Tim Minchin’s 9 Life Lessons
Tim Minchin's
9 Life Lessons
Forget the Grand Plan.
Pursue Passionate Curiosity Instead.
Comedian, musician, and UWA alumnus Tim Minchin returned to his alma mater to deliver one of the most-watched graduation speeches of all time — a witty, irreverent, and deeply humane set of nine life lessons for new graduates and, really, for anyone willing to listen.
Be Micro-Abmbitious
Minchin argues that chasing one grand, all-consuming dream can produce tunnel vision — and devastation when it doesn't work out. Instead, he advocates for micro-ambition: putting your head down and working with pride on whatever is right in front of you, while staying alert to the opportunities that appear in your periphery.
One Big Dream
- Tunnel vision narrows your world
- Identity gets tied to a single outcome
- Failure feels catastrophic and total
- Peripheral opportunities go unseen
Micro-Ambition
- Focus on the task right in front of you
- Do it with excellence and pride
- Stay alert to surprise detours
- Your path emerges from small, good choices
Don't Chase Happiness
Happiness, Minchin suggests, is like an optical illusion — it vanishes the moment you look directly at it. The people who seem most content are the ones who stopped trying to "be happy" and instead stayed busy with meaningful work and focused on making others feel valued and cared for.
Remember, It's All Luck
You didn't earn your DNA, your country of birth, or the family you grew up in. Minchin urges graduates to recognize that success is built on a foundation of fortunate circumstances. This isn't a reason to stop working hard — it's a reason to be humble about your victories and compassionate toward others' struggles.
Exercise
Not a metaphor — actual, physical exercise. Minchin is blunt: it combats depression, soothes existential anxiety, and sharpens the mind. He pushes back against the false idea that intellectuals shouldn't care about their bodies. The mind-body split, he insists, is a dangerous illusion.
Be Hard on Your Opinions
Treat your beliefs like old buildings, Minchin says — probe them for structural weaknesses, and knock them down if they don't hold up. Identify your biases. Recognize false dichotomies. And reject the tired claim that science and art are at odds — they are natural partners.
The Opinion Stress-Test
Ask yourself: Can I defend this with evidence? What would change my mind? Am I confusing correlation with causation? Would I accept this reasoning from someone I disagree with?
Art + Science = Partners
The false war between imagination and evidence is one of the most damaging dichotomies of our time. Minchin urges us to see art and science as collaborators — two lenses on the same messy, beautiful reality.
Be a Teacher
If you're ever in doubt about what to do, teach. Minchin argues that teachers — especially primary school teachers — are among the most important people alive. You don't have to do it forever, but sharing knowledge generously is one of the highest things a person can do.
Define Yourself by What You Love
It's fashionable to be cynical — to build an identity around what you oppose. Minchin says: resist that. Be demonstrative and generous in your praise. Send thank-you cards. Give standing ovations. Express enthusiasm for the things and people you admire. It takes more courage than criticism.
Defined by Opposition
- Cynicism as a personality
- Identity built on "anti" positions
- Feels safe — but keeps you small
Defined by Love
- Enthusiasm as a practice
- Generous praise for what you admire
- Vulnerable, brave — and magnetic
Respect People with Less Power
Minchin is unequivocal: he will judge you not by how you treat your boss or your peers, but by how you treat those who have no power over you — the waiter, the intern, the cleaner. That, he says, is who you really are.
How You Treat Your Boss
Reveals almost nothing about your character — you have obvious incentives to be polite.
How You Treat the Cleaner
Reveals everything. When there's nothing to gain, your true nature shows itself.
Don't Rush
The final lesson circles back to the first: stop panicking. Most people who are certain about their life plan at twenty end up having a midlife crisis. It's fine to not know. Fill the uncertainty not with anxiety, but with learning, compassion, good work, and as many rich experiences as you can find.
Life Is Meaningless —
And That's Incredibly Exciting
Minchin's parting thought: the absence of cosmic meaning doesn't make life empty. It makes it a canvas. If life has no inherent purpose, you are free to fill it with learning, compassion, pride in your work, love, travel, wine, and art. The meaninglessness, he argues, is what makes it all so staggeringly beautiful.
In His Own Words
Defining quotes from the address
I advocate passionate, curious, engagement in the world around you. You don't have to have a dream. Be micro-ambitious. Put your head down and work with pride on whatever is in front of you.
Happiness is like an orgasm: if you think about it too much, it goes away.
On seeking happinessBe hard on your opinions. A famous scientist once said: 'What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.'
On intellectual rigourPlease be a teacher. If you are in any doubt about what to do — be an amazing teacher.
On teaching1. Be Micro-Ambitious
Forget the grand life dream. Focus on the task in front of you and stay alert to surprise opportunities.
2. Don't Chase Happiness
Happiness vanishes under scrutiny. Focus outward — on craft and others — and contentment arrives as a side effect.
3. Remember, It's All Luck
You didn't choose your DNA, family, or era. Acknowledging this breeds humility and compassion.
4. Exercise
Move your body. It fights depression, sharpens the mind, and the mind-body split is a false choice.
5. Be Hard on Your Opinions
Probe your beliefs for weaknesses. Watch for bias and false dichotomies. Art and science are partners.
6. Be a Teacher
When in doubt, teach. One teacher shapes a thousand lives. It's not a fallback — it's a calling.
7. Define Yourself by What Your Love
Be pro-stuff, not just anti-stuff. Praise generously. Send thank-you notes. Choose enthusiasm over cynicism.
8. Respect People with Less Power
How you treat those who can do nothing for you reveals everything about who you are.
9. Don't Rush
You don't need to know the plan. Fill the uncertainty with learning, compassion, good work, and wonder.
Tim Minchin
MUSICIAN, COMPOSER, AND COMEDIAN
Australian comedian, actor, songwriter, and composer of the musicals Matilda and Groundhog Day. A rare and genuine polymath, Tim’s work blends irreverent comedy with genuine intellectual depth, moving effortlessly between satire, science, and sincerity.