Graduation 2017 Quotes: 10 Famous Celebrities' Commencement Sayings

Several celebrities and politicians who are lined up this year to give commencement addresses to batches of graduating students at various universities included Oprah Winfrey, Lauren Graham and Hillary Clinton. Other big names to grace the graduation stage are Sheryl Sandberg, Congressman John Lewis, Mark Zuckerberg, and the Dalai Lama.

Read: 12 Funny Graduation 2016 Quotes

Here are 10 quotes from accomplished people who will motivate you to shed the fears and look forward to a brighter, post-graduation life.

1. Natalie Portman at Harvard University

"You can never be the best. The only thing you can be the best at is developing yourself."

2. Arianna Huffington at Smith College Commencement Address

"Commencement speakers are traditionally expected to tell graduates how to go out there and climb the ladder of success, but I want to ask you, instead, to redefine success. Because the world you are headed into desperately needs it."

3. J.K. Rowling at Harvard University

"You might never fail on the scale I did. But some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all."

4. Ellen DeGeneres at Tulane University

"For me, the most important thing in your life is to live your life with integrity and not to give into peer pressure to try to be something that you’re not, to live your life as an honest and compassionate person, to contribute in some way."

5. Matthew McConaughey at University of Houston

"Don't choose anything that will jeopardize your soul. Prioritize who you are, who you want to be, and don't spend time with anything that antagonizes your character."

6. Robert De Niro at New York University

"You discovered a talent, developed an ambition, and recognized your passion. When you feel that, you can't fight it — you just go with it."

7. Michelle Obama at Tuskegee University

"I want you all to stay true to the most real, most sincere, most authentic parts of yourselves. I want you to ask those basic questions: Who do you want to be? What inspires you? How do you want to give back? And then I want you to take a deep breath and trust yourselves to chart your own course and make your mark on the world."

8. Amy Poehler at Harvard University

"You can't do it alone...be open to collaboration. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you. Spend a lot of time with them and it will change your life."

9. Oprah Winfrey at Harvard University

"It doesn’t matter how far you might rise. At some point, you are bound to stumble. If you’re constantly pushing yourself higher and higher, the law of averages predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do, I want you to remember this: There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction."

10. Jim Carrey at Maharishi University of Management

"Your job is not to figure out how it’s going to happen for you, but to open the door in your head and when the doors open in real life, just walk through it. Don’t worry if you miss your cue. There will always be another door opening. They keep opening."