Historian, Author
Bestselling author and historian Brad Meltzer delivered the 2024 commencement address for his son’s graduating class at the University of Michigan—a message centered on the idea that there are only four types of magic tricks. the speech was quickly shared by Katie Couric, Maria Shriver, and many others, and went viral—featured on Good Morning America, MSNBC, Fox News, and beyond.
10 top life lessons by Brad Meltzer
- Show Up as Your Best Self: Don’t just be present—be real. Reveal the version of you that feels most confident, focused, and authentic. That’s where real magic starts.
- Surround Yourself with People Who Believe in You: The people who see the best in you help bring that version to life. Their belief can lift you when your own confidence falters.
- Rejection Isn’t the End—It’s Part of the Journey: 24 rejection letters didn’t stop Meltzer—they clarified his path. Persistence turns setbacks into stepping stones.
- Use Fear as Fuel: Fear doesn’t have to be an obstacle. It can be a motivator. Harness it to drive you, not to stop you.
- Let People Underestimate You: Being underestimated can be a gift. Quietly prove them wrong through your actions and resilience.
- Practice Radical Empathy: Switch places with others. Try to understand what they’re going through. Empathy is strength—not weakness.
- Kindness is Revolutionary: In a cynical world, genuine kindness shocks and heals. Be boldly kind, even when it seems naïve.
- Never Stop Transforming: Who you are today isn’t who you’ll be tomorrow. Write your story in pencil, and keep revising.
- Stay Humble and Curious: The smartest people admit they don’t know everything. Let learning be a lifelong habit.
- See Life as a Hall of Mirrors: There isn’t just one path or version of you. There are infinite possibilities—explore them all.
Best quotes of Brad Meltzer‘s speech
“If you really want to shock the world, unleash your kindness..”
“One day, someone is going to hug you so tight that all of your broken pieces will fit back together.”
“The most sophisticated and intelligent people I know are the ones willing to challenge their thinking and admit there’s more to learn.”
“There are past versions of all of us. And the only thing I know for sure is if that past version of you could see you now, they would look at you in awe. “
“Life will absolutely not be what you think it will be. It will be hard and wonderful and messy and rewarding, with more versions of you than you think possible. “
“The ultimate version of you—the one where you feel the most confident and secure. That version only comes out with people you’re comfortable with and who appreciate the real you—and love you for it.”
Video of Brad Meltzer‘s Commencement speech at University of Michigan
Commencement speech transcript
When you ask professional magicians, they’ll tell you there are actually only four types of magic tricks. That’s it. Put aside illusions and escapes—there’re just four types of tricks:
- You make something appear.
- You make something disappear.
- You make two things switch places.
And finally, number 4, you change one thing into something else.
So. The first way for you to make magic: You make something appear.
What you need to make appear is YOU. I’m not just talking about showing up, but making the best version of you appear. We’re all chameleons. We act one way with our parents, another way with our friends.
But as the writer Tim Urban explains, underneath all those Outer Yous is an Inner You that’s who you really are deep down. The ultimate version of you—the one where you feel the most confident and secure—where you’re fully present and focused. That version only comes out with people you’re comfortable with and who appreciate the real you—and love you for it.
When I graduated Michigan, my first job was in Boston, with a boss who said he’d be my mentor. I was so excited. But the week I got to Boston, my boss left the job. I thought my life was ruined.
So that night, in some run-down sports bar, I told my girlfriend, “I know what I’m gonna do with this year”—what all of us would do in a moment where we think our lives are ruined: I said, I’m gonna write a novel.
My girlfriend had the best reaction of all: She didn’t laugh—she told me to go write the novel. She believed in that version of me. That girlfriend gave me lift.
When I finally wrote that book, I got 24 rejection letters. There were only 20 publishers at the time, and I got 24 rejection letters. That means some people were writing me twice to make sure I got the point.
But I said if they don’t like that book, I’ll write another, and if they don’t like that book I’ll write another. I realized I wanted to be a novelist. And my girlfriend? She didn’t laugh at that either. That next book did get published. I owe her forever for that lift she gave me. Why do you think I married her? She’s here in this stadium—the mother of my graduate— And can we hear it for every strong mother—and father—grandparents….whoever it is who helped raise you…whether they’re here today or not…let’s hear it for them in the Big House!?
Something happened when I got that unconditional support. Professor Jane Dutton calls it a reflected best self portrait. When someone you trust sees your potential and says they believe you can be that person, it opens up a path and inspires you to become that version of yourself.
That’s why the friends you’re sitting next to right now matter. Hold tight to them.
Their love and trust are key ingredients—because when you leave here, your mission is to make the best version of you appear. And then watch. Surprise yourself. Build something that can’t be ignored. We’ll be the ones cheering.
Which leads to the second way to make magic: You make something disappear.
It’s tempting to say that you should make fear disappear. But let me challenge that.
In high school, I had a job scooping ice cream at the Haagen Dazs in the Aventura Mall. One day, this woman came up and snapped her fingers at me. “You need to serve me!” she barked.
