Now I know you hoped for a Commencement speaker beloved in Boston—a man known for his popularity， character， and grace under pressure. I do know enough to know the most important thing about a commencement address： Be brief！ After you’ve worked， studied， struggled for so many years， now comes the hard part： listening to a commencement address. One friend who has given about a zillion1 commencement speeches gave me some great advice： “Larry， keep it short and let them go party. They’re not gonna listen to you anyway.”
　　The Boston Red Sox2 thank you， Boston University and we thank you， Class of 2008， for what you’ve done for us. Now， my role today is to share a few insights， and offer a bit of advice to you as you go out into the hard， cold world.
　　Let me start with a personal note that is a bit embarrassing. Not long after I completed law school， I kept—enlarged， framed， and posted proudly in my office—a passage written by Brendan Gill， a writer and critic for The New Yorker magazine.3 He wrote it as encouragement for the young， who， even in the easy-going 1970s， were hearing， in Mr. Gill’s opinion， far too much about what a serious matter life was.
　　According to Mr. Gill， I quote： “Not a shred of4 evidence exists in favor of the argument that life is serious， though it is often hard and even terrible. Since everything ends badly for us， in the inescapable catastrophe of death，5 it seems obvious that the first rule of life is to have a good time and that the second rule of life is to hurt as few people as possible. There is no third rule.”
　　For years， I did not doubt this quotation. After three unexpected decades as a baseball executive， and after several decades of errors， missteps， and regrets， I instead offer my personal “Top Ten List，” in no particular order： my list of some of the lessons that life and the world of sports have tried their best to teach me.
　　Number 10： Give a nod to Mr. Gill. Of course， it is true that life must be fun； also， that kindness is essential—and you do need to work at both. Mr. Gill wasn’t entirely wrong， just terribly incomplete.
　　Number 9： Be bold—do be prudent—but please take risks， in your personal life， in your career， in your travels. In one of my favorite Meryl Streep movies， Defending Your Life， the main character is challenged for a lifetime of caution and timidity：6 “Fear is like a giant fog. It sits on your brain and blocks everything. Real feeling， true happiness， real joy， they can’t get through that fog. But if you lift it， then buddy， you’re in for the ride of your life.” 　　Number 3： Don’t be colorblind. Your world is indeed a rich， open， diverse， multi-colored， multi-ethnic， multi-textured16， multi-cultural experience. Declaring that all groups are the same is a deceit17； believing that some ethnic groups are better than others is a moral disgrace. Embrace and celebrate the pluralism18 and diversity that are the essence of American life， indeed the essence of all of life. We aren’t all the same， we shouldn’t try to be. Immerse yourself； enjoy our enriching differences. Opposites allegedly19 attract； they also educate.
　　Number 2： Seek balance. A rich life is a balanced life. Don’t focus too early on your career. Deviate20 a bit. Embrace change. A Yale professor of my era once preached21： “Everything before age 30 was preface.” Widen your gaze. The world is open， and full of opportunity. And， pay attention to Sigmund Freud’s22 famous definition of mental health： “to work， to love， and to play well.”
　　Finally， Number 1： Help some people along the way. The famous French soldier and statesman， Marquis de Lafayette， wrote long ago of America： “What charms me most is that all of the citizens are brethren.”23 We are—and must still be—brethren. Find a cause you care about. Involve yourself. And start early in life. For me， a two-time cancer survivor， cancer research and patient treatment are at the top of my priorities， and those of the ever-growing Red Sox Foundation24.
　　Life is not about warming yourself by the fire， life is about building the fire. And generosity is the match. There is a Chinese proverb25 that applies. Roughly it says that if you want happiness for an hour， take a nap， but if you want happiness for a lifetime， help somebody.
　　In closing， let me say that， today is a day to focus on your triumph. I congratulate you—and with great admiration—wish you long and rewarding lives. God bless you， and thank you very much.
　　1. zillion： 不计其数的。
　　2 Boston Red Sox： 波士顿红袜队，是隶属于美国职业棒球大联盟的美国联盟东区的一支球队，拥有大聯盟满场最长纪录。
　　3. framed： 装裱起来的；Brendan Gill： 布伦丹·吉尔（1914—1997），《纽约客》著名撰稿人，后将其为《纽约客》撰稿六十余载的经历写成一本畅销书，名为Here at the New Yorker；The New Yorker：《纽约客》，美国的综合杂志，首次发行于1925年，内容涉及政治、国际事务、大众文化和艺术、科技、商业、文学作品等诸多领域。
　　4. a shred of： 一点点，些许。
　　5. inescapable： 必然的，不可逃避的；catastrophe：劫难。
　　6. Meryl Streep： 梅丽尔·斯特里普（1949— ），美国女演员，曾两次获得奥斯卡最佳女主角奖，知名作品包括《穿普拉达的女魔头》（The Devil Wears Prada）、《铁娘子》（The Iron Lady）等；Defending Your Life： 电影《阴阳界生死恋》；timidity： 胆怯，羞怯。
　　7. banal： 平庸的。
　　8. Elwood P. Dowd： 伍德·P. 多德，是电影《我的朋友叫哈维》（Harvey）中的主角，由詹姆斯·斯图尔特（James Stewart，即后文Jimmy Stewart）扮演，伍德是一个可爱的、想法古怪的中年男人，他最好的朋友是一只他臆想出来的名叫“哈维”的兔子。 　　9. oh-so： 非常地，极其地。由语气感叹词转化而来的副词。
　　10. self-assurance： 自信。
　　11. ponder： 琢磨，仔细思考。
　　12. 答案是因为他们有着共同的敌人。这里“共同的敌人”指的就是parents（父母），因為对于祖父母来说，父母是让他们操心的小孩子，而对于孩子们来说，父母是管教他们的大人。这里只是用了夸张有趣的手法来描述家庭关系的冲突。
　　13. Jackie Robinson： 杰基·罗宾森（1919—1972），美国职业棒球大联盟历史上第一位非裔美国人，是一位传奇运动员，以盗本垒绝技闻名。在成为大联盟球员之后，他用自己的比赛实力有力反抗了那些因种族歧视而反对黑人加入大联盟的人，起到很大的鼓舞作用，这段历史成为美国民权运动最重要的事件之一。
　　14. catalytic： 起到催化作用的，促进的；compelling： 难以抗拒的，引人入胜的；cause： 事业，（奋斗的）目标或运动（尤指社会改革运动）；nagging： 纠缠不休的。
　　15. outrage： 愤慨，震怒。
　　16. multi-textured： 多种多样的，多姿多彩的。texture意为“质地”。
　　17. deceit： 谎言，欺骗。
　　18. pluralism： 多元化，多元主义。
　　19. allegedly： 据宣称。
　　20. deviate： 偏离。
　　21. preach： 宣扬，说教。
　　22. Sigmund Freud： 西格蒙德·弗洛伊德（1856—1939），奥地利心理学家、精神分析学家、哲学家，提出“本我”（id）、“自我”（ego）、“超我”（superego）等概念，著有《梦的解析》（The Interpretation of Dreams）等。
　　23. Marquis de Lafayette： 拉法耶特侯爵（1757—1834），本名吉尔伯特·杜·莫提耶（Gilbert du Motier），法国将军、政治家，曾因参与到法国革命和美国革命当中而被誉为“两个世界的革命家”；brethren： 兄弟们，同仁。
　　24. Red Sox Foundation： 红袜基金会，在红袜队所有者及合伙人投资下成立，致力于改善新英格兰地区儿童与成人健康、教育、娱乐等的非营利组织。
　　25. proverb： 谚语，习语。