大西洋音乐集团CEO艾略特·格兰奇 2025东北大学毕业演讲
发布时间：2025-05-14 18:29:09 浏览量：2
Thank you Northeastern University for allowing me the honor to speak to you, the class of 2025, and thank you President Aoun for inviting me.
感谢东北大学给予我这份殊荣，能与2025届的你们分享心声，同时感谢校长奥恩的邀请。
Over the past decade or so, Northeastern has hosted commencement speeches from a very impressive array of influential speakers: former secretaries of state John Kerry and Colin Powell, former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky ... men and women with seriously important jobs and positions.
在过去的大约十年间，东北大学邀请了一系列极具影响力的演讲嘉宾：前国务卿约翰·克里和科林·鲍威尔、前疾控中心主任罗谢尔·瓦伦斯基……这些在重要岗位上担任要职的杰出人士。
And now, me, the 31-year-old Brit who switched majors three times.
而现在，站在你们面前的是那个31岁的英国人，他曾三次更换专业。
On a serious note, it's a pleasure for me to be here with you today.
说点正经的，今天能和你们在一起，我感到非常荣幸。
My name is Elliot Grainge, and it was just 12 years ago that I moved into my dorm at IV, International Village.
我叫埃利奥特·格兰奇，就在12年前，我搬进了国际村宿舍。
And after four long winters in Boston, I can promise you all I will never be cold ever again.
经历了在波士顿四个漫长的寒冬后，我可以向你们保证，我再也不会感到寒冷了。
I would go to shows just here at the House of Blues.
我会去就在这里的蓝调之家看演出。
I'd wander down Huntington Avenue to the Boston Common to feed the ducks and once, just once, I got stood up on a date at a sushi restaurant on Washington Street where sympathetic servers took pity on a hungry, embarrassed freshman desperate for some female company and a spicy tuna tempo.
我常沿着亨廷顿大道走到波士顿公园喂鸭子，有一次，仅此一次，我在华盛顿街的寿司店被约会对象放了鸽子。 善解人意的服务员们对一个饥肠辘辘、尴尬不已，渴望女性陪伴和一份辣金枪鱼手卷的大一新生心生怜悯。
I was 19.
我当时19岁。
But I love this city, and I love this school.
但我深爱这座城市，也深爱这所学校。
It wasn't all that long ago that I sat where you are right now, and while I'm not a statesman or someone with a lifetime of experience behind me, maybe that's exactly why I am here.
不久前，我也曾坐在你们现在的位置上。虽然我并非政治家， 也没有丰富的人生阅历，但或许正是这一点， 让我今天能够站在这里。
I'm a little closer to your world, to your questions, to this moment and maybe, hopefully that makes what I have to say a little more real for some of you.
我与你们的世界、你们的问题、以及此刻的感受更为接近，希望这能让我的发言对你们中的一些人来说显得更加真实。
But I'm here to tell you the two greatest things people have said to me.
但今天我要告诉你们，人们对我说的两件最棒的事情。
"That's impossible," and "no." Indulge me for a second while I give you a quick 30,000 foot overview of how I got here.
“那不可能”和“不行”。请允许我用3万英尺的高空视角，快速概述一下我是如何走到今天的。
Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to be in the music business.
从我有记忆以来，我就一直梦想着进入音乐行业。
My grandfather ran a record store.
我的祖父经营着一家唱片店。
My uncle founded an independent label.
我的叔叔创办了一家独立唱片公司。
My cousins, my father, everyone in my family was in music, and during my co-op at Northeastern, I started two companies that I was certain would be massive successes.
我的表兄弟们、父亲以及家中每个人都在音乐行业工作。在东北大学的带薪实习期间，我创办了两家公司， 当时我确信它们将会取得巨大成功。
The first, a club promotion company, which started out great and kind of fizzled, and the second, a live music series which opened triumphantly and then ended disastrously.
首先是一个俱乐部推广公司，起初势头良好却逐渐式微；其次是系列现场音乐活动， 虽盛大开场， 却以惨淡收场告终。
These companies made me a total of negative three and half thousand dollars, but even with this loss, I learned something essential.
这些公司让我总共亏损了三千五百美元，但即便如此， 我学到了一些至关重要的东西。
My four years at Northeastern taught me a lot, but not all of it was learned in the classroom.
我在东北大学的四年里学到了很多，但并非所有知识都来自课堂。
Above all, my Northeastern experience taught me independence.
最重要的是，我在东北大学的经历教会了我独立。
The experience opened my mind and taught me to think big.
这段经历开阔了我的视野，教会了我大胆思考。
After graduation, it took me a few months to figure out what I was going to do with my career.
