'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.'
Since his Hollywood debut in the 1980s, Denzel Washington has consistently delivered some of the most powerful performances in cinema. From playing a relentless vigilante in “The Equalizer” series to embodying Malcolm X in 1992, Washington’s on-screen presence has captivated audiences for decades. But his influence extends beyond film. Off-screen, his words and actions have inspired countless people to pursue their dreams. In a 2011 commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania—now viral online—Washington urged graduates to go after their ambitions, warning them not to let “the ghosts of unfulfilled potential” haunt them at life’s end.
Washington opened his speech with humor, mentioning his Yankee cap, and admitted that he was nervous. Despite being a movie star, he confessed to feeling uncomfortable speaking in front of thousands. Yet, he accepted the invitation, joking that maybe he just wanted to “make a fool of himself.”
“Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks,” he explained, adding that people usually ask young ones to have something to fall back on. This idea doesn’t resonate with Washington. “If I am going to fall, I don’t want to fall back on anything, except my faith. I want to fall forward.” He emphasized that if someone wants to fall, they should make sure they’re “falling forward,” an expression implying that even if one fails, one must grow a step further with each failure.
“You will fail at some point in your life – you’ll embarrass yourself,” he confessed, adding along his own story of rejections and struggles. Despite getting rejected multiple times, he didn’t quit. He prayed and continued to fail and fail. Reflecting on that part of his life, he said, “Sometimes, failure is the best way to figure out where you’re going.” Ultimately, the lesson is to not give up. “The world needs your talent,” he said. “You got to get out there, you got to give it everything you’ve got whether your time, your talent, your prayers, your treasures.”
Adding another pearl of wisdom to the list, he inspired the students to chase their dreams, even though they may encounter failures on the way. “If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying,” the two-time Oscar-winning star said in the speech. He said his wife told him this great expression, “To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.” He continued the electric speech by bringing up the example of motivational speaker Les Brown, who once gave an analogy of the “ghosts on deathbed” to inspire people to live up to their greatest potential and achieve momentous glory.
“Imagine you are on your deathbed,” Washington illustrated Brown’s example, “and standing around your deathbed are the ghosts representing your unfulfilled potential; the ghosts of the ideas you never acted on, the ghosts of the talents you didn’t use, and they’re standing around your bed – angry, disappointed and upset. They say, ‘We came to you, because you could have brought us to life, and now we have to go to the grave together.’” He wrapped up the powerful lesson by addressing the group of students with a question worthy of deep contemplation, “I am going to ask you today…how many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes?”
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