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Very Good Lives The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination J K Rowling Joel Holland 9780316369152 Books

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Very Good Lives The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination J K Rowling Joel Holland 9780316369152 Books

I remember vaguely hearing that J.K Rowling had spoken at Harvard's commencement years back and my initial thought was "Oh man! That would have been a speech to remember!" followed quickly by some rather large feelings of envy since I can't even remember who spoke at my commencement.

In this short book people can read her speech to Harvard's class of 2008 where she instills them with some good insight using her signature dry humour and some rather amazing quotes.

She speaks about the merits of failure in her life so far

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. 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. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in
the one arena where I believed I truly belonged.”

Personally, my favourite quote from this speech will be the following:

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default."

She also shares her experiences when she worked for Amnesty International in her early 20's. She worked with people who had survived horrific experiences and how learning about these experiences changed her. Real change in the world can start with a single person imagining that it can happen. Imagination breeds compassion - the more people can use their imaginations, the less violence there will be as we imagine what others have experienced.

"Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places. Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise."

"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

The book itself is very short (shorter than I would have expected for her speech) and I read it in 20 minutes. I think anyone, fan of Harry Potter or not, will enjoy and get something out of this speech. Rowling is undoubtedly well spoken and gives her readers, and especially the grads, a lot to think about.

Note: Readers should know that sales from this book will go to Rowling's international charity, Lumos whose goal is to end the institutionalization of children. Lumos is the perfect name for this charity because, as Harry Potter fans will know, Lumos is the spell from Harry Potter that is used to create light. By using her charity she hopes to bring light and hope to children suffering in institutions worldwide.


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Very Good Lives The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination J K Rowling Joel Holland 9780316369152 Books Reviews

Short and easy to read, but the words are powerful and moving. This book came to me in a very dark and hopeless time in my life, and gave me the boost I needed to push through. I had borrowed a library copy, but once things (financially) got a little better, I had to own a copy for myself. This is a book I will reread again and again whenever I need my spirits lifted. The author's words are profound and magical. I highly recommend this to everyone.
Spoken well by someone who has gained and employed the wisdom of life experience to its maximum potential. No one can dispute the words shared within. The author has lived this and fortune has smiled on her. God bless her for sharing the wealth of her life path, as well as her fertile imagination and proof of resilience.
This is a short, illustrated text of Jo Rowling's commencement speech at Harvard. It's uncommonly personal for such a speech, filled with wit and heartbreak, and it is in essence a sort of homily, a spiritual message on how to live worthwhile lives. I wish every young graduate could read it. I wish I had been there to hear Jo give this speech -- but having it in print is the next best thing.
I love J.K. Rowling so very much and I knew this was just her Harvard commencement speech (which I had previously read) but I am still so happy to have this book! I have read and reread it several times and each time I finish it I feel like I can take on the world. If you're a fan of Rowling and you want something inspiring (and clever and humorous), I would highly recommend this!
This is life changing. From the first time I heard JK Rowling's commencement speech for Harvard University and read the transcript I knew that I was listening to great wisdom that would take hold and change me on a visceral level. These aren't words of a pep talk from some billionaire who never really had it THAT hard. These are words of a woman who truly struggled, and overcame. She chased her dream. She was of her own accord, at rock bottom. These words gave me the courage to pick myself up, and start chasing my own dreams. I felt about as low as a person could possibly be. I had given up. I didn't want to hear self help garbage from some quack. I didn't want to hear how I had failed. I did that enough to myself. Hearing these words, just conveyed as a story, helped. More importantly, I realized that failure isn't always bad. Failure has benefits. Failure can happen to anyone, but it needs to be embraced, fully, as a learning experience, a clean slate, and a solid foundation from which to rebuild on.

Certainly this will end up a best seller. JK Rowling's grocery list would be a best seller just because she wrote it. But I sincerely hope that all of those who buy this book will read it, consider it carefully, and take it deeply to heart. Whether you're struggling professionally, or personally; internally, emotionally, physically, economically...these words can be applied. There's no scheme to buy into. There's no twelve step path to follow. There's no work book to fix it all in 30 days. There's solid, sound advice to use, and to adapt to any situation. Use it, learn it, live it.
I grossly overpaid for this. I really should've just googled her speech. It's probably 4 pages long in total. The kindle edition includes very small font and lots of graphics to fill up the pages. But it took me all of 20 minutes to read this and is out here charging 9.99 for it -/

This really should've just been posted to Harvard's website for free.

At any rate, I imagine witnessing this speech was quite a treat. It was funny and honest and devoid of arrogance one might expect from someone who's experienced this amount of success. It focused on three important themes

- success and failure should be defined for yourself
- failure brings with it the gift of fearlessness, and presents opportunities to begin again
- empathy and understanding of one's own privilege is an important tool in understanding your reality and believing in your possibilities
I remember vaguely hearing that J.K Rowling had spoken at Harvard's commencement years back and my initial thought was "Oh man! That would have been a speech to remember!" followed quickly by some rather large feelings of envy since I can't even remember who spoke at my commencement.

In this short book people can read her speech to Harvard's class of 2008 where she instills them with some good insight using her signature dry humour and some rather amazing quotes.

She speaks about the merits of failure in her life so far

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. 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. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in
the one arena where I believed I truly belonged.”

Personally, my favourite quote from this speech will be the following

"It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default."

She also shares her experiences when she worked for Amnesty International in her early 20's. She worked with people who had survived horrific experiences and how learning about these experiences changed her. Real change in the world can start with a single person imagining that it can happen. Imagination breeds compassion - the more people can use their imaginations, the less violence there will be as we imagine what others have experienced.

"Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s places. Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise."

"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already we have the power to imagine better."

The book itself is very short (shorter than I would have expected for her speech) and I read it in 20 minutes. I think anyone, fan of Harry Potter or not, will enjoy and get something out of this speech. Rowling is undoubtedly well spoken and gives her readers, and especially the grads, a lot to think about.

Note Readers should know that sales from this book will go to Rowling's international charity, Lumos whose goal is to end the institutionalization of children. Lumos is the perfect name for this charity because, as Harry Potter fans will know, Lumos is the spell from Harry Potter that is used to create light. By using her charity she hopes to bring light and hope to children suffering in institutions worldwide.