毕业后，我花了好几个月的时间才弄清楚自己想在职业生涯中做些什么。
I spent a year or so trying to explain to music execs what SoundCloud and streaming data were.
我花了一年左右的时间，试图向音乐行业的执行官们解释什么是声云平台和流媒体数据。
I'd show them artists blowing up online typically hear one of two things: "Sorry, but I don't get it," or "thank you, let me think about that." By the way, "thank you" means "piss off" in Los Angeles.
我会向他们展示那些在网上迅速走红的艺术家， 通常会听到两种回应：“抱歉，我不太明白， ” 或者“谢谢，让我考虑一下。 ” 顺便说一句，在洛杉矶，“谢谢” 实际上意味着“走开” 。
I heard these things so many times, eventually I thought, "Screw it.
我听过太多次这些话，最终我心想，“去他的。”
I'll try and raise some money, try to sign one or two of these artists and launched my own label." That company, 10K Projects, was born from hearing "no" again and again.
我会尝试筹集一些资金， 试着签约一两位这样的艺术家， 并创办自己的唱片公司。” 这家公司，即10K项目唱片公司， 正是在一次又一次听到“不” 的声音中诞生的。
I bet on myself, I bet on the artists I believed in and I was right.
我对自己下注，押宝在我信任的艺术家身上，而事实证明我是对的。
Not always, but I was right more often than I was wrong.
并非每次如此，但我正确的时候比错误的时候多。
Looking back, if just one of those individuals had said "yes, " or even offered me a job, I probably wouldn't be standing here today in front of you guys.
回望过去，倘若当时有任何一个人对我说“好”，或是给我一份工作， 我可能今天就不会站在这里， 面对你们大家了。
It was hearing "no" that drove me to follow my gut and build something of my own.
正是那些"不"的声音，激励我听从内心的指引，去创造属于自己的事业。
Since then, at 10K, we signed more than 50 artists that have amassed tens of billions of streams worldwide, but let's be honest, hearing "no" sucks.
自那时起，在10K项目唱片公司， 我们签约了超过50位艺术家， 他们的作品在全球累计播放量已达数百亿次。但说实话，听到“不” 这个字眼真是让人沮丧。
It's disheartening and can kill your motivation.
这令人沮丧，可能摧毁你的动力。
When someone in a position with influence or hierarchy says, "No, that's not going to work," it can unleash a tidal wave of self-doubt.
当一位身处影响力或层级地位的人士说“不，那行不通” 时， 这句话可能会引发一波自我怀疑的巨浪。
But the question, the one you'll inevitably face is: What are you going to do about it?
但问题在于，你将如何应对？这个问题你必将面对。
You can't control other people's opinions, but you can control how you respond.
你无法左右他人的看法，但你可以掌控自己的回应方式。
Look, I backed artists before and been completely, painfully wrong, but because I approached it with integrity and commitment, those misfires still open new doors.
瞧， 我曾支持过一些艺术家，结果完全、痛苦地错了， 但由于我以诚信和执着的态度对待，这些失误依然为我开启了新的大门。
People introduced me to others, I kept going and that's the game, and this is where you have a clear advantage.
人们为我引荐他人， 我不断前行， 这就是关键所在，而你们在这里拥有明显的优势。
Although Northeastern has given you a very strong foundation shaped by what you have learned and lived, there is power too in what you have yet to experience.
尽管东北大学为你们打下了坚实的基础， 这基础源于你们所学和所经历的一切，但你们尚未体验的事物同样蕴含着力量。
Inexperience is a superpower.
缺乏经验是一种超能力。
Experience can make you cautious.
经验使人谨慎。
You start to anticipate failure, but when you are young and fearless, you sprint headfirst into the fire.
你开始预见失败， 但当你年轻且无所畏惧时，你会勇往直前， 直面挑战。
Now, success isn't one massive leap: It's little wins, a thousand setbacks, some detours, and eventually, a door opens.
成功并非一蹴而就的巨大飞跃，而是由无数小胜利、千次挫折、几次绕道，最终才迎来那扇开启的门。
Every time someone says no, remember this moment in your head, think about what they said and take it with a pound of salt.
每当有人对你说“不” 的时候，请在脑海中铭记此刻，思考他们的话语， 并对其持保留态度。
If your gut says you are right, and you usually are, ignore them and go with your gut.
如果直觉告诉你自己是对的，而你通常也确实如此，那就别理会他人的意见，相信你的直觉。
And if they were right, cool, good for them.
如果他们是对的，那很好，算他们厉害。
Learn from it.
从中学习。
Pivot and try again.
