"People will tolerate how unpleasant you are, if your work is good and you deliver it on time. People will forgive the lateness of your work if it's good and they like you. And you don't have to be as good as everyone else if you're on time and it's always a pleasure to hear from you."

When you realize; he has written novels, children's books, comics, recorded audio books, and wrote 2 episodes of doctor who

I met him once getting some books signed. I gushed to him about how his work on making LGBT characters visible, especially the fact the first transwoman I ever read about was in his comics and I knew in my heart she had always been a girl....made me feel seen. Then I said I wanted to be a writer...he shook my hand and said he couldn''t wait to read my work.

"The Moment you are walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your art and your mind and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself, that is the moment that you may be starting to get it right." - That's amazing

He speaks like he writes like the way he changes volumes and emphasis on words he sounds like he is narrating not just talking

"Leave the world more interesting for your being here."

I feel lucky to be alive at the same time as Neil Gaiman.

That second to last bit about gatekeepers leaving their gates, in the context of 2012, makes me so damn sad. 7 years later, every path the internet had to offer, every freedom and empowerment it started giving artists all over the world, is now run by giant platforms and their dehumanizing algorithms. It doesn't take back any quality of this insanely good, profound, human speech, but man. I hope the corporate social media age is one that will end soon. I miss the collective excitement over what internet used to make possible for individuals. That said, back to making art !

I never imagined the "professionally replying to email" bit would hit me like a bucket of cold water. I remember watching this when I was in high school, thinking that would never be me. But last year, I looked up from my computer at work, and tried to figure out why I felt so lousy. Why it felt so wrong. One year later, I'm unemployed, and have completed a manuscript I never thought would survive my daydreams. It's a precarious place to be in, but it feels like home. Onto the next step! Thank you, Neil.

I feel like he took everything that was going on in my brain-all the doubts and insecurities about art and creativity- worded them beautifully and said them back to me. All I could think of was- he gets me. *He gets me.* The bit about the message in the bottle is so true. And of course, make good art.

I have lived my creative life as this man proposes and I have found in this all the things he says are there

Great speech. I don't follow this guy's work religiously or anything, but man, what a great speech. :) Whenever I'm doubting myself, I throw this video on, and I'm back on it. He's a very wise man.

Neil Gaiman always talks about a distant mountain.

I love this man so dearly. What an excellent beautiful soul.

Neil Gaiman always a pleasure one of this world's brilliant souls who also happens to be one of those humans of immense good will. A treasure ... his books helped me through good times and bad.

I’ve recently found Neil Gaiman because we’re reading his book on Norse Mythology in language arts class. I’m very glad I’ve found him, and I’m excited to read more of his work.

best bit "Be wise, because the world needs more wisdom. If you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone who is wise and just behave like they would."

This is one of the best speeches I've ever heard.

Its been 6 years since I first heard this speech. My life got tough at that moment, but I always remembered his advice. Time took its sting away and things got better, whenever I had doubts, or worried too much about the future or keeping the good things I had going around, I tried to follow his advice, and enjoy the ride. I have his voice in my head telling me: "This is really great, you should enjoy this" and he always manages to help me see the good stuff behind the problems of success. Totally, one of the best pieces of advice I have ever gotten.

This is such an old video but...I'm a high-school senior about to graduate. I have my dream university offer that I feel like I shouldn't have gotten and Neil Gaiman talking about imposter syndrome felt so close to heart. His lessons so worthwhile. I hope I don't forget them in the next four years.

I don't think this is just for artists, it's for everybody. Everything can be art and if you make a mistake, you did something diffrent from last time. I love the speech!

this video inspired me so much i just made a potato painting

I have to listen to this once a year and it holds up every time for a different reason.

Thank you Tim Ferris for mentioning this again and again on his podcast... I got here in the end. And it was well worth it :)

This speech always motivates me and cheers me up whenever I'm feeling down!

The first time I heard this; I dropped to my knees and WEPT. THIS IS TRUTH.

I still come back to this speech for inspiration :)

a legit fantastic person a nature story teller. His voice is so hypnotic and one of a kind.

Most inspiring speech I've ever heard! Gaiman gained a new fan her.

"I love him for what he was, for who he is, and for who he yet may be."

