Larry Page's University of Michigan commencement address
Key ideas
In a commencement address, Page tells how Google grew out of a dream at 23 and urges graduates toward uncomfortable ambition, leverage and the people who matter most.
From a machine transcript of the audio. Quotes link to the moment they are said.
- 1
Act on the idea while it is vivid
Page recounts waking at 23 with the thought of downloading the web and keeping the links, then spending that night writing details until convinced it would work. Page told an advisor it would take a couple of weeks, and the advisor knew better without saying so. Page says a search engine was not part of the thought at first; a better way of ranking came much later.
- 2
Keep a healthy disregard for the impossible
Page credits a summer training program at Michigan with teaching how to make dreams real, and repeats its slogan about disregarding the impossible. Page says it encouraged a crazy-seeming plan for a personal rapid transit system on campus, and that transportation is still on Page's mind years later.
- 3
Aim where there is little competition
Page argues it is often easier to make progress on very ambitious goals, because so few people are willing to try them, while admitting the claim sounds nuts. Page adds that the best people want to work on big challenges and offers Google's mission as the example. The discomfort is treated as a good sign, in Page's telling of maxing out credit cards on hard disks.
- 4
Look for leverage
Page's joking word for this is lazy: a small group can write software that millions use, which a small group answering phones never could. Page tells graduates to seek out that kind of leverage, and says an advisor's suggestion to work on the web for a while was useful because it was already growing in 1995.
- 5
Keep family close
Page closes with the story of Page's father, who caught polio as a child and died from its complications soon after Page moved to Stanford. Page reminds graduates that chances to make a difference, or simply to be with the people they love, can disappear sooner than they expect. Page tells them family is what really matters in life.
In Larry’s words
“I think it is often easier to make progress on mega-ambitious dreams. I know that sounds completely nuts, but since no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition.”
Larry Page·Larry Page's University of Michigan commencement address·Watch at 8:21(opens the original in a new tab)“What is the one sentence summary of how you change the world? Always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting.”
Larry Page·Larry Page's University of Michigan commencement address·Watch at 9:39(opens the original in a new tab)“What I mean is a group of three people can write software that then millions can use and enjoy. Can three people answer the phone a million times? Find the leverage in the world so you can be truly lazy.”
Larry Page·Larry Page's University of Michigan commencement address·Watch at 10:09(opens the original in a new tab)About this entry
- Published
- May 4, 2009
- Channel
- Type
- Video
- Length
- 16:28
- Language
- English
- Added
- Nov 2, 2026
- Source last checked
- Nov 2, 2026
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Draft. Written by us with AI from a machine transcript of the video’s audio (Whisper) and checked against it. Machine transcripts can mishear; each quote links to the moment so you can hear it. Not yet rights-reviewed.
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