The Resilient Mind - Go All In - Denzel Washington

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

Denzel Washington is a renowned American actor, director, and producer, celebrated for his powerful performances and significant contributions to the film industry. His illustrious career is highlighted by multiple Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for "Glory" and Best Actor for "Training Day." Beyond his cinematic achievements, Washington is also known for his philanthropy and advocacy for the arts, inspiring a new generation of performers and filmmakers.Take action and strengthen your mind with The Resilient Mind Journal. Get your free digital copy today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Now⁠⁠  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Resilient Mind podcast. In this episode, you will be listening to Go All In with Denzel Washington. Get access to the Resilient Mind Journal by clicking the link in the show notes. Enjoy. I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Nothing. Nelson Mandela said, There is no passion to be found playing small in settling.

for a life that's less than the one you're capable of living. Now I'm sure in your experiences in school and applying to college and picking your major and deciding what you want to do with life, I'm sure people have told you to make sure you have something to fall back on, make sure you got something to fall back on, honey. But I never understood that concept, having something to fall back on. If I'm going to fall, I don't want to fall back on anything. except my faith. I want to fall forward.

I figure at least this way I'll see what I'm going to hit. Fall forward. This is what I mean. Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times in his career the most in the history of baseball. But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs. Fall forward. Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments.

Did you know that? I didn't know that. Because the 1001st was the light bulb, fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. You've got to take risks, and I'm sure you've probably heard that before, but I want to talk to you about why that's so important. I got three reasons, and you can pick up your iPhones. First, you will fail at some point in your life. life, accept it. You will lose. You will embarrass yourself. You will suck at something.

There's no doubt about it. And I know that's probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony, but hey, I'm telling you, embrace it, because it's inevitable. And I should know. In the acting business, you fail all the time. Early on in my career, I auditioned for a part in a Broadway musical. Perfect role for me, I thought, except for the fact that. I can't sing. So I'm in the wings. I'm about to go on stage, but the guy in front of me,

he's singing like Pavarati. He's just going on and on and on. And I'm just shrinking. I'm getting smaller and smaller. So they say, oh, thank you very much. Thank you very much. You'll be hearing from us. So I come out with my little sheet music

and it was just my imagination by the temptations. That's what I came up with. So I handed it to the accompanies, and she looks at it and looks at me and looks out at the director, and it was like, so I start, you know, I'm going to sing. I'm like, it's just my imagination once again. And then kind of away.

with me and I'm not saying anything so I'm thinking I'm getting better I start getting into it running this oh yeah thank you thank you thank you thank you very much mr. Washington thank you so I assumed I didn't get the job but the next part of the audition he called me back the next part of the audition is the acting part of the audition now I'm like hey okay maybe I can't sing but I know I can act so they pair me with this guy and again I didn't know about musical theater And musical theater is big, so they can reach everyone all the way in the back of the stadium. And I'm more from a realistic, naturalistic kind of acting where you actually talk to the person next to you. So I don't know what my line was.

My line was, will hand me the cup. And his line was, well, I will hand you the cup, my dear. The cup will be there to be handed to you. I said, okay. Well, should I give you the cup back? Oh yes, you should give it back to me because you know that is my cup and it should be given back to me. I didn't get the job. But here's the thing.

I didn't quit. I didn't fall back. I walked out of there to prepare for the next audition and the next audition and the next audition and the next audition. I prayed. I prayed and I prayed, but I continued to fail and fail and fail. But it didn't matter because you know what? There's an old saying, you hang around the barbershop long enough, sooner or later you're

going to get a haircut. So you will catch a break, and I did catch a break. Last year, I did a play called Fences on Broadway. I saw someone talk about it. the Tony Award. And I didn't have to sing, by the way. But here's the kicker. It was at the court theater. It was at the same theater that I failed that first audition 30 years prior. The point is, and I'll pick up the pace, the point is, every graduate here today has the training and the talent to succeed. But do you have the guts to fail?

Here's my second point about failure. If you don't fail, you're not even trying. I'll say it again. If you don't fail, you're not even trying. My wife told me this great expression. To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. Les Browns, a motivational speaker. He made an analogy about this.