I have returned to this time and again, it´s a lifeline for me, something that reminds me of my goals, my shortcomings, my abilities and my never ending journey to do things I never did before. "Make Good Art" - makes me weep like a child, every time. It is so true.

My Son graduated in this class and it was a thrill to be there to hear Neil's Speech... The class was encouraged to decorate their hats and gowns as they wanted, and as far as the hair... well it is an art school! lol

I was feeling discouraged because of a post on tumblr that was disparaging to following your dreams. I posted, "I will make life work for me if it's the last thing I do" and a friend on tumblr, who knew I was a writer, sent me this. Inspired me to push forward.

Why is he such a nice person I get a aura a knowledge and experience from him .... he is a very interesting person

IMHO one of the most moving, inspirational and thought-provoking commencement addresses of all time. Refreshingly, Neil talks in plain language, avoiding the cant used by others who do the same job. He speaks from his own world of experience and avoids moralizing. We feel invited to sit with him and have a chat; we are not preached to from 'on high'. He cast aside any thoughts of smug superiority and spoke eloquently and honestly from his heart. Thank you Neil. This address was a gift.

"Be wise, because the world needs more wisdom. And if you cannot be wise, pretend to be someone wise, and then just behave like they would."

This is the most important video I think I've ever watched.

dropping out of college this semester bc it’s just not working out and this made me feel wholly, and completely, and totally better about it

why am i crying in the club rn

"...and I knew that as long as I kept walking towards the mountain, I'd be alright"

I come back here and rewatch this every time I recommend it to someone else, and it makes my life much better to have done so

WOW! ... W-O-W! ... W-O-AAA-W! Incredibly inspiring and thought provoking and so inimitably contemporary

Omg, I'm so glad I've heard this speech now. I am not an artist of any kind and yet I am stuck with something I need to do. This is so inspirational! I guess I am going to pretend I am someone who knows how to proceed and will act like them. In the end, anything we produce can be a good art, can't it?

What an inspiring speech! The wisdom in every sentence is profound and clear as crystalline water..."mistakes" are the essence of being is extraordinary. And he is English and I have cross his pathways many times over...just amazing how life is mysterious. Coraline was a misspelling wow.

His 'rule of two out of three' is something you can bank on. What a valuable bit of advice! What a wonderful speech.

I revisit this every so often. Just remember to pretend that your somebody who does something and do what they would do.

Most of us only find our own voices after we've sounded like a lot of other people. But the one thing that you have that nobody else has is You - your voice, your mind, your story, your vision.

"Make Good Art" - flipping awesome!

Makes me smile, because he's done, all of that.

This is so inspiring and reflecting my own, decades long journey as a self taught photographer and surrealist painter! While watching/listening to this speech, my eyes glanced several times over my canvas, stored on the top of a bookshelf, underpainting done, but waiting to be completed into a painting for almost 10months... Thank you Peter Shev for sharing this remarkable speech... :)

That was so beautiful & poignant. I especially liked "I learned to write by writing," "When things go wrong, do what only you can do best, make good art...the only thing you have that no one else has, is you," and, "Pretend you're someone who can do it."

I heard this speech in 2012 and to this day there are 6 or 7 things he mentioned in this video that I still do. I have to come back to listen at least once or twice a year. This is easily my favorite speech of all time. Just sit back and enjoy this ♥️

He kind of looks and sounds like Severus Snape.

I cannot watch and listen to this speech enough! What a gift!! It has given me so much peace with my creative quest with my art and Decadent Digs. It is a must watch and feel profoundly blessed sharing this on my Facebook~! You Rock Neil!!!

Through all my trials and tribulations. Making good art saved me

I'm so grateful that i found this speech. Totally made my day. Gonna revisit it sometime for sure.

Listening to this makes me wants to read Neverwhere again

"So that I hadn't actually lied I'd just been chronologically challenged" 13:59

Brilliant! I'm trying to write something now, not for publication necessarily, but just to see if I can turn a jumble of ideas into a finished story. This is the kind of inspiration I need.

