Bill Gates gave the commencement speech at Harvard today. He also received an honorary degree, finally making him a college graduate. His speech is fantastic and worth reading. His call to action is clear:
In line with the promise of this age, I want to exhort each of the graduates here to take on an issue – a complex problem, a deep inequity, and become a specialist on it. If you make it the focus of your career, that would be phenomenal. But you don’t have to do that to make an impact. For a few hours every week, you can use the growing power of the Internet to get informed, find others with the same interests, see the barriers, and find ways to cut through them. Don’t let complexity stop you. Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives.
Remember, Fear is the mind-killer. Let’s get on with it.