Suzy Welch Cites Public Firing in Urging Stern MBAs to Risk Failure

NYU Stern

Catastrophic career setbacks are an essential gateway to building resilience and living fully, Welch argues, warning graduates that playing it safe only guarantees regret.

AI-assisted summary of Featured Speaker: Suzy Welch | NYU Stern Graduate Convocation, Class of 2026 — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2026-09-22

Key ideas

Suzy Welch addressed the NYU Stern Graduate Class of 2026, delivering an unconventional convocation address centered on why experiencing and surviving catastrophic failure is essential for a meaningful life. (0:07)
Reflecting on her public firing from the Harvard Business Review at age 39, Welch recounted how the loss of her career and identity dismantled decades of unbroken high achievement. (3:07)
A pivotal encounter with civil rights icon Vernon Jordan reframed professional collapse not as a permanent ruin, but as an induction into the 'Society of Interesting People.' (7:11)
Welch challenged the graduates to avoid playing it safe, urging them to embrace inevitable setbacks, risk bold undertakings, and fear regret rather than failure. (11:36)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by NYU Stern on September 22, 2026, this video captures the convocation address delivered by Suzy Welch, Professor of Management Practice and Director of the Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing. According to the description, Welch addresses Stern's Graduate Class of 2026 during their commencement ceremony on May 15, 2026.

## TL;DR Addressing the graduating class, Professor Suzy Welch recounts her journey from a seemingly flawless, high-achieving career to a humiliating public firing at age 39 splashed across the front page of The Wall Street Journal. She shares how a pivotal private conversation with civil rights leader and financier Vernon Jordan transformed her shame by reframing failure as an induction into the 'Society of Interesting People.' Drawing from her own rebirth and subsequent career at NYU Stern, Welch challenges graduates not to tiptoe safely through life. Instead, she urges them to embrace inevitable knockdowns, overcome the fear of failure, and write bold, resilient stories of their own.

## Atmosphere & style The address carries an intimate, self-deprecating, and emotionally candid tone, blending warm humor with disarming vulnerability as Welch addresses the graduates as 'my beloveds.' The emotional arc moves from lighthearted graduation commentary to the visceral sting of public disgrace and existential panic, before culminating in a stirring, high-energy redemption. Listening to the speech feels cathartic and urgent, turning what could be a standard commencement ceremony into a resonant masterclass on resilience and humanity.

## Bulletin - [00:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=7s) Suzy Welch addressed the NYU Stern Graduate Class of 2026, delivering an unconventional convocation address centered on why experiencing and surviving catastrophic failure is essential for a meaningful life. - [03:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=187s) Reflecting on her public firing from the Harvard Business Review at age 39, Welch recounted how the loss of her career and identity dismantled decades of unbroken high achievement. - [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) A pivotal encounter with civil rights icon Vernon Jordan reframed professional collapse not as a permanent ruin, but as an induction into the 'Society of Interesting People.' - [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) Welch challenged the graduates to avoid playing it safe, urging them to embrace inevitable setbacks, risk bold undertakings, and fear regret rather than failure.