Anyone else choose to write on this for a school assignment?? I had the option to choose a speech by Obama, but this was on the list too. I'm glad I chose it because I am a fan of Neil Gaiman, thanks to my mom raising me.

i don't have enough time to watch the whole thing but i just can't skip because every sentence he says is a fricking gem

One of the best commencement speeches I've seen. Truly inspiring. You are a maestro, Gaiman.

*You almost certainly need to watch this*. If you think you're the kind of person who *doesn't need to watch a talk with the heading 'make good art'*

this is the best speech on art i've ever heard i truly could not stop watching due to how smart this man is. This is perhaps the greatest advice for all writers alike....Truly amazing :)

Best speech ever.

This is the most inspiring talk I ve ever heard after Steve jobs'' speech .. in some parts I feel this is touching the precisely right chord .. especially " Make good Art " .. ! Great Speech ..

"People who know what they're doing, know the rules and they know what is possible and what is impossible; you do not and you should not. The rules on what is possible and impossible in the arts were made by people who had not tested the bounds of possible by going beyond them, and you can. If you don't know it's impossible, it's easier to do. And because nobody's done it before, they haven't made up rules to stop anyone from doing that particular thing again." "I tended to do everything as long as it felt like an adventure and to stop when it felt like work. Which meant that life did not feel like work." I just had to write down these two somewhere.

I have recommended this speech to dozens of my hypnosis clients. I actually extracted an MP3 so I could listen on my phone during my daily commute.

wooow....that speech must have inspired so many people across the globe for sure. Amazing Neil Gaiman

Thank you for reviving the artist in me and for that fantastic speech. RESPECT.

Amazing and inspiring. I love his work, and this made him my new hero. Neil, you are a treasure. Thank you. You have accomplished more in 19 minutes than My therapist has in a year.

I LOVE this guy! I took his Masterclass and just hung on every word!

so inspiring, I always come back to this. what a king.

I love this dude! I appreciate his candid, inspirational encouragement!

I love me some Neil Gaiman! Incredibly inspiring. What a blessing that we have the internet and KZfaq so that people years later who were not at that commencement ceremony can enjoy it as well.

he's just awesome ... it's always good to hear good advices like these and Neil really do magic putting those advices in his own words!

And if a failure was saying all this, would you take it more seriously? It's called experience. It doesn't make you the smartest, just smarter than those who did not experience. It has nothing to do with success or failure. And I am saying this as a person who has an extreme fear of failure.

I cannot even start to express my love for this. What pure inspiration you have brought to the world. Share this with EVERYONE!

He was already my favourite author, now I love him even more now. Such an inspiration.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank You! Grateful to you for your decision to take your time out to share your priceless experience!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this. All Artists need to hear this! Thanks so much for sharing this!

Amazing speech !! Just like his books, I really admire his work.

"If you are not what you want to be, then pretend to be someone who is that and behave as they would."

Beautiful beyond words. I teared up listening to this multiple times. Thanks Neil!

I find myself watching this speech over and over again. It never fails to move and inspire me.

Absolutely perfect. Having just started the journey towards that mountain, I can attest to it all.

this makes me want to invent a lot of things, to create art, thanks neil

What a great speech. Going to bookmark this one.

Never heard of this writer before, but after listening to this I had to learn more. He has a spiritual foundation which is my attraction. Beautiful Words !!

One of the best and most important speeches at all.

You know from the way he spoke/narrated on masterclass ad, even before the content of the class, he already attracted me to attend his class

This is so good! He has such a hopeful outlook on a life in the arts and listening to this spreads it around!

What a brilliant man! I came upon Gaiman through Terry Pratchett and I've been working retrospectively through his work. A wonderful creative genius!

I needed to hear this tonight to get past my discouragement. I'm inspired!

It's an amazing speech, it took my breath away, so simple and so true with every word he says, I can watch this over and over. What a life speech, love it.

I don't see what is so great about this speech that it made you cry.

Niel Gaiman is the reason I strarted writing and making art... This man saved my life so many times and he doesn't even know I exist

I envy these kids so much! As an art student myself, I cannot even imagine how life-changing it would be to have one of the world's most successful writers before me, talking about their path to success. .

Excellent commencement. For those who enjoyed this, I recommend looking up the "9 Life Lessons" commencement speech by Tim Minchin at the University of Western Australia.

WOW - what an inspiration! I love him as an writer!