“Ma’am, I’ll be right with you,” I told her.
“Now!” she insisted.
We go back and forth, and eventually I say to her, “You’re being rude, ma’am—I’m not serving you.”
“You better serve me,” she yelled.
And when I refused, she screamed in my face, “You’re going to be working at this miserable ice cream store for the rest of your miserable life!”
And I calmly told her, “Ma’am, if I am working here for the rest of my miserable life, you’re still never getting any ice cream.”
For decades, I used to tell that story, laughing, saying, “It never even bothered me.”
But I need to admit, it did bother me. It terrified me. My Dad struggled financially his whole life, and it made me feel like my life would be filled with that same financial struggle. But I now also realize…that fear? That fear this woman brought out in me? It fueled me. It drove me.
It’s the same thing our football team did this year. How do you think Michigan vs. Everybody worked? That feeling when we lost our coach…everyone telling us we were done and finished?
God, did it feel good to fight back, to beat Penn State…beat Ohio State for the third time…go to the Rose Bowl and c’mon…you know what’s coming…winning the national championship your senior year!?
So yes, make your fear disappear—but not because fear is bad. Use your fear. Harness it. Let them underestimate you. In the end, don’t vanquish your critics, prove them wrong.
Which leads me to the third way to make magic: You make two things change places with each other. And here, let’s talk about empathy.
That’s what empathy is—switching places with someone else and putting yourself in their shoes.
When I was 13 years old, my dad lost his job. He barely had any savings, and we had no place to live, so my parents moved us from Brooklyn, New York to Miami, Florida, where my grandparents lived—so we could stay with them until we got back on our feet. For months, six of us—my mom, dad, sister and myself, plus my two grandparents—lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment.
Since it was Florida, all the condo commandos complained that we couldn’t have that many people in such a small space. And then one day, the neighbor across the hall told my grandmother that she’d leave her own apartment—and give it to my grandparents so we could use it, so my family could have some space and comfort and not have to worry about those who wanted to evict us.
I remember her name as Mercee, which as a kid, I always heard as Mercy. Make no mistake, mercy—and empathy—is what she showed us.
Today, cruelty and venom…harshly judging those we disagree with…it’s become sport in our culture.
But cruelty and venom aren’t proof of strength—they’re signs of weakness…and petty insecurity. What takes strength is switching places and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. That’s not easy. In fact, studies show that when we get too much bad news, our brains get overwhelmed. That’s why we change the channel, swipe to a new app, shut down.
Do not shut down. We need you. If you shut down, we’re in trouble.
Today, in the stands, there are families experiencing divorce or financial hardship. Some of your fellow students are fighting cancer, two are getting posthumous degrees today since they passed away, many have buried parents and grandparents during their time at Michigan. Every family in this stadium has someone who they wish could be here today. I wish my parents were alive to see my kids today. To see that we’re okay. As you go through life, every person you encounter is battling something you can’t see.
The solution is switching places and feeling empathy. As the saying goes, “One day, someone is going to hug you so tight that all of your broken pieces will fit back together.”
The world needs more empathy, more humility, and certainly, more decency. If you really want to shock the world, unleash your kindness. That’s a completely naïve idea. But it’s an idea worth fighting for.
We talked about the magic of making something appear, making something disappear, and making two things switch places. Which leaves us with the final way to make magic: Changing one thing into something else. The hardest trick of all. Transformation.
Who you are today isn’t the person you’ll be in the future. Graduation may feel like a finale, but it’s not an endpoint. So let me just say it: Never stop changing.
When I was little, my favorite thing at the amusement park was the hall of mirrors. Some people love watching little kids crash into the glass. I loved it because I had hair back then—and it was glorious.
But what I really loved about the hall of mirrors was how you could turn your head just slightly, and all those versions of you would appear. All the possibilities.
As we get older, it’s human nature to see just one version—to get locked into ways of thinking about the world, about your life path, about who you are. But as a friend recently told me, when you write things in stone, everything becomes hard and brittle and starts collecting dust.
As you leave Michigan, write in pencil and be unafraid to use the eraser. The person who thinks they’re the smartest in the room, I promise you, is not the smartest in the room. That’s just the one with the most fragile ego.
The most sophisticated and intelligent people I know are the ones willing to challenge their thinking and admit there’s more to learn.
Life will absolutely not be what you think it will be. It will be hard and wonderful and messy and rewarding, with more versions of you than you think possible. The only immutable fact is you should never be immutable.
Keep transforming, learning, and never think you know it all. Instead, see yourself in the hall of mirrors—endless possibilities.
Now you know the four ways to make magic: you make the best version of YOU appear, make your fear disappear and harness it, switch places to find empathy, and never stop transforming.
So let me reveal the final step, what all four tricks have in common…
TO READ THE REST OF MELTZER’S VIRAL SPEECH, CHECK OUT THE BOOK BASED ON IT:
“MAKE MAGIC: THE BOOK OF INSPIRATION YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED”