Well，I had one of those dreams when I was 23.When I suddenly woke up，I was thinking：What if we could download the whole web，and just keep the links？And I grabbed a pen and started writing！Sometimes it’s important to wake up and stop dreaming.I spent the middle of that night scribbling out the details and convincing myself it would work.Soon after，I told my advisor，Terry Winograd，it would take a couple of weeks for me to download the web—he nodded knowingly，fully aware it would take much longer but wise enough not to tell me.The optimism of youth is often underrated！Amazingly，at that time，I have no thoughts building a search engine.The idea wasn‘t even on the radar.But，much later we happened upon a better way of ranking and we made a really great search engine，and Google was born.When a really great dream shows up，grab it！
When I was here at Michigan，I had actually been taught how to make dreams real！I know it sounds funny，but that is what I learned in a summer camp converted into a training program called Leader shape.Yes，we’ve got a few out there.Their slogan is to have a“healthy disregard for the impossible”.That program encouraged me to pursue a crazy idea at the time：I wanted to build a personal rapid transit system on campus to replace the buses.Yeah，you‘re still working on that I hear.It was a futuristic way of solving our transportation problem.I still think a lot about transportation—you never lose a dream，it just incubates as a hobby.Many things people labor hard to do now，like cooking，cleaning and driving will require much less human time in the future.That is，if we“have a healthy disregard for the impossible”and actually build the solutions.
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’ll have little competition.In fact，there are so few people this crazy that I feel like I know them all by first name.They all travel as if they are pack dogs and stick to each other like glue.The best people want to work on the big challenges.That is what happened with Google.Our mission is to organize the world‘s information and make it universally accessible and useful.How can that not get you excited？But we almost didn’t start Google，actually，because my co-founder Sergey and I were too worried about dropping out of the PHD program.None of you have that issue it seems.You are probably on the right track if you feel like a sidewalk worm during a rainstorm！That is about how we felt after we maxed out three credit cards buying hard disks off the back of a truck.That was actually the first hardware for Google.Parents and friends：more credit cards always help.What is the one sentence summary of how you change the world？Always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting！
As a Ph.D.student，I actually had three projects I wanted to work on.Thank goodness my advisor said，“Why don‘t you work on the web for a while？”He gave me some seriously good advice because the web was growing with people and activity，even in 1995！Technology and especially the Internet can really help you be lazy.Lazy？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！
Overall，I know it seems like the world is crumbling out there，but it is actually a great time in your life to get a little crazy，follow your curiosity，and be ambitious about it.Don’t give up on your dream.The world needs you all！
So here‘s my final story：On a day like today，you might feel exhilarated—like you’ve just been shot out of a cannon at the circus—and even invincible.Don‘t ever forget that incredible feeling.But also：always remember that the moments we have with friends and family，the chances we have to do things that might make a big difference in the world，or even to make a small difference to the ones we love—all those wonderful chances that life gives us，life also takes away.It can happen fast，and a whole lot sooner than you think.
In late March 1996，soon after I had moved to Stanford for grad school，my Dad had difficulty breathing and drove to the hospital.Two months later，he died.I was completely devastated.Many years later，after a startup，after falling in love，and after so many of life’s adventures，I found myself thinking about my Dad.
Lucy and I were far away in a steaming hot village walking through narrow streets.There were wonderful friendly people everywhere，but it was a desperately poor place.People used the bathroom inside and it flowed out into the open gutter and straight into the river.We touched a boy with a limp leg，the result of paralysis from polio.Lucy and I were in rural India，one of the few places where polio still exists.Polio is transmitted by the fecal-oral route，usually through filthy water.Well，my Dad had polio.He went on a trip to Tennessee in the first grade and he caught it.He was hospitalized for two months and had to be transported by military DC-3back home，his first flight.
My Dad wrote，“Then，I had to stay in bed for over a year，before I started back to school.”That is actually a quote from his fifth grade autobiography.My Dad had difficulty breathing his whole life，and the polio are what took him from us too soon.He would have been very upset，that polio still persists even though we have a vaccine.He would have been equally upset that back in India we had polio virus on our shoes from walking through the contaminated gutters that spread the disease.We were spreading the virus with every footstep，right under beautiful kids playing everywhere.The world is on the verge of eliminating polio，with 328people infected so far.Let‘s get it eradicated soon.Perhaps one of you will do that.
