Six things we learned from Matt Damon's brilliant graduation speech.

While you probably know Matt Damon from his roles in Good Will Hunting or The Departed, it turns out the Hollywood actor is also a damn good speaker. Surprised? Neither were we.

Damon gave a 23 minute-long commencement speech to the graduating class at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in his hometown of Boston, and he shared some advice that’s hard to ignore.

1. You can succeed without a university degree.

After nearly graduating from Harvard, Matt Damon decided to prioritise his acting career, proving that a university degree is not always necessary to be considered a “success”.

"Look I'm not running for office, I can say pretty much whatever I want." Image source: MITVideoProductions.

2. Modesty goes a long way.

“I’ve seen the list of previous commencement speakers: Nobel Prize winners, The UN Secretary General, President of the World Bank, President of the United States, and who did you get? The guy who did the voice for a cartoon horse.”

3. Face issues head on.

Quoting Ex-President Bill Clinton, Damon shared, “'Turn toward the problems you see. You have to engage and turn towards the problems that you see.’”

Matt Damon's full MIT speech video. Post continues below...

4. Failure is a good thing.

According to Damon, among his “bad ideas” was his decision to play a character named “Edgar Pudwacker”. Yeah, we've all been there in some way, shape or form, Matt...

5. Ben Affleck is a philosopher.

Quoting Affleck directly, Damon shared, “Judge me by how good my good ideas are, not how bad my bad ideas are.” Deep stuff.

6. Democracy is key.

In marriage, work, and everyday life, compromise is necessary for everyone’s happiness. Quoting Barack Obama, Damon said: “'Democracy requires compromise even when you are 100 per cent right.’ I heard that and thought: ‘Here is a man that has been happily married for a long time.’”