## Key takeaways - [00:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=7s) Until age 39, Welch lived an unbroken streak of outward perfection, pairing degrees from Harvard and Harvard Business School with top editorial roles, marathon running, and family life. - [03:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=187s) Welch's career halted abruptly when her relationship with General Electric CEO Jack Welch triggered front-page media scrutiny, leading to her dismissal from the Harvard Business Review. - [03:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=187s) The public firing caused an acute existential crisis for Welch, stripping away her core identity as an obedient high achiever and leaving her questioning who she was without her job. - [05:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=305s) Attending a high-profile Washington gathering hosted by Vernon Jordan, Welch was consumed by shame, feeling alienated among world leaders and cultural luminaries. - [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) Vernon Jordan pulled Welch aside and confronted her despair, observing that every accomplished person in the room had also taken massive risks, crashed, and had to start over. - [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) Jordan introduced the concept of the 'Society of Interesting People,' reframing public failure as an entrance into being fully human rather than an ending. - [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) Enduring public humiliation expanded Welch's empathy, psychological resilience, and willingness to take career risks later in life. - [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) The tolerance for risk forged by her past failure directly enabled Welch to propose and lead her experiential course, 'Becoming You,' at NYU Stern in 2021. - [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) True human stature belongs not to those with unblemished track records, but to individuals willing to push to the outer edges of experience and endure the fall. - [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) Graduates possess elite credentials, grit, and strong support networks, but face a defining dilemma: whether to tiptoe safely through the coming decades or embrace hard, scary challenges. - [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) Welch emphasized that being knocked down in life is a certainty, but repeatedly getting back up is the exact mechanism that makes a person capable, vibrant, and interesting. - [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) Graduates were urged to fear regret and inaction over failure itself, moving quickly to write a distinct life story and claim their place in the Society of Interesting People.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=7s) A Tale of Woe and the Shiny Life Before the Fall

Dean Bharat Anand introduces Professor Suzy Welch to the graduating class. Taking the podium with warm affection—addressing the graduates as "my friends" and "my beloveds"—Welch celebrates the Class of 2026 and congratulates their supporting "squads" in the audience. She notes that just two days prior, she was seated at Radio City Music Hall watching her own daughter graduate from NYU Steinhardt, weeping throughout the ceremony. Setting expectations with self-deprecating humor, Welch announces that her goal for the day is to make everyone cry again, framing that as the true mandate of any graduation speech. She promises to deliver this emotional beat through a personal "sad, sad tale of woe"—a catastrophic experience that upended her life, and one she paradoxically wishes upon every graduate in the room, sooner rather than later.

Setting the stage for her story, Welch explains that until she turned 39, her life had been an unbroken streak of "unmitigated, clean, and shiny success." She had excelled in high school, earned her undergraduate degree at Harvard, hit her marks at Harvard Business School, and secured a high-profile editorial position at a prestigious publication (*Harvard Business Review*). Along the way, she seemed to embody every standard of relentless overachievement: raising four children, teaching Sunday school, running marathons, and even sewing lined, tasseled curtains for her home. When her husband left her during that period, she treated divorce as just another challenge to master, refusing to let it slow her down. To the outside world, she appeared utterly invulnerable—until the entire facade collapsed overnight.

- **Age at turning point**: 39 years old. - **Academic and career track**: Harvard University, Harvard Business School, top leadership role at a prestigious publication. - **Personal accomplishments**: Mother of four children, marathon runner, Sunday school teacher, custom home decorator.

---

[03:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=187s) Getting Fired on the Front Page and Spiraling Out

Welch's era of clean perfection came to an abrupt, public halt when she was fired. This was not a discreet, quiet departure chalked up to "spending more time with her children," but a full-blown media scandal splashed across the front page of *The Wall Street Journal*. Summarizing the controversy succinctly, Welch recounts falling in love with a man named Jack (General Electric CEO Jack Welch). At the time, she was divorced and he was separated. Borrowing a line from Cher, Welch explains that both believed in "life after love" and decided to pursue the relationship. However, the media uproar led her employers to decide that the headlines compromised her credibility, abruptly ending her editorial career.

The sudden termination shattered Welch’s self-image. Having spent her entire life as an obedient, rule-following "goody two-shoes," she found herself labeled a public failure and cast out of the professional community she loved. Deprived of her career, she spiraled into an existential crisis, plagued by the question: "Who am I without work? What is my identity?" When she broke down in tears and told Jack that she felt like a loser, his initial response was bemused—reminding her, "wait a minute, you got me." But for Welch, having love was not enough to fill the void of lost purpose and public humiliation. Living in an era before social media, the relentless barrage of newspaper coverage still made her feel universally judged and despised.

