Hugh Jackman’s Ball State speech includes life lessons about failure and intuition: ‘Even mistakes can be the best thing’

Hugh Jackman came to the graduation ceremony and gave one of the most heartfelt graduation speeches in recent memory. Best known for playing Wolverine in the X-Men franchise and his Tony Award-winning performances on Broadway, the Australian actor received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Ball State University in Indiana. He spoke frankly about uncertainty, failure, and following what truly shines for you. Here’s everything he wants you to know.

In his speech at Ball State University in Indiana, Jackman revealed that he turned down several requests over the years to speak at events like this because he never felt prepared. “Give me a few more years, I thought to myself,” He said. “You get this short window to sum up the meaning of life, how to live it to the fullest, and then you live on the internet forever. It’s a lot of pressure.” Finally, he accepted an invitation to Ball State University in Indiana, where his partner, Sutton Foster, is an assistant professor in the theater department, because at 57 he realized that he would never reach the point where he knew everything.

The opening and central message of Hugh’s speech was about making peace with not knowing. “So why did you say yes now? I don’t know. In fact, if I could give this speech a title, it would probably be, I don’t know,” He told the graduates. “No sense of real knowledge will come from you, and even you will feel very uncertain,” He added. Instead of waiting until he felt ready, he encouraged everyone in that room to go ahead anyway.

Hugh traced this lesson to his unexpected path into acting. He began studying college communications, without much passion, until he signed up for a theater appreciation elective simply because it was the easiest way to get credits. “The moment I walked into that house and was greeted by those actors, every cell in my body was telling me that I had found my tribe, that I had just spent three years of my life doing it wrong.” He said. “I learned a painful lesson in listening to that voice inside me. Every time I listened to my heart, and that little voice inside me that was and still is guiding me, I realized that I was on the right path.”

Hugh was clear that failure was not something to be feared, but something to be welcomed. “Let’s also accept that even mistakes can turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to us.” He said to the audience, which was met with applause. “Many of the best things that ever happened to me were mistakes, failures, or random classes I joined to get me to the finish line.” He added. If you’ve failed recently, Hugh’s message is simple: You’re exactly where you need to be.

Concluding his speech, Hugh asked the graduates one question: What lights you up? “What makes you happy? What will fuel you when you have to work incredibly hard, which you will. When you have to face fear, doubt, loneliness, and failure, which you will. What lights you up? What’s burning inside you?” he asked. He warned them not to climb the wrong ladder, quoting Joseph Campbell that perhaps there is nothing worse than reaching the top and discovering that you are on the wrong wall. “Your heart, and the little voice inside you, will tell you what is the right wall, what is the right ladder for you,” He said. “And above all, the deep satisfaction that you are living your own life, your life, because no one can take that away from you.”