He says, imagine you're on your deathbed, and standing around your deathbed are the ghosts representing your unfulfilled potential. The ghost of the ideas you never acted on, the ghost 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, they say. And now we have to go to the grave together. So I ask you today, how many ghosts are going to be around your bed when your time comes? You've invested a lot in your education, and people have been invested.

in you. And let me tell you, the world needs your talents, man, does it ever? I just got back from Africa like two days ago, so if I'm rambling on, it's because I'm jet lag. I just got back from South Africa. It's a beautiful country, but there are places there with terrible poverty that need help. And Africa is just the tip of the iceberg. The Middle East needs your help. Japan needs your help. Alabama needs your help. Tennessee needs your help. Louisiana needs your help. Philadelphia needs your help. The world needs a lot and we need it from you. We really do. We need it from you young people. I mean, I'm not speaking for the rest of us up here, but I know I'm getting a little grayer.

We need it from you, the young people, because remember this. So you got to get out there. You've got to give it everything you got, whether it's your time, your talent, your prayers, or your treasures. Because we're Remember this. You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. I'll say it again. You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. You can't take it with you. The Egyptians tried it. And all they got was robbed. So the question is, what are you going to do with what you have? I'm not talking about how much you have. Some of you are business majors, some of you are theologians, nurses, sociologists. Some of you have money.

Some of you have patience. Some of you have kindness. Some of you have love. Some of you have the gift of long suffering, whatever it is, whatever your gift is. What are you going to do with what you have? All right now here's my last point about failure. Sometimes it's the best way to figure out where you're going. Your life will never be a straight path.

I began at Fordham University as a pre-med student. I took a course called the cardiac morphis. I still can't say it. Cardiac morphogenesis. I couldn't read it. I couldn't say it. I sure couldn't pass it. So then I decided to go into pre-law, then journalism.

And with no academic focus, my grades took off in their own direction. Yeah, down. I was a 1.8 GPA one semester, and the university very politely suggested that it might be better to take some time off. I was 20 years old. I was at my lowest point. And then one day, and I remember the exact day, March 27, 1975, I was helping my mother in her beauty shop. My mother owned a beauty shop up in Mount Vernon. And there was this older woman who was considered one of the elders in the town.

And I didn't know her personally, but I was looking in the mirror. And every time I looked at the mirror, I could see her behind me, and she was staring at me. She just kept looking at me. Every time I looked at it, she kept giving me these strange looks. So she finally took the dryer off her head and said to something. She said something I'll never forget. First of all, she said, somebody, give me a piece of paper. Give me a piece of paper.

She said, young boy, I have a prophecy, a spiritual prophecy. She said, you are going to travel the world and speak to millions of people. Now, mind you, I'm 20 years old, I'm flunked out of school. In fact, like a wise ass, I'm thinking to myself, maybe she's got something in that crystal ball about me getting back into school next fall. But maybe she was on to something because later that summer, while working as a counselor at the YMCA camp in Connecticut, we put on a talent show for the campers. And after the show, another counselor came up to me and asked,

Had you ever thought about acting, you're good at that. So when I got back to Fordham that fall, I got in, I changed my major once again for the last time. And in the years that followed, just as that woman prophesied, I have traveled the world, and I have spoken to millions of people through my movies. Millions who up till this day couldn't see me, who up till this day I couldn't see while I was talking to them, and they couldn't see me.

They could only see the movie. They couldn't see the real me. But I see you today. And I'm encouraged by what I see. And I'm strengthened by what I see. And I love what I see. One more page. Now, shut up.

Let me conclude with this one final point. And actually, the president kind of brought it up has to do with the movie Philadelphia. She stole my material. Many years ago, I did this movie called Philadelphia. We filmed some of the scenes right here on campus. Philadelphia came out in 1993. Most of you were probably still in diapers.

Some of the professors, too. That cracked me up. But it was a good movie. Rent it on what do you call it Netflix. It's a good movie. Rent it. I get 23 cents every time you rent it, please. True.

Parents up there, rent, rent it. Netflix, please. Tell your friends, too. It's about a man played by Tom Hanks, who's fired from his law firm because he has AIDS. He wants to sue the firm, but no one's willing to represent him until a homophobic ambulance chaser, lawyer, played by yours, truly takes on the case. In a way, if you watch the movie, you'll see everything I'm talking about today. You'll see what I mean about taking risk or being willing to fail.

Because taking risk is not just about going for a job. It's also about knowing what you know and what you don't know. It's about being open to people and to ideas. In the course of the film, the character I play begins to take small steps, small risks. He very, very, very slowly begins to overcome his fears. And I feel ultimately his heart becomes flooded with love. And I can't think of a better message as we send you off today. To not only take risks, but to be open to life, to accept new views, and to be open to new

opinions, to be willing to speak at a commencement at one of the best universities in the country, even though you're scared stiff. While it may be frightening, it will also be rewarding. the chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, the faith that you have, that's what's going to define you. Thank you for tuning in. Continue strengthening your mind by listening to our other episodes.