---

[05:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=305s) The Washington Party and Vernon Jordan’s Intervention

In the depths of her despair and self-loathing, Welch accompanied Jack to a high-society party in Washington, D.C., hosted at the home of civil rights icon and investment banker Vernon Jordan. Described by Welch as perhaps the only figure in American history simultaneously revered as a legendary civil rights leader and an elite financier, Jordan had filled his residence with heads of state, movie stars, sports legends, and world-renowned authors. Welch felt thoroughly out of place, describing the gathering as feeling like a "Met Gala for perfect people except for me." Overwhelmed by shame, she huddled in a corner, clutching Jack's hand and keeping her eyes on the floor.

Her self-pity was interrupted when Jordan, an imposing figure standing six-foot-five with a deep Southern cadence, approached and asked if he could show her a painting in the adjoining room. Welch immediately deduced why he knew she liked art: reporters had repeatedly dredged up her undergraduate fine arts major as the lone colorful trivia point in their otherwise dry coverage of her career. Bracing herself for another layer of humiliation, Welch followed him into the room, only to be faced with what she considered an atrocious piece of artwork. Before she could muster a polite lie, Jordan broke the tension by bluntly acknowledging the painting's flaws—and then turned to address the real reason he had pulled her away from the crowd.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Vernon Jordan Reframing Failure accDescr: Flowchart illustrating Suzy Welch's mindset shift from shame to resilience after speaking with Vernon Jordan.

subgraph Crash["The Crisis of Identity"] A["Public Firing & Media Scrutiny"] --> B["Loss of Career & Status"] B --> C["Deep Self-Loathing & Shame"] end

subgraph Encounter["The Intervention"] C --> D["Party at Vernon Jordan's House"] D --> E["Private Talk in Side Room"] E --> F["Jordan's Diagnosis: 'You're broken, scared, a mess'"] end

subgraph Reframing["The Transformation"] F --> G["Perspective: Everyone in that room has crashed"] G --> H["Mandate: 'Get up and start again'"] H --> I["Induction: The Society of Interesting People"] end ```

---

[07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) The Society of Interesting People and the Return to NYU Stern

Looking directly into Welch's eyes, Jordan told her plainly, "I'm crying inside looking at you. You're broken. You're scared. You're a mess." Rendered breathless by his candor, Welch listened as Jordan pointed back toward the parlor of dignitaries and luminaries. He explained that every single high achiever in that room had suffered identical falls: they had swung big, achieved triumphs, suffered massive misses, and crashed, but they had refused to let fear dictate their lives. He then challenged her: "Suzy, it is time for you to get up and start again. Will you do that?" When Welch whispered her assent, Jordan bestowed upon her the defining phrase of the day: "In that case, Suzy, welcome to the Society of Interesting People."

Jordan's words permanently reframed failure for Welch, turning public collapse from an ending into "an entrance to being fully human." Stepping back into the party, she realized that navigating humiliation and surviving a catastrophic setback had made her more empathetic, complicated, and savvy. This new tolerance for risk directly paved the way for the happiest chapter of her professional life. In 2021, Welch gathered the courage to approach the dean of NYU Stern to propose teaching an experiential course titled *Becoming You*. Had she stayed trapped within the fragile perfection of her early career, she would never have taken the gamble that led her to Stern.

Speaking directly to the Class of 2026, Welch looks out at the historic hall—a venue where she has seen icons like Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Elton John, and Harry Styles perform. She argues that talent alone does not define greatness; rather, true stature belongs to those who live at the outer edges of experience, crash, and repeatedly get back up. Acknowledging that the graduates are entering an unpredictable world with a "fuzzy" future, she urges them to shed the fear of failure, embrace their own resilience, and earn their place in the Society of Interesting People.

- **Vernon Jordan's core insight**: Every celebrated leader in the room had lived to the edges of life, failed, and gotten back up without fear. - **The definition of failure**: "Failure is not an ending, it's an entrance... an entrance to being fully human." - **Academic turning point**: Pitching the *Becoming You* course at NYU Stern in 2021. - **Cultural figures referenced**: Cher, Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Elton John, and Harry Styles.

