Jim Carrey’s Commencement Speech Warns Against Playing It Safe

Jim Carrey might have made a career out of his funny lines and even funnier faces, but on Saturday he took a moment for some serious reflection while speaking to graduates at the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa.

In the speech, the comedian dared graduates to ask the universe for big things.

“Fear is going to be a player in life, but you get to decide how much,” Carrey said. “So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it.”

Carey also talked about the lessons he drew from his father about about pursuing one’s dreams.

“My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant. When I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job, and our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”

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