By Lawrence Lucchino

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 youve 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. Theyre not gonna listen to you anyway.”

The Boston Red Sox2 thank you， Boston University and we thank you， Class of 2008， for what youve 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. Gills 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 wasnt 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 cant get through that fog. But if you lift it， then buddy， youre in for the ride of your life.”

Number 8： Smile， laugh， and be pleasant. This may sound banal7 and naive. It is not. It is a profound occupational and personal advantage. Let me quote Elwood P. Dowd8， the central character in the unforgettable Jimmy Stewart film Harvey—a man with whom I have come to agree. Quote： “My mother used to say to me， ‘Elwood， in this world you must be oh-so9 clever， or oh-so pleasant. For 40 years I tried clever. I recommend pleasant.”

Number 7： Be strong enough to say， “I dont know.”When you dont know or understand something—and such a time may come even after the superior education you have received at BU—when you dont know， say so. Dont guess. Dont fake it. If you dont have the answer， these seven words often work out well： “I dont know， but Ill find out.” You wont mislead your colleagues， and people will respect your honesty and self-assurance10.

Number 6： Remember： Life is too hard to be lived alone. Find time for your family. You only get one. “Thank God，” I can hear some of you saying out there. And， a family of your own will change the way you look at life， at your parents， at your grandparents. “Oh， now I get it，” youll say. So， put simply， call home； call your parents， but especially call your mother！ And remember， texting doesnt count. And check in with your grandparents， often the most loyal， loving and supportive people you will ever have in your life. Ponder11 this riddle： Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well？ The answer—and I say it light-heartedly： Because they have an enemy in common.12 And work at friendship. Develop a talent for friendship. Friends fill a life； they represent perhaps the purest choices you ever make in life.

Number 5： Reflect often upon the most important source of knowledge in your student years—your classmates. Its from them that you have discovered other ways of looking at the world—other ways of living. Stay in touch with the people who matter to you—share one anothers lives. Through sharing one anothers sorrow， you will find life tolerable. Through sharing one anothers joys， you will enhance your life.

Number 4： Remember Jackie Robinson13. Be mindful of the catalytic effect one person can have on a community， on a neighborhood， on a nation， on a compelling cause or a nagging injustice.14 Hold within yourself a capacity for outrage15 at injustice. Be confident that if you fight long enough and hard enough， you too can make a difference. And like Jackie Robinson， you can do it with dignity.

Number 3： Dont 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 arent all the same， we shouldnt 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. Dont 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 Freuds22 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： 不計(jì)其數(shù)的。

2 Boston Red Sox： 波士頓紅襪隊(duì)，是隸屬于美國職業(yè)棒球大聯(lián)盟的美國聯(lián)盟東區(qū)的一支球隊(duì)，擁有大聯(lián)盟滿場最長紀(jì)錄。

3. framed： 裝裱起來的；Brendan Gill： 布倫丹·吉爾（1914—1997），《紐約客》著名撰稿人，后將其為《紐約客》撰稿六十余載的經(jīng)歷寫成一本暢銷書，名為Here at the New Yorker；The New Yorker：《紐約客》，美國的綜合雜志，首次發(fā)行于1925年，內(nèi)容涉及政治、國際事務(wù)、大眾文化和藝術(shù)、科技、商業(yè)、文學(xué)作品等諸多領(lǐng)域。

4. a shred of： 一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)，些許。

5. inescapable： 必然的，不可逃避的；catastrophe：劫難。

6. Meryl Streep： 梅麗爾·斯特里普（1949— ），美國女演員，曾兩次獲得奧斯卡最佳女主角獎(jiǎng)，知名作品包括《穿普拉達(dá)的女魔頭》（The Devil Wears Prada）、《鐵娘子》（The Iron Lady）等；Defending Your Life： 電影《陰陽界生死戀》；timidity： 膽怯，羞怯。

7. banal： 平庸的。

8. Elwood P. Dowd： 伍德·P. 多德，是電影《我的朋友叫哈維》（Harvey）中的主角，由詹姆斯·斯圖爾特（James Stewart，即后文Jimmy Stewart）扮演，伍德是一個(gè)可愛的、想法古怪的中年男人，他最好的朋友是一只他臆想出來的名叫“哈維”的兔子。

9. oh-so： 非常地，極其地。由語氣感嘆詞轉(zhuǎn)化而來的副詞。

10. self-assurance： 自信。

11. ponder： 琢磨，仔細(xì)思考。

12. 答案是因?yàn)樗麄冇兄餐臄橙恕＿@里“共同的敵人”指的就是parents（父母），因?yàn)閷?duì)于祖父母來說，父母是讓他們操心的小孩子，而對(duì)于孩子們來說，父母是管教他們的大人。這里只是用了夸張有趣的手法來描述家庭關(guān)系的沖突。

13. Jackie Robinson： 杰基·羅賓森（1919—1972），美國職業(yè)棒球大聯(lián)盟歷史上第一位非裔美國人，是一位傳奇運(yùn)動(dòng)員，以盜本壘絕技聞名。在成為大聯(lián)盟球員之后，他用自己的比賽實(shí)力有力反抗了那些因種族歧視而反對(duì)黑人加入大聯(lián)盟的人，起到很大的鼓舞作用，這段歷史成為美國民權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)最重要的事件之一。

14. catalytic： 起到催化作用的，促進(jìn)的；compelling： 難以抗拒的，引人入勝的；cause： 事業(yè)，（奮斗的）目標(biāo)或運(yùn)動(dòng)（尤指社會(huì)改革運(yùn)動(dòng)）；nagging： 糾纏不休的。

15. outrage： 憤慨，震怒。

16. multi-textured： 多種多樣的，多姿多彩的。texture意為“質(zhì)地”。

17. deceit： 謊言，欺騙。

18. pluralism： 多元化，多元主義。

19. allegedly： 據(jù)宣稱。

20. deviate： 偏離。

21. preach： 宣揚(yáng)，說教。

22. Sigmund Freud： 西格蒙德·弗洛伊德（1856—1939），奧地利心理學(xué)家、精神分析學(xué)家、哲學(xué)家，提出“本我”（id）、“自我”（ego）、“超我”（superego）等概念，著有《夢的解析》（The Interpretation of Dreams）等。

23. Marquis de Lafayette： 拉法耶特侯爵（1757—1834），本名吉爾伯特·杜·莫提耶（Gilbert du Motier），法國將軍、政治家，曾因參與到法國革命和美國革命當(dāng)中而被譽(yù)為“兩個(gè)世界的革命家”；brethren： 兄弟們，同仁。

24. Red Sox Foundation： 紅襪基金會(huì)，在紅襪隊(duì)所有者及合伙人投資下成立，致力于改善新英格蘭地區(qū)兒童與成人健康、教育、娛樂等的非營利組織。

25. proverb： 諺語，習(xí)語。