During the many years I have been writing a monthly website article, two have been devoted to messages conveyed in college commencement speeches, one by the late Steven Jobs at Stanford University in 2005 and the other by J.K. Rowling at Harvard University in June, 2008. The insights they expressed resonated immediately with my decades-long interest in identifying and reinforcing the underpinnings of resilience. In other columns I have written about resilience in the face of illness, trauma, or loss, including an account of the death of my twin brother Michael from a rare disease, amyloidosis. Michael’s incredible attitude and the dignity with which he conducted his life when confronted with an illness with no known cure captured the essential nature of what I have described as a “resilient lifestyle.” This past week I was very moved by the reflections and emotions expressed by another commencement speaker, Sheryl Sandberg, to graduates at the University of California at Berkeley. Sandberg’s life is filled with many accomplishments, including her past role as Vice President of Global Online Sales and Marketing at Google, her current position as Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and her authorship of the bestselling book Lean In. Several people…
