Advice for Graduates

Thank you for letting me share this wonderful day with you. The next part of my speech consists of some advice, which is rarely valued, seldom remembered, never followed. As Oscar Wilde said, 【小题1】 So, here comes the advice.

First, every time you celebrate an achievement, 【小题2】 Thank your parents and friends who supported you, thank your professors who were inspirational, and especially thank the other professors whose less-than brilliant lectures forced you to teach yourself. To your fellow students who have added immeasurably to your education during those late night discussions, hug them.

Second, in your future life, cultivate a generous spirit. 【小题3】 Leave the change on the table. In a successful cooperation, everybody gets 90 percent of the profit.

My third piece of advice is as follows: As you begin this new stage of your lives, follow your passion. If you don’t have a passion，don’t be satisfied until you find one. 【小题4】 When I was your age, I was incredibly single-minded in my goal to be a physicist. After college, I spent eight years as a graduate student and postdoc at Berkeley, and then nine years at Bell Labs. During that my time, my central focus and professional joy was physics.

Here is my final advice. Pursuing a personal passion is important, but it should not be your only goal. When you are old and gray, and look back on your life, you will want to be proud of what you have done. The source of that pride won’t be the things you have acquired or the recognition you have received. 【小题5】

To understand meditation（冥想）through an experiment, you can take two pictures with a camera. Hold your camera still and take the first picture. Now, shake your camera and take the second picture. The difference in clarity（清晰度）between the two pictures is the difference in clarity of a life with and without meditation.

Meditation means different things to different people. There are many methods to reach the state of meditation. Our intention in this Life School Message is not to compare different practices. What we'd like to do is to give you a glimpse into what benefits can arise as a result of meditation.

One of the most important functions for human survival is the ability to adapt and adjust to our surroundings. The brain and body are dealing with an unbelievable amount of stimuli(刺激) in every single moment of life. Focusing on all of them at once would be impossible. So, the mind tends to shift as many stimuli as possible to the subconscious back burner.

For example, you probably aren't paying attention to the feel of your shirt on your body until you read this sentence. Now that I've mentioned it, I've brought it back into your conscious thoughts, and you do notice it. Somewhere in the next few paragraphs, your mind will place it on the back burner again to be able to focus on understanding this article. Fascinating, isn't it? Our minds do this constantly.

Meditation helps you to increase your awareness and helps you to stay focused on the right things of life. It ensures you do not get distracted and helps you do stay alert. It helps you to understand the past, live the present and create the future.

For the people who have no knowledge or experience of this particular subject, let me share a basic yet one of the most powerful methods that can lead you to meditation.

As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Therefore, when you intend to run your business in France, you may as well get to know French culture, make marketing plans, and do business by local laws.

【小题1】The French take great pride in their language, so anyone who does not speak it may run the risk of being disrespected by his French colleagues or business partners. Also, another reason why learning French is important is that it is a great way to show every possible French business partner that you care and respect their country’s culture and language.

Use first names only after being invited to.【小题2】The French will sometimes introduce themselves using their surname first, followed by their first name.

Dress well. The French draw information about people based on their appearance. Your business clothing is a reflection of your success and social status.【小题3】Women are advised to dress simply but elegantly. Wearing make-up is practiced widely by businesswomen.

The French are passionate about food, so lunches are common in doing business in France, which usually consist of an appetizer, a main meal with wine, cheese, dessert and coffee, and normally take up to two hours.【小题4】

Do not begin eating until the host says “bon appetite”. Pass dishes to the left, keep wrists above the table and try to eat everything on the plate.【小题5】This may suggest that you find the food tasteless. If eating in a restaurant, the person who makes an invitation always pays.