Neil Gaiman’s speech at the University of the Arts Class of 2012 graduation ceremony is something that every writer, artist, or creative person should listen to. I had this speech recommended to me by one of my professors this semester and I was not disappointed by it. Gaiman talks about his beginnings in the writing industry and also shares his wisdom and knowledge.
One of my favorite parts of his speech is when he says that in the beginning of your career you don’t have any idea what you’re doing. He says that this is a great thing because we don’t know the rules; we don’t know what is possible and impossible. He says that this is great because it means that we get to test the bounds of the possible and going beyond them. He also stresses the importance of just doing the work. This idea is also present in the War of Art by Steven Pressfield, in which Pressfield demands the reader to be creative, and to explore the creative mind through doing the person’s chosen artform rather than waiting for creativity to come.
Gaiman’s speech is filled with prose and advice that young and up incoming artists and writers will find deeply impactful. He talks about the fears of failure and even the fears of success. The fear of success is something that I never thought about until listening to this speech. He also details the beauty of mistakes, and says that every artist will face them and that the best artists grow from them, which I couldn’t agree more.
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