number two, contrary to popular belief, every boss you have is a role model. every boss you have is a role model. a great boss is a great role model. a bad boss is at least a good role model. i learned just as much from a great role models as i did from my less good bosses, because i tried to remind myself how they made people feel and thought if i could be the antithesis of them, that was a good leader. don't think if you end up with a bad boss in one of your early jobs that you can't learn something. you can learn a lot and if it is about what not to be. third, know that the road less traveled is much more interesting. my father had the pleasure of being in middle barry when robert frost was the poet in residence. our family has adopted the "road not taken" as one of our mantras. what did he tell us in that? two roads diverged in a wood and entity one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. why.

why. why is that important? stand by your convictions. why's that so important, because of number four. conventional wisdom is synonymous with playing it safe and looking backwards and is most of the advice from people when you asked. my advice to you is be afraid of old ideas, not new ideas. when you are soliciting advice, which is a good thing to do, just consider and remember the source and understand all advice you get has implicit biases. i can remember when alison and i were thinking about moving to tokyo and volunteering volunteering in the early 1990's. the first thing we did was survey landscape and ask 20 of my colleagues what they thought about moving to asia. when 18 of the 20 told me it was a bad idea, we knew it was the right thing to do and volunteer the next day. [laughter] the same thing happens on the school that the president mentioned a few minutes ago. when we embarked on a campaign to build a special needs school in new jersey, all the experts told us he could not be done.

everyone we asked said, you guys don't know what you are doing, you have never done this before. it is not going to work and here are the 15 reasons why. the message there is, follow your heart, not somebody else's mind. fifth, bring passion and energy to what you do every single day. there is a great speech from teddy roosevelt, i want to quote from that. i'm sure many of you have heard it already. i think it is one of the most powerful speeches, filled with is just for everybody. credit belongs to the man in the the arena who knows rate enthusiasms, great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause. who, at the best, in the end, nosy tramp of high achievement and not the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. leave it on the field. participate, don't spectate.

number six, understand that success is with awareness quotient. you know your strengths better than anybody else. play to your strengths, pursue your passions and learn from shortcomings. it may be, certainly at my age my weaknesses are weaknesses. it is unlikely that a weakness of mine at 53 will be a strength at 60. i should play to my strengths and pursue my passions. number seven, remember your roots and keep your friends and family close. not just for the reason you think. it is not just about work-life balance. what i call your personal board of directors -- they are the ones who will always get unfiltered feedback from. they will be your foundation, your compass, and they will keep you grounded. number eight, i think you already know this, be prepared for every encounter. calvin coolidge taught as a long time ago that there is nothing in the world like to take the place of perseverance. it was vince lombardy that said the only place success comes

before work is in the dictionary. show up every day prepared. does not matter who you are presenting to. i can be presenting to a class of third graders as it was a couple of weeks ago. everyone deserves what. be prepared. number nine, the high road is less crowded but it is where you should always aspire to be. people will make it tough to say there. the good news for me, i really hate traffic and there are no traffic jams on the high road. number 10, treat everyone with respect and kindness. it does not matter who they are or what they can do for you. the measure of a human being is, if you take care of people who you know can't do anything for you the same way you take care of people who can, you are a good person. number 11, think about the difference between optimism and pessimism. pessimist sees the challenges in every opportunity. the optimist sees the opportunities in every challenge.

be an optimist. hang out with optimists. i met colin powell the other day, if you don't like the guy already, he is an amazing man, you will like him even more when you hear his rules of leadership, guess how many he has? 13 roles of leadership. be optimistic. number 12, understand you have received a great deal and more will be expected of you and that is ok. expect more of yourself and those around you, it will make life more fulfilling. last but not least, for number 13 in every situation you encounter, leave it better than you found it. do it professionally and personally. pay it forward. we all say it, too few of us do it. find your own way to do it. a lot people say, i don't have the means or the time. find your way.

it will evolve as you go through life. allison and i have decided personally along with our family that our way of paying it forward is tied to autism, raising awareness, building schools and moving toward employment and housing for these young adults with autism. professionally, i spent a lot of time on financial literacy, and a lot of time trying to create jobs in this country. most recently, getting very involved with veterans and talking on the time about the importance of hiring returning veterans and helping them transition to civilian life. the message on all that is be a giver and support those who give. in closing, as i contemplate somewhat jealously the wonderful journey on which you are about to embark, i am reminded of clarence clemons. those who follow bruce springsteen will know who he is. the late great sax player. probably the best i have ever

