Watch Jimmy’s University of Miami Commencement Speech

Jimmy Buffett delivered the commencement speech at the University of Miami on Friday afternoon. Before his speech, he was given an honorary Doctor of Music degree.

Buffett told the crowd he was inspired to become a marine biologist after visiting the aquarium while on vacation in Florida with his family – and he wanted to study at UM.

“I wanted to be Jacques Cousteau with a Southern accent,” he said.

The closest he got was a nearby bar that’s now called Titanic Restaurant and Brewery, where Buffett said he landed his first paying gig.

He distilled his advice into a checklist for the “ever-elusive future.” The four bits of wisdom he shared: Everything in moderation. Make your avocation your vocation. Go see the world. And “be Santa Claus when you can.”

Wearing aviator sunglasses (he said he forgot his reading glasses,) Buffett encouraged students to get out and see the world. “Use your time well. Beware of falling into the sedentary trap.”

The Miami Herald has a photo gallery from the ceremony.

Watch Jimmy’s speech: