Power and failure seem an odd combination but Harry Potter is all about pushing boundaries and these two themes are powerful life lessons to be learnt and guess what Harry can teach us a lot.

Contrary to some of the graduates at Harvard University there is a lot to be learnt from the observations of J.K. Rowling's speech to the Graduates.

The Power of Failure

Why did Ms. Rowling choose the theme of failure?

"Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me."

Rowling described a low point seven years after graduating from college, when she was a poor single mother, and said:

"You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity."

The Power of Imagination

Of imagination, Ms. Rowling said:

"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

The Power of the Fairy Tale

Ms. Rowling is correct that we do not need "magic" to change the world. But entering the magic realm of the fairy tale, even as adults, reminds readers that there is power in love and that there is room for creative action for good.

What are the most profound words from her talk are ...

"Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand without having experienced," said Rowling. "They can imagine themselves in other peoples' places.

"We do not need magic to transform the world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already. We have power to imagine better."

Great learning from the one person in our time has done more to inspire young people ... to read.

The three core messages ...

• Cut the clutter and focus on the essential issues
• Use your imagination to create a future you want to happen
• Personal or business relationships are important, especially in adversity.