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I'mhonoredtobewithyoutodaybecause,let'sfaceit,youaccomplishedsomethingInevercould.IfIgetthroughthisspeech,it'llbethefirsttimeIactuallyfinishsomethingatHarvard.Classof2017,congratulations!I'manunlikelyspeaker,notjustbecauseIdroppedout,butbecausewe'retechnicallyinthesamegeneration.Wewalkedthisyardlessthanadecadeapart,studiedthesameideasandsleptthroughthesameEc10lectures.Wemayhavetakendifferentpathstogethere,especiallyifyoucameallthewayfromtheQuad,buttodayIwanttosharewhatI'velearnedaboutourgenerationandtheworldwe'rebuildingtogether.Butfirst,thelastcoupleofdayshavebroughtbackalotofgoodmemories.HowmanyofyourememberexactlywhatyouweredoingwhenyougotthatemailtellingyouthatyougotintoHarvard?IwasplayingCivilizationandIrandownstairs,gotmydad,andforsomereason,hisreactionwastovideomeopeningtheemail.Thatcouldhavebeenareallysadvideo.IsweargettingintoHarvardisstillthethingmyparentsaremostproudofmefor.WhataboutyourfirstlectureatHarvard?MinewasComputerScience121withtheincredibleHarryLewis.IwaslatesoIthrewonat-shirtanddidn'trealizeuntilafterwardsitwasinsideoutandbackwardswithmytagstickingoutthefront.Icouldn'tfigureoutwhynoonewouldtalktome--exceptoneguy,KXJin,hejustwentwithit.Weendedupdoingourproblemsetstogether,andnowherunsabigpartofFacebook.Andthat,Classof2017,iswhyyoushouldbenicetopeople.ButmybestmemoryfromHarvardwasmeetingPriscilla.IhadjustlaunchedthisprankwebsiteFacemash,andtheadboardwantedtoseeme.EveryonethoughtIwasgoingtogetkickedout.Myparentscametohelpmepack.Myfriendsthrewmeagoingawayparty.Asluckwouldhaveit,Priscillawasatthatpartywithherfriend.WemetinlineforthebathroominthePhohoBelltower,andinwhatmustbeoneofthealltimeromanticlines,Isaid:I'mgoingtogetkickedoutinthreedays,soweneedtogoonadatequickly.Actually,anyofyougraduatingcanusethatline.Ididn'tendupgettingkickedout--Ididthattomyself.PriscillaandIstarteddating.And,youknow,thatmoviemadeitseemlikeFacemashwassoimportanttocreatingFacebook.Itwasn't.ButwithoutFacemashIwouldn'thavemetPriscilla,andshe'sthemostimportantpersoninmylife,soyoucouldsayitwasthemostimportantthingIbuiltinmytimehere.We'veallstartedlifelongfriendshipshere,andsomeofusevenfamilies.That'swhyI'msogratefultothisplace.Thanks,Harvard.TodayIwanttotalkaboutpurpose.ButI'mnotheretogiveyouthestandardcommencementaboutfindingyourpurpose.We'remillennials.We'lltrytodothatinstinctively.Instead,I'mheretotellyoufindingyourpurposeisn'tenough.Thechallengeforourgenerationiscreatingaworldwhereeveryonehasasenseofpurpose.OneofmyfavoritestoriesiswhenJohnFKennedyvisitedtheNASAspacecenter,hesawajanitorcarryingabroomandhewalkedoverandaskedwhathewasdoing.Thejanitorresponded:Mr.President,I'mhelpingputamanonthemoon.Purposeisthatsensethatwearepartofsomethingbiggerthanourselves,thatweareneeded,thatwehavesomethingbetteraheadtoworkfor.Purposeiswhatcreatestruehappiness.You'regraduatingatatimewhenthisisespeciallyimportant.Whenourparentsgraduated,purposereliablycamefromyourjob,yourchurch,yourcommunity.Buttoday,technologyandautomationareeliminatingmanyjobs.Membershipincommunitiesisdeclining.Manypeoplefeeldisconnectedanddepressed,andaretryingtofillavoid.AsI'vetraveledaround,I'vesatwithchildreninjuveniledetentionandopioidaddicts,whotoldmetheirlivescouldhaveturnedoutdifferentlyiftheyjusthadsomethingtodo,anafterschoolprogramorsomewheretogo.I'vemetfactoryworkerswhoknowtheiroldjobsaren'tcomingbackandaretryingtofindtheirplace.Tokeepoursocietymovingforward,wehaveagenerationalchallenge--tonotonlycreatenewjobs,butcreatearenewedsenseofpurpose.IrememberthenightIlaunchedFacebookfrommylittledorminKirklandHouse.IwenttoNoch'swithmyfriendKX.IremembertellinghimIwasexcitedtoconnecttheHarvardcommunity,butonedaysomeonewouldconnectthewholeworld.Thethingis,itneverevenoccurredtomethatsomeonemightbeus.Wewerejustcollegekids.Wedidn'tknowanythingaboutthat.Therewereallthesebigtechnologycompanieswithresources.Ijustassumedoneofthemwoulddoit.Butthisideawassocleartous--thatallpeoplewanttoconnect.Sowejustkeptmovingforward,daybyday.Iknowalotofyouwillhaveyourownstoriesjustlikethis.Achangeintheworldthatseemssoclearyou'resuresomeoneelsewilldoit.Buttheywon't.Youwill.Butit'snotenoughtohavepurposeyourself.Youhavetocreateasenseofpurposeforothers.Ifoundthatoutthehardway.Yousee,myhopewasnevertobuildacompany,buttomakeanimpact.Andasallthesepeoplestartedjoiningus,Ijustassumedthat'swhattheycaredabouttoo,soIneverexplainedwhatIhopedwe'dbuild.Acoupleyearsin,somebigcompanieswantedtobuyus.Ididn'twanttosell.Iwantedtoseeifwecouldconnectmorepeople.WewerebuildingthefirstNewsFeed,andIthoughtifwecouldjustlaunchthis,itcouldchangehowwelearnabouttheworld.Nearlyeveryoneelsewantedtosell.Withoutasenseofhigherpurpose,thiswasthestartupdreamcometrue.Ittoreourcompanyapart.Afteronetenseargument,anadvisortoldmeifIdidn'tagreetosell,Iwouldregretthedecisionfortherestofmylife.Relationshipsweresofrayedthatwithinayearorsoeverysinglepersononthemanagementteamwasgone.ThatwasmyhardesttimeleadingFacebook.Ibelievedinwhatweweredoing,butIfeltalone.Andworse,itwasmyfault.IwonderedifIwasjustwrong,animposter,a22year-oldkidwhohadno