“I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.”

— J.K. Rowling, Harvard University Commencement Address (5 June 2008)

About J.K. Rowling

Born 1965

British author of the 'Harry Potter' series, who gave the Harvard commencement address 'The Fringe Benefits of Failure' in 2008.

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all.”

“It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies; but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.”

“Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.”

“Whate'er I may have been, or am, doth rest between Heaven and myself; I shall not choose a mortal to be my mediator.”

“Self-pity in its early stages is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.”

“It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”

“Reciprocity is a matter of keeping the gift in motion through self-perpetuating cycles of giving and receiving.”

“I've found that there is always some beauty left — in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.”

“Democracy is, by the nature of it, a self-canceling business; and it gives in the long run a net result of zero.”