[11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) The Choice to Live an Interesting Life

Suzy Welch directly addresses the graduating class, taking inventory of the profound foundation and advantages they possess as they prepare to enter the world. She reminds the graduates that they have their brains and their grit—strengths she notes she has witnessed firsthand—along with the devoted support of the family and friends sitting in the audience. They carry the immense credential and preparation of their NYU Stern education, as well as the unwavering belief of the faculty, deans, and leaders seated on stage beside her. Armed with these advantages, Welch presents the graduates with an existential fork in the road: they can take all of that privilege and preparation and simply "tiptoe into the fray" to play it safe for the next few decades, or they can choose the bolder alternative and do the "hard, scary, interesting things."

Welch acknowledges that choosing the ambitious path guarantees hardship. She catches herself mid-sentence to correct her own phrasing: while she starts to say they "may get knocked down a few times," she immediately clarifies to "forget the word may—you *will* get knocked down a few times." However, the consequence of rising after each setback is that they will get progressively better at navigating life, learn to live far more fully, and ultimately become far more interesting human beings. With urgent warmth and humor, she presses the audience to get moving: "So hurry up, would you? Hurry up and write the story of your life that only you can write." Urging them to live deliberately and boldly, she advises them to fear regret and inaction rather than fear itself, concluding with an invitation to join the wider world: "The society of interesting people is waiting for you."

- **The Graduates' Foundation:** Their intelligence, proven grit, NYU Stern education, and the lifelong support network of family, friends, and faculty who champion their success. - **The Core Dilemma:** Spending the coming decades tiptoeing and playing it safe versus embracing the difficult, frightening, and meaningful challenges that define an authentic career and life. - **The Value of Resilience:** Accepting inevitable failure and setbacks as the primary vehicle for becoming more capable, vibrant, and interesting individuals.

## Notable quotes > [00:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=7s) unmitigated, clean, and shiny success — Suzy Welch

> [03:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=187s) Who am I without work? What is my identity? — Suzy Welch

> [03:07](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=187s) wait a minute, you got me — Jack Welch

> [05:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=305s) Met Gala for perfect people except for me — Suzy Welch

> [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) I'm crying inside looking at you. You're broken. You're scared. You're a mess. — Vernon Jordan

> [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) Suzy, it is time for you to get up and start again. Will you do that? — Vernon Jordan

> [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) In that case, Suzy, welcome to the Society of Interesting People. — Vernon Jordan

> [07:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=431s) Failure is not an ending, it's an entrance... an entrance to being fully human. — Suzy Welch

> [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) forget the word may—you will get knocked down a few times — Suzy Welch

> [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) So hurry up, would you? Hurry up and write the story of your life that only you can write. — Suzy Welch

> [11:36](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA&t=696s) The society of interesting people is waiting for you. — Suzy Welch

## Mentioned Suzy Welch, Bharat Anand, NYU Stern School of Business, NYU Steinhardt, Radio City Music Hall, Harvard University, Harvard Business School, Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, Jack Welch, General Electric, Cher, Vernon Jordan, Becoming You, Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Elton John, Harry Styles

## Video description Suzy Welch, Professor of Management Practice and Director, Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing, addresses Stern's Graduate Class of 2026 on Friday, May 15, 2026.

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pe_S5535zA)

