crunch
Elite Member
This event never actually happened but it is a funny bit:
What follows is a transcript of the speech delivered by Larry Ellison, CEO
of ORACLE (2nd Richest Man on the Planet) at the Yale University last
month:
"Graduates of Yale University, I apologize if you have endured this type
of prologue before, but I want you to do something for me. Please, take a
good look around you. Look at the classmate on your left. Look at the
classmate on your right. Now, consider this: Five years from now, 10 years
from now, even 30 thirty years from now, odds are the person on your left
is going to be a loser. The person on your right, meanwhile, will also be
a loser. And you, in the middle? What can you expect? Loser. Loserhood.
Loser Cum Laude. "In fact, as I look out before me today, I don't see a
thousand hopes for a bright tomorrow. I don't see a thousand future
leaders in a thousand industries. I see a thousand losers. "You're upset.
That's understandable. After all, how can I, Lawrence 'Larry' Ellison,
college dropout, have the audacity to spout such heresy to the graduating
class of one of the nation's most prestigious institutions? I'll tell you
why. Because I, Lawrence "Larry" Ellison, second richest man on the
planet, am a college dropout, and you are not. "Because Bill Gates,
richest man on the planet-for now, anyway-is a college dropout, and you
are not. "Because Paul Allen, the third richest man on the planet, dropped
out of college, and you did not. "And for good measure, because Michael
Dell, No. 9 on the list and moving up fast, is a college dropout, and you,
yet again, are not."
"Hmm... you're very upset. That's understandable. So let me stroke your
egos for a moment by pointing out, quite incerely, that your diplomas
were not attained in vain. Most of you, I imagine, have spent four to five
years here, and in many ways what ou've learned and endured will serve you
well in the years ahead. You've established good work habits. You've
established a network of people that will help you down the road. And
you've established what will be lifelong relationships with the word
'therapy.' All that of is good. For in truth, you will need that network.
You will need those strong work habits. You will need that therapy. "You
will need them because you didn't drop out, and so you will never be among
the richest people in the world. Oh sure, you may, perhaps, work your way
up to No. 10 or No. 11, like Steve Ballmer. But then, I don't have to tell
you who he really works for, do I? And for the record, he dropped out of
grad school. Bit of a late bloomer. "Finally, I realize that many of you,
and hopefully by now most of you, are wondering, 'Is there anything I can
do? Is there any hope for me at all?' Actually, no. It's too late. You've
absorbed too much, think you know too much. You're not 19 anymore. You
have a built-in cap, and I'm not referring to the mortar boards on your
heads."
"Hmm... you're really very upset. That's understandable. So perhaps this
would be a good time to bring up the silver lining. Not for you, Class of
'00. You are a write-off, so I'll let you slink off to your pathetic
$200,000-a-year jobs, where your checks will be signed by former
classmates who dropped out two years ago."
"Instead, I want to give hope to any underclassmen here today. I say to
you, and I can't stress this enough: leave. Pack your things and your
ideas and don't come back. Drop out. Start up. "For I can tell you that a
cap and gown will keep you down just as surely as these security guards
dragging me off this stage are keeping me dow..."
What follows is a transcript of the speech delivered by Larry Ellison, CEO
of ORACLE (2nd Richest Man on the Planet) at the Yale University last
month:
"Graduates of Yale University, I apologize if you have endured this type
of prologue before, but I want you to do something for me. Please, take a
good look around you. Look at the classmate on your left. Look at the
classmate on your right. Now, consider this: Five years from now, 10 years
from now, even 30 thirty years from now, odds are the person on your left
is going to be a loser. The person on your right, meanwhile, will also be
a loser. And you, in the middle? What can you expect? Loser. Loserhood.
Loser Cum Laude. "In fact, as I look out before me today, I don't see a
thousand hopes for a bright tomorrow. I don't see a thousand future
leaders in a thousand industries. I see a thousand losers. "You're upset.
That's understandable. After all, how can I, Lawrence 'Larry' Ellison,
college dropout, have the audacity to spout such heresy to the graduating
class of one of the nation's most prestigious institutions? I'll tell you
why. Because I, Lawrence "Larry" Ellison, second richest man on the
planet, am a college dropout, and you are not. "Because Bill Gates,
richest man on the planet-for now, anyway-is a college dropout, and you
are not. "Because Paul Allen, the third richest man on the planet, dropped
out of college, and you did not. "And for good measure, because Michael
Dell, No. 9 on the list and moving up fast, is a college dropout, and you,
yet again, are not."
"Hmm... you're very upset. That's understandable. So let me stroke your
egos for a moment by pointing out, quite incerely, that your diplomas
were not attained in vain. Most of you, I imagine, have spent four to five
years here, and in many ways what ou've learned and endured will serve you
well in the years ahead. You've established good work habits. You've
established a network of people that will help you down the road. And
you've established what will be lifelong relationships with the word
'therapy.' All that of is good. For in truth, you will need that network.
You will need those strong work habits. You will need that therapy. "You
will need them because you didn't drop out, and so you will never be among
the richest people in the world. Oh sure, you may, perhaps, work your way
up to No. 10 or No. 11, like Steve Ballmer. But then, I don't have to tell
you who he really works for, do I? And for the record, he dropped out of
grad school. Bit of a late bloomer. "Finally, I realize that many of you,
and hopefully by now most of you, are wondering, 'Is there anything I can
do? Is there any hope for me at all?' Actually, no. It's too late. You've
absorbed too much, think you know too much. You're not 19 anymore. You
have a built-in cap, and I'm not referring to the mortar boards on your
heads."
"Hmm... you're really very upset. That's understandable. So perhaps this
would be a good time to bring up the silver lining. Not for you, Class of
'00. You are a write-off, so I'll let you slink off to your pathetic
$200,000-a-year jobs, where your checks will be signed by former
classmates who dropped out two years ago."
"Instead, I want to give hope to any underclassmen here today. I say to
you, and I can't stress this enough: leave. Pack your things and your
ideas and don't come back. Drop out. Start up. "For I can tell you that a
cap and gown will keep you down just as surely as these security guards
dragging me off this stage are keeping me dow..."
