“Dry mouth. Heart beat so, so fast. Everything in Slow Motion. Pass Out. Die. Poop in my pants.”

– Shonda Rhimes

I have new found respect for Shonda Rhimes. Not because she is the Queen of Thursday night. Not because she has her own land named after her. But because she took the challenge to Say Yes. To say yes to things that’s scary to her. To say yes to doing something that she would not ordinarily do. To say yes to getting out of her comfort zone.

After vowing to say yes, a week later she received a phone call from the President of Dartmouth College, her alma mater, to deliver the Class of 2014 commencement speech. She almost stayed in her comfort zone by saying no. But she didn’t. She said yes and six months later she delivered the Commencement Speech.

I think it is one of the coolest speeches ever. I bet no one has ever said the word poop during a commencement speech.. And she said it over and over and over again. Her speech was funny, entertaining, and inspiring.. I really enjoyed getting a glimpse of Shonda Rhimes personality. She seems like she is so cool.

I watched her interview on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. She discussed how she ditched her written speech on the plane to the graduation and decided to just be herself.. I’m glad she made that choice..

Here are 3 of the lessons from her speech:

Lesson #1:  Ditch the dream and be a doer not a dreamer.

Lesson #2: Tomorrow (Day after graduation) is going to be the worst day ever for you.

Lesson #3: Anyone who tells you they’re doing it all perfectly is a liar.