中文简报

苏西·韦尔奇以自身遭公开解雇为例勉励斯特恩商学院MBA勇于承担失败风险韦尔奇认为，灾难性的职业挫折是建立韧性与充实生活的必经之路，并告诫毕业生一味求稳只会招致遗憾。在面向毕业班的演讲中，苏西·韦尔奇（Suzy Welch）教授回顾了自己的人生历程：她曾拥有看似无可挑剔的辉煌职业生涯，却在39岁时遭遇公开解雇的羞辱，甚至登上了《华尔街日报》的头版。她分享了自己与民权运动领袖兼金融家弗农·乔丹（Vernon Jordan）之间一次关键的私人谈话，这场对话将失败重新定义为加入“有趣人物协会”的入会仪式，从而化解了她的羞耻感。结合自身的蜕变重生以及随后在纽约大学斯特恩商学院（NYU Stern）的职业生涯，韦尔奇激励毕业生们切勿在人生道路上小心翼翼、一味求稳，而是应当坦然接纳不可避免的打击，克服对失败的恐惧，谱写属于自己的勇敢且坚韧的篇章。苏西·韦尔奇面向纽约大学斯特恩商学院2026届研究生发表演讲，带来了一场非同寻常的毕业致辞，重点阐述了经历并挺过灾难性失败为何是过上有意义生活的必要前提。 (0:07) 在回顾39岁时被《哈佛商业评论》公开解雇的经历时，韦尔奇讲述了失去事业和身份认同如何彻底瓦解了她数十年连胜的卓越成就。 (3:07) 与民权运动偶像弗农·乔丹的一次关键接触改变了她的认知，将职业生涯的崩塌重新定义为加入“有趣人物协会”的入场券，而非永久的毁灭。 (7:11) 韦尔奇向毕业生发起挑战，告诫他们不要一味求稳，并敦促他们坦然接纳不可避免的挫折，敢于冒险开展大胆尝试，应当畏惧遗憾而非失败。 (11:36)

Reading summary

In her 2026 convocation address to NYU Stern graduates, Professor Suzy Welch argues that high-stakes failure is not a terminal defeat, but an essential catalyst for developing empathy, resilience, and personal depth. Drawing from her own public fall from grace, Welch urges graduates to reject the illusion of invulnerable perfection and deliberately take on difficult, high-risk endeavors. The Fragility of Unchecked Overachievement (0:07) Until age 39, Welch's career and personal life followed an unbroken trajectory of conventional success. Having graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School, she rose to become the editor of the Harvard Business Review, while concurrently raising four children, running marathons, teaching Sunday school, and navigating a divorce without slowing down. Welch recalled that this relentless overachievement created an outward appearance of invulnerability, masking a self-worth tied entirely to institutional approval and rule-following. That identity collapsed abruptly when her relationship with General Electric CEO Jack Welch became public while she was divorced and he was separated. The resulting media controversy appeared on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, prompting her employer to terminate her editorial career over credibility concerns. Deprived of her status and cast out of her professional community, Welch faced an existential crisis regarding her identity outside of work, discovering that personal affection could not offset the acute shame of public failure. Reframing Public Collapse as Human Entrance (5:05) Welch’s perspective shifted during a gathering in Washington, D.C., hosted by civil rights leader and investment banker Vernon Jordan. Paralyzed by shame among a crowd of luminaries, Welch was pulled aside by Jordan, who confronted her visible distress and bluntly noted that she was broken and terrified. Instead of offering superficial reassurance, Jordan pointed out that every high achiever in the room had swung big, crashed, and restarted, refusing to let fear govern their choices. Jordan challenged Welch to pick herself up and restart her life, welcoming her into what he coined the "Society of Interesting People." This interaction permanently reframed failure for Welch, turning public humiliation from an ending into an entrance to becoming "fully human." Surviving that loss dismantled her fear of external judgment, ultimately fostering greater personal empathy, complexity, and psychological resilience. Risk Tolerance and Professional Reinvention (7:11) Welch contends that an expanded tolerance for failure became the foundation for her later reinvention. In 2021, she drew directly on the resilience gained from her past crisis to approach NYU Stern leadership, pitching and subsequently launching an experiential management course titled Becoming You. She noted that had she remained trapped in the fragile, risk-averse perfection of her earlier career, she would never have gambled on the proposal that led to her most fulfilling professional chapter. Referencing iconic artists such as Lady Gaga, Florence and the Machine, Elton John, and Harry Styles who had performed in the same graduation hall, Welch maintained that true stature is not defined by raw talent alone. Rather, it belongs to individuals who operate at the outer edges of experience, endure severe setbacks, and repeatedly choose to get back up. The Dilemma Facing Elite Graduates (11:36) Addressing the graduating Class of 2026, Welch highlighted the extensive advantages at their disposal, including intellectual capability, proven grit, NYU Stern credentials, and strong personal and faculty support networks. She posed a core choice: graduates could leverage those assets merely to play it safe and tiptoe into the fray over the coming decades, or they could choose the bolder alternative of pursuing hard, frightening, and meaningful challenges. Welch emphasized that choosing the ambitious path guarantees hardship, correcting herself to stress that graduates will inevitably be knocked down rather than merely facing a conditional risk of failure. However, she maintained that repeatedly rebounding from unavoidable defeats is precisely what allows individuals to navigate reality, live fully, and author their own authentic life stories. Welch concludes by advising graduates to fear inaction and regret far more than failure itself. She frames entrance into the wider society of interesting people not as an automatic status conferred by elite credentials, but as an earned outcome that requires living boldly, absorbing inevitable falls, and starting again.

