“Don't chase your dreams.”

It’s unconventional advice for a commencement address — but these are unconventional times for new college graduates, Conservation International CEO M. Sanjayan told graduates of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.

Sanjayan had been chosen to be the commencement speaker as part of the university’s “Year of the Environment,” during which William & Mary is renewing commitments to protect and restore nature, including launching a new coastal and marine sciences undergraduate degree.

“We need your creativity, we need your skills, we need your decency, we need your commitment to healing our planet,” Sanjayan said. “Income inequality rivals the time of kings. Climate change today imposes a deadline on civilization that no amount of magical thinking will erase; physics simply won't allow it. It is understandable for you to be anxious about your future. The thrill of freedom must be now tempered with responsibility.

“My best advice is this: Leave your dreams in your bed. Don't chase your dreams. Write your story.”

Watch the full address here.

Max Marcovitch is a senior writer at Conservation International. Want to read more stories like this? Sign up for email updates. Also, please consider supporting our critical work.