heard in my life. he said to bruce well into their career, going out another tour, he said this could be the start of something big. [laughter] for you guys, this could be the start of something big. it will be what you make of it. fasten your seatbelts. no one will give you an instruction manual, but your generation does not need one. nothing you buy anymore comes with an instruction manual. [laughter] we get an iphone, and ipad, we're like, where is the book booklet, so then you ask your kids and they teach you. that is great. pay more attention to yourself worse than your net worth -- self-worth than your net worth. participate, don't spectate. have the feelings of victory and defeat, it will make you a stronger person. by all means, keep colgate close to you. as for that number 13, we will be celebrating the schools

opening later this year. the one conventional wisdom said was not feasible. the one the experts said never who don't. when? september 13, because nine plus one plus three equals 13. friday the 13th happens to fall in september this year, we will be opening that school on friday, september 13, 2013. you know what i would say? why not? [applause] >> next, more of this year's

commencement addresses. next, arianna huffington at smith college. later, former president bill clinton speaking at howard university. >> she makes the first speech by sitting first lady, becomes the first president of the daughters of the american revolution, designs her own time and establishes the white house china collection and is the first to have a christmas tree in the white house. meet caroline harrison, wife of the 23rd president, benjamin harrison, as we continue our series on first ladies with your questions and comments. monday night, live at 9:00 eastern on c-span, c-span3, c- span radio and c-span.org. arianna huffington was the commencement speaker at graduation ceremonies this year at smith college in

massachusetts. she is the head of the "huffington post" an online news site and blog founded in 2005. this is about 25 minutes. >> i present to you the 2013 commencement speaker, arianna huffington. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you so much. members of the faculty, devoted parents and friends, and especially the fabulous class of 2013. [applause] congratulations, you have reached the light at the end of the tunnel.

when you first arrived at smith four years ago, i am sure you never imagined that at the end of that, we there would be a lady behind a podium talking to you in a funny accent. [laughter] this accent has been the bane of my existence until, in 1980, i moved to new york from england and i met henry kissinger. he said to me don't ever worry about your accent. in american public life, you can never underestimate the advantages of complete and total incomprehensibility. [laughter] [applause] i am so grateful to be with you at this very special moment. you don't know it, but i have spent the last few weeks stalking you. [laughter] on your smith website, your twitter feed, facebook, instagram, tumblr, so i can get to know you better. here is what i have found.

you are fascinating and curious and quirky and asking the big questions, and worrying about the little things. and solving the cosmic riddles and agonizing about what shoes to wear at commencement. [laughter] what happens if you become a youtube sensation. i have learned about smith writing on subjects that i don't understand but i can't even pronounce. like stephanie, i want you to hear her recess pronounced in a greek accent. on entropy and contributions to the chelate effect. i have learned about the three seniors who are part of the

basketball team, which made the division iii ncaa tournament. [applause] a historic accomplishment to add to your already -- lots of fans for them. a historic accomplishment. i learned about the many who are first in their family to graduate from college. [applause] like one who began her journey in the dominican republic. before i go any further, because i have been so impressed, i feel compelled to extend to all of you graduating class of 2013, a lifelong invitation to blog in the huffington post. [applause] about your graduation, and about

all of your adventures on the next stage of the journey you are starting today. in order to bypass the growing huffington post bureaucracy, i am going to give you right now my e-mail address. arianna@huffingtonpost.com. you can send it directly to me and get the password for life. [applause] getting to know you has made me feel very protective of you. especially because i have two daughters who are about your age, college-age kids. it has also made me realize that you don't need protection because you are ready to take on the world. and you have attended the center for work and life, you even have a passport to life after smith. [applause] [laughter] the opportunity to learn things

like job interviewing skills, how to balance a budget, cook a healthy meal and change a tire. you can consider my speech today a continuation of the passport to life after smith area and full disclosure, i cannot cook and definitely cannot change a tire. [laughter] part of life after smith will be deciding what things you want to put your energy into and what things you don't. it was a big revelation for me when i realized that i did not have to complete everything i thought i wanted to do, like learning german or becoming a good skier or learning to cook. i realized that you can complete the project by dropping it. [laughter] [applause] commencement speakers are traditionally expected to tell graduates how to get out there and climb the ladder of success.

i want to ask you instead to redefine success. the world you are headed into desperately needs it. and because you are up to it. your education at smith has made it unequivocally clear that you're entitled to take your place in the world on equal footing. what i urge you to do, not just take your place at the top of the world, but to change the world. [applause] what i urge you to do is to lead in the third women's revolution. [applause] the first was led by the suffragettes over 100 years ago, when brave women like susan b anthony and elizabeth cady stanton fought to give women the right to vote, among other things.