Source quotes

[0:07] Suzy Welch: unmitigated, clean, and shiny success [3:07] Suzy Welch: Who am I without work? What is my identity? [3:07] Jack Welch: wait a minute, you got me [5:05] Suzy Welch: Met Gala for perfect people except for me [7:11] Vernon Jordan: I'm crying inside looking at you. You're broken. You're scared. You're a mess. [7:11] Vernon Jordan: Suzy, it is time for you to get up and start again. Will you do that? [7:11] Vernon Jordan: In that case, Suzy, welcome to the Society of Interesting People. [7:11] Suzy Welch: Failure is not an ending, it's an entrance... an entrance to being fully human. [11:36] Suzy Welch: forget the word may—you will get knocked down a few times [11:36] Suzy Welch: So hurry up, would you? Hurry up and write the story of your life that only you can write. [11:36] Suzy Welch: The society of interesting people is waiting for you.

Original transcript

[0:07] Dean Bharat Anand: Please join me in welcoming [0:09] Professor Suzy Welch. [0:20] Professor Suzy Welch: Hello, my friends. [0:21] Hello, my beloveds. I'm so happy [0:23] to be here. Thank you, Dean. [0:26] Congratulations to the class of 2026. [0:28] It's so exciting to see you here. [0:30] Congratulations to your squads that are [0:33] here with you. I was just at Radio City [0:37] Music Hall two days ago watching my own [0:38] daughter graduate from Steinhardt, and I was [0:41] crying a lot. And maybe you are, but my [0:44] whole goal today is to make you cry again. [0:47] Because that's the point of a [0:49] graduation speech, isn't it? [0:51] So how am I going to make you cry? And [0:53] by the way, hello again. Hi, I'm Suzy. [0:56] How am I going to make you cry again? [0:57] Well, I want to tell you a sad, sad tale [1:01] of woe. My own sad, sad tale of woe [1:04] that happened to me earlier in my life. [1:07] It's a terrible, horrible thing that [1:09] I want to tell you about. And I also [1:10] want to tell you that I very much [1:12] want the same thing to happen to you. [1:15] Yes, I do. I want it to happen to you, [1:17] and sooner than it happened to me. [1:19] Sooner and earlier, because only then, only [1:24] then will you get, ah, let's hold that [1:27] thought, and I will tell you what you will [1:29] get if this sad and horrible thing happens [1:30] to you. But first, let me set the scene. [1:33] I was 39 years old when it happened, and I [1:36] know you're sitting there thinking that's [1:37] so old, but your parents will tell you it's [1:39] not that old, okay? I was 39 years old, and [1:42] up until that point in my life, I was only [1:46] what you could call an unmitigated, clean, [1:49] and shiny success. First of all, I had been [1:52] quite good at high school, very good, [1:54] round of applause, went off to Harvard. I did [1:57] very well there also. I hit my marks, and [2:00] then I went on to Harvard Business School, [2:03] yay, and I I got a job, as the dean said, at [2:05] a fancy magazine where I did a lot of [2:07] things, and everybody clapped. And while this [2:10] was going on, while I was doing all of these [2:12] achievements, while this was going on, I [2:14] also managed to have four perfect children, [2:16] teach Sunday school, run in marathons, [2:19] and I want you to know that I also sewed [2:22] all the curtains for my house, and they [2:25] were lined and tasseled. And everybody [2:28] cheered. There was one small blip in this [2:30] incredible, unmitigated, clean and shiny [2:33] success, which was in the middle of this. My [2:36] husband left for greener pastures, but [2:39] I was very good at divorce also, and it [2:42] didn't slow me down one bit, not one bit. [2:50] You know, I didn't think