调整方向，再次尝试。
If there's one thing I've learned in my time here on earth, it's this.
如果说我在地球上这段时间学到了一件事，那就是这个道理。
No matter how carefully you plan, life rarely follows the blueprint.
无论你计划多么周密，生活往往不会按图索骥。
For me, that meant a route I had not considered like entrepreneurship, but it also meant moments of real loss, fear and heartache.
对我而言，这意味着选择了一条未曾考虑过的道路——创业，但同时也经历了真正的失落、恐惧和心痛时刻。
If my math is correct, many of you graduated high school under circumstances no one could have imagined.
如果我的计算没错，你们中的许多人是在无人能预料的情况下从高中毕业的。
Some of you may not have had graduation at all.
你们中的一些人可能根本没有举行毕业典礼。
In an instant, our reality shifted.
顷刻之间，我们的现实发生了转变。
In an instant, what happens in the world can challenge everything we thought we could rely on, our sense of safety, our plans, even the people we love.
瞬间之间，世界上发生的事情就能挑战我们所认为可以依赖的一切，我们的安全感， 我们的计划， 甚至是我们所爱的人。
But it doesn't take a global pandemic to shake the ground beneath you.
但撼动你脚下的根基，并不需要一场全球大流行病。
Sometimes it's heartbreak, illness, grief or even a traffic jam that makes you 45 minutes late to that job interview.
有时是心碎、疾病、悲伤甚至是一场交通堵塞，让你迟到了45分钟的面试。
We can plan for life, but we can't plan for what life throws at us.
我们可以为生活做计划，但无法预料生活会给我们带来什么。
No matter how much we want sunshine on vacation or a flight to leave on time or a future to arrive just as we pictured it, we don't get to control any of that.
无论我们多么希望度假时阳光明媚， 航班准时起飞， 或是未来如我们所想象的那样到来，我们都无法控制这些。
In truth, there's very little in life we do control, but we can choose how we show up.
说实话，生活中我们能控制的东西其实很少，但我们可以选择以怎样的态度去面对。
I wish I could say everything happens for a reason, but what I've come to believe is this.
我希望自己能说一切都有其原因，但我现在相信的是这一点。
Everything happens, and meaning isn't something we find.
万事皆有其时，而意义并非我们寻得之物。
It's something we create in how we respond, how we persevere and how we choose to move forward, writing our next chapter until life, as it always does, adds a chapter of its own.
这是我们通过自己的回应、坚持不懈以及选择如何前进来创造的，在我们书写下一章节的同时，生活总会自行添加新的一章。
Sometimes life gives you something you never could have imagined.
有时，生活会赐予你意想不到的惊喜。
Post-COVID, travel feels more precious.
疫情之后，旅行显得更加珍贵。
Where we work is more flexible, and life itself, I think it's more deeply cherished, or sometimes, it's just that seventh hundredth swipe on Hinge turning out to be the hottest person you've ever seen and they actually write back.
我们的工作环境更加灵活，生活本身，我认为，被更深切地珍视，或者有时，仅仅是在Hinge交友软件上滑到第七百次时，突然遇见了你见过最火辣的人，而他们竟然还回复了你。
Of course, this has never happened to me.
当然，这种事从未在我身上发生过。
I've heard some stories.
我听过一些故事。
Now real talk, if you have not already, you will see someone on TikTok or Instagram or social media and think, "Shit, they've made it.
说真的，如果你们还没遇到过这种情况，那么很快就会在TikTok、Instagram或其他社交媒体上看到某个人， 然后心想：“靠，他们已经成功了。 ”
Why haven't I?" It's a trick.
“为什么我不行？”这是个陷阱。
The whole thing is engineered to make you feel lesser than.
整个系统设计得让你感觉自己低人一等。
The whole point of the algorithm is to feed you content that triggers a dopamine response in your brain, and it can be really negative and addicting.
算法的全部目的在于向你推送能触发大脑多巴胺反应的内容，这种机制可能极具负面影响， 令人上瘾。
Do not take the bait and fall for it.
不要上钩，不要被其诱惑。
Those who truly succeed are not the loudest.
真正成功的人，往往不是那些最喧嚣的。
They're the ones with their heads down, grinding, unsure if it will even work, but going for it anyway.
他们正是那些埋头苦干、孜孜不倦的人，虽然不确定努力是否会成功，但依然勇往直前。
I have the privilege of advising some of the most creative minds in the world, helping them decide how, when and where to share their music, and guess what?
