly to my job or industry, but I've applied their lessons in unexpected ways.
Fourth, be involved in the community. Find ways to contribute to make yourself proud and set an example to your kids. making a living is not life. It is a means to an end, not the end. You have to feel proud of yourself. There are always going to be people who struggle and for whom community work is not a realistic option, but try.
I've done plenty to advance myself over the years. But, the older I get, the more satisfaction I get from serving and advancing others. In fact that's how I first got involved with President Mellow and LaGuardia -- through the 10,000 Small Businesses program we initiated at your school.
Finally, appreciate that life is unpredictable, so don't close your mind to possibilities. Try to surround yourself with people who are equally ambitious. Put yourself in situation where you can grow — where you'll not only push yourself but others will push you.
What were the chances that a kid from the projects would run one of the great financial institutions in the world? You just never know. That unpredictability is the great thing about life. You change. The world changes. You live in a country where we are still blessed with enormous opportunity. Leave yourself open to the world of possibility. You have the ambition, you have the smarts and you have the toughness. So, turn the page on your biography -- you have just started a new chapter in your lives.
Good luck and congratulations to you and your families.