the second women's revolution was led by smith alumni and the gloria steinhem. [applause] gloria continues to fight to expand the role of women in our society. to give us full access to the roles of power where decisions are being made. why the second revolution is still in progress, we simply cannot wait any longer for the third revolution to begin. i can't imagine a place where i would be more likely to find the leaders of that revolution than right here at smith. at the moment, our society's

notion of success -- money and power -- in fact money and power is practically become synonymous. but it is time for a third metric beyond money and power. one founded on well-being, wisdom, our ability to wonder and get back. [applause] money and power by themselves are like a two-legged stool. you can balance on them for a while, but eventually you will topple over. more and more people are toppling over every day. basically, success, the way we have defined it, is no longer sustainable. it is not sustainable for human beings, it is not sustainable for the planet. [applause] to live the lives we want and not just the lives we settle for, the lives according to society's definition of success, we need to include the third

metric. in 2004, a president give a speech that was ahead of its time. it was titled, "inside the clockwork of women's careers." to me, it is very much a third women's revolution call to arms. she spoke of the need to dispel myths about ambition and success, chief among them the myth that success and ambition look like a straight line. i guess it is no big surprise that the image of success created by men would be an long phallic shape, straight line. [laughter] [applause] if we don't redefine success, the personal price we pay will get higher. as the data shows, the price is much higher for women than men.

among career women, who have stressful jobs -- and which career woman doesn't? -- there is a nearly 40% increased risk of heart disease and a 60% increased risk of diabetes. in the last 30 years, as women have made strides and gained in the workplace, levels of stress have gone up to 18%. another smith graduation speaker, alyssa cook, notoriously told the class of 1954 that their way to the top would be determined by the men they married. well -- i want to do her one better and tell you, don't get to the top by marrying someone. a much simpler way is to sleep your way to the top. [laughter] [applause]

right now, i imagine the president is thinking she should have edited me. [laughter] but i am talking about sleep in the literal sense. [laughter] right now, the workplace is absolutely fueled by sleep deprivation and burnout. i actually know of what i speak. in 2007, sleep deprived and exhausted, i fainted, hit my head on my desk, broke my cheekbone and got four stitches on my right eye. that is the beginning of my reacquainting myself with sleep and a need to redefine success. to include our own sense of well-being. even if sleep deprivation is not affecting your health, it is affecting your creativity, your

productivity and her decision- making. did you know that the exxon valdez wreck, the explosion of the challenger space shuttle and the nuclear accidents of chernobyl and three mile island were all partially read the result of decisions made on too little sleep? according to research at walter reed hospital, the only thing that gets better with sleep deprivation is magical thinking and reliance on superstition. [laughter] for those of you majoring in fortune-telling, go ahead and burn the midnight oil. the rest of you, not so much. [laughter] as you can tell by now, i am a major street evangelist. at the huffington post, in our

newsroom, we have two nap rooms. [applause] at first, hundreds of editors and reporters and engineers were very reluctant to be seen in the middle of the afternoon having a nap. but now, the two nap rooms are continuously booked and we need to offer a third. i must say, the other day i was walking by one of the nap rooms and i saw two people coming out of the nap room. i thought to myself, whatever it takes to recharge yourself. [laughter] just please don't tell hr. adding well-being to our definition of success means is that in addition to looking after our financial capital, we need to look after our human capital. my mother was an expert at that. i remember when i was 12 years old, a successful greek

businessman came to dinner at our home in athens. he told us how well everything was going in his life. my mother looked at him, looking turned out, exhausted, and said to him, i don't care how well your business is doing, you are not taking care of you. your business might have a great bottom line, but you are your most important capital. there are only so many withdraws you can make from your health bank account, but you just keep on withdrawing. you could go bankrupt if you don't make some deposits. not long after that, the man had to be admitted for an angioplasty. when we include well-being in our definition of success, it changes our relationship with time. right now, we are also stressed out about time that every time you look at our watch, it is later than we think. researchers have a term for it, time famine. dr. seuss wrote about it ahead of the researchers, of course.

how did it get so late so soon? it is night before this afternoon. december is here before it is june. my goodness, have the time has flown, how did it get so late so soon? does that feel familiar to any one or more likely to everyone? as long as success is defined by money and power, climbing and burnout, we will never have the time to be able to enjoy that other aspect of the third metric -- wonder. i was blessed with a mother who was living in a constant state of wonder, whether she was washing the dishes or feeding seagulls at the beach or reprimanding overworking businessman machine maintained her sense of wonder. delighted at the mysteries of