我有幸指导一些世界上最富有创造力的人，帮助他们决定如何、何时以及在哪里分享他们的音乐，猜猜怎么着？
Whether it's Charlie XCX or Bruno Mars, they all ask the same questions you do: "How can I be heard, and how can I make a difference?" I don't run my company from the top down.
无论是查莉·XCX还是布鲁诺·马尔斯，他们都问着和你同样的问题：“我如何才能被听见，又如何才能有所作为？ ” 我的公司并非自上而下地运作。
People your age help lead it, shape it and push it forward.
与你们同龄的人们正引领着这个时代，塑造着它的面貌，并推动它向前发展。
And guess what?
你猜怎么着？
Sometimes they fail, and that's not just okay.
有时他们会失败，而这不仅是可以接受的。
That's actually how creativity thrives.
这正是创造力蓬勃发展的方式。
I was in your seat less than 10 years ago, and I promise you this: People are going to underestimate you.
我坐在你们现在的位置上还不到十年，我向你们保证：人们会低估你们。
That's not your liability, that's your advantage.
这并非你的负担，反而是你的优势。
Everyone who has had success has been told "no" or "not possible" a thousand times.
每个取得成功的人，都曾被无数次告知“不行”或“那是不可能的”。
I even still hear "no" a thousand times a week, but this probably isn't the right time to talk about married life as my wife and 1-year-old daughter are here with us.
我甚至每周仍会听到“不” 上千次，不过现在可能不是谈论婚姻生活的好时机， 因为我的妻子和一岁的女儿今天也和我们在一起。
And Jake Shane.
还有杰克·谢恩。
Soph, I want to wish you a very happy first Mother's Day, and thank you for being here to spend it with me and all of us here.
亲爱的， 我想祝你第一个母亲节快乐，并感谢你在这里与我们所有人一起度过这个节日。
Now on your journey, try and stay curious, and do keep a bit of arrogance.
在你们的人生旅途中，请保持好奇心，同时也保留一丝傲气。
Keep going, keep going and keep going because the truth is, while older generations may represent where we have been and where we are right now, you represent something else entirely.
继续前进，继续努力，一直坚持下去， 因为事实是，虽然老一辈人代表着我们曾经去过的地方和我们现在的状态，但你们代表的是完全不同的东西。
A future we haven't seen, a future we cannot fully imagine and won't truly understand until you build it.
一个我们未曾目睹的未来，一个我们无法完全构想、唯有你们亲手创造才能真正理解的明天。
Each and every one of you are raised on speed, technology and constant evolution.
你们每一个人都成长于速度、技术和持续进化的环境中。
You'll shape culture, business and politics in ways we cannot yet fathom.
你们将以我们尚无法想象的方式塑造文化、商业和政治。
Before I close, I do want to pay tribute to someone at Northeastern who really helped me, Norma Rosen, who was my director of study.
在我结束演讲之前， 我想向东北大学的一位真正帮助过我的人致敬，她就是我的学习指导主任诺玛·罗森。
She sadly passed away in 2015.
她于2015年不幸去世。
She became my college mentor and sometimes therapist.
她成了我的大学导师，有时也像心理医生一样帮助我。
She really helped me find my path at Northeastern.
她真的帮助我在东北大学找到了自己的道路。
Now, I hope every one of you finds or even becomes a Norma to someone else as you leave Northeastern and prepare to head into the world.
现在，我希望你们每个人在离开东北大学、准备踏入社会时，都能找到或成为别人的诺玛·罗森（导师）。
Now you will hear "no" a thousand times.
现在你会听到“不行”一千次。
Fuck 'em.
去他妈的
Sorry, president.
对不起，总统。
Sorry, President Aoun.
抱歉，校长奥恩。
Keep going.
继续前进。
Pivot, double down and pivot again.
灵活调整，加倍投入，再次调整方向。
You might not land your dream job tomorrow or next year, but I promise you this: You will find your path.
你可能不会在明天或明年就得到梦想的工作，但我向你保证：你会找到属于自己的道路。
Stay open to the invisible doors around you.
保持对周围隐形机会的敏感。
Listen for them.
留意这些声音。
Listen to the ones you trust.
听你信任的人说的。
Listen to your Normas.
倾听你的诺玛导师们。
Listen to the world around you, and most of all, listen to yourself.
倾听周围的世界，最重要的是，倾听你自己。
I wish you all success in everything you do.
祝你们在未来的每一件事上都能取得成功。
A life that challenges you and inspires you to push all boundaries.
一种挑战你、激励你突破所有界限的生活。
You are the future, and the future starts now.
你们就是未来，而未来从现在开始。
Happy graduation, my fellow Huskies, and thank you.
毕业快乐，我亲爱的哈士奇校友们，感谢大家。
