Martin Scorsese
Field: arts
Scorsese speaks to graduating artists across disciplines about protecting the pure creative impulse that first drew them to their work. He argues against sentimental notions of 'following your dream,' urging instead an obsessive, waking dedication that turns struggle and disappointment into renewal. He emphasizes staying singular and resilient, unmoved by both the rewards of success and the risks of self-doubt.
Key moments
- 01 Recalls a childhood without books but always full of movies
- 02 Rejects the phrase 'following your dream' as trivializing the creative process
- 03 Quotes Theodore Roosevelt's 'man in the arena' passage on daring greatly
- 04 Closes with 'every step is a first step' on continuous learning
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Martin Scorsese at Tisch, 2014
A New York University Tisch address about creative work, disappointment, artistic voice, craft discipline, and continuing through rejection.
Speech arc
- 01NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Opening move
- 02Class of 2014
Speech beat
- 03Creative discipline
Speech beat
- 04Initial impulse
Speech beat
- 05Artistic voice
Speech beat
- 06Disappointment renewed
Speech beat
- 07Every scene as school
Speech beat
- 08Keep making the next work
Final charge
Impulse: The first desire has to be protected
Scorsese frames the artist's task as preserving the original impulse that pulled graduates toward creative work before the world turns it into career anxiety.
Origin
He roots the address in a life shaped by movies and a hunger for image, story, and feeling.
Fragility
The first creative desire is powerful but delicate, and it needs active protection.
Charge
Graduates are asked to guard their creative spirit even when the path is unstable.
Scorsese frames the artist's task as preserving the original impulse that pulled graduates toward creative work before the world turns it into career anxiety.
Disappointment: Rejection can become renewal
The speech treats disappointment as unavoidable for artists, but not final; frustration can be transformed into new energy for the next attempt.
Reality
Auditions, criticism, closed doors, and self-doubt are part of the work rather than exceptions to it.
Alchemy
Setbacks can sharpen commitment when artists convert them into renewed attention.
Practice
The answer to rejection is another scene, another brushstroke, another serious try.
The speech treats disappointment as unavoidable for artists, but not final; frustration can be transformed into new energy for the next attempt.
Masters: Study influence without surrendering your voice
Scorsese points to old masters as a source of rigor, not imitation, reminding artists to become singular and unyielding in their own work.
Model
Great predecessors show the level of discipline the work can demand.
Risk
Admiration becomes dangerous if it replaces the artist's own judgment and voice.
Standard
The struggle to achieve can become its own reward when the work is honest.
Scorsese points to old masters as a source of rigor, not imitation, reminding artists to become singular and unyielding in their own work.
• Key takeaways •
Protect the first impulse
Connects to creativity.
Turn disappointment into motion
Connects to resilience.
Learn from masters without copying them
Connects to artistic voice.
Stay awake to the work
Connects to craft.
Let the learning continue
Connects to rejection.
Closing charge
The address closes by making the work itself the classroom: every scene, shot, brushstroke, and test becomes continuing education.
Every step is part of the education
Attention
Artists must stay awake to feelings, possibilities, ambitions, and consequences.
Craft
Learning continues through each concrete act of making.
Endurance
The creative life remains worth it when the work is still satisfying and fulfilling.
The address closes by making the work itself the classroom: every scene, shot, brushstroke, and test becomes continuing education.
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Transcript
The previously catalogued transcript link is no longer live and is queued for re-sourcing. A video of the address is available above.
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Provenance
BROKEN transcript link (checked 2026-06-26): graduationwisdom.com repurposed into lifestyle blog; speech pages gone. Provenance: Imported from NPR commencement archive
NPR archive last updated in 2015; destination availability has not been exhaustively rechecked | Transcript URL dead (graduationwisdom.com repurposed into lifestyle blog; speech pages gone); video fallback present
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