I'd get [2:52] applause for that. All I can tell you is [2:54] don't ask me how I did it. I just [2:56] did it. It was hard. Okay, it was hard, [2:59] and I continued to be this shiny, [3:03] unmitigated success until I absolutely was [3:07] not, because I got fired. And it wasn't [3:11] like a little teeny tiny, oh, she went home [3:14] to spend more time with her children fired. [3:16] No, no, no, no, no, no. [3:18] It was a reported on the front page of [3:20] the Wall Street Journal kind of fired. [3:23] It was a big firing, and I was stunned. [3:28] To say that it was like a bomb dropping [3:30] on my life is an understatement. [3:33] Now, I don't want to belabor the reason, [3:36] but it would never happen today. Let's [3:38] just put it that way, but I'll give [3:39] you a short version of it. I met a guy. [3:42] I liked that guy a lot. His name was Jack. [3:45] And we fell in love with each other. [3:46] I was divorced. He was separated. [3:48] And he could have walked away, [3:50] and I could have walked away. [3:53] but like the great sage Cher, we believed [3:57] in life after love, and so we decided to [3:59] go for it, and it made a lot of headlines, [4:01] and the company that I was working for [4:03] decided that those headlines diminished my [4:05] credibility, so it was end of me. So I was [4:10] shocked. I was stunned. My entire life, I [4:12] had been a total goody two-shoes. I mean, [4:15] I had been such a goody two-shoes, and now [4:19] I was a loser. I couldn't believe it. I [4:22] was sad. I was shocked. I missed the people [4:27] that I worked with. But I also was [4:29] starting to wonder, who am I? Who am I without [4:32] work? What is my identity? And of course, [4:35] I cried this to that guy that I fell [4:37] in love with. And I said, I'm a loser. Who [4:39] am I? And I want to tell you something. [4:42] He was not very sympathetic. He was like, [4:44] wait a minute, you got me. And I was like, [4:46] yeah, but I want you and to be successful [4:50] and to be a winner again. Well, this did [4:52] not get better because I really started [4:53] to spiral. And I didn't know who I was. And [4:56] I thought everybody who looked at me [4:57] thought I was a loser. And there were a lot [4:58] of articles. There was no social media then, [5:00] but I knew what everyone was thinking. [5:02] And I really hated it. Well, in [5:05] the middle of this spiraling and [5:06] this feeling of loss and despair, [5:09] Jack and I were invited to [5:11] a party in Washington, D.C. [5:13] at the home of somebody named Vernon Jordan. [5:15] Your parents are probably familiar with [5:17] him. He was a real fixture in American politics [5:19] for around 50 years. He's the only person [5:22] probably in the history of humanity who [5:24] was famous and revered for being both a civil [5:27] rights activist and an investment banker. [5:31] It happened in Vernon Jordan. So at his party [5:34] at his house in D.C. there were heads of [5:37] state. There were movie stars. There were [5:40] football heroes. There were famous writers. [5:43] And there was me. And I was cowering in the [5:45] corner, and I was clutching onto Jack's [5:47] hand, and I could barely lift my eyes because [5:50] I felt like I was at the Met Gala for [5:52] perfect people except for me. And right at [5:55] the moment of my most abject self-loathing, [5:58] I felt this shadow looming over me, and I [6:01] looked up, and it was Vernon Jordan himself. [6:03] He was six foot five. He had a deep, [6:05] melodious Southern accent, and he said to me, [6:08] Suzy, I understand that you like art. [6:11] May I show you a painting in the next room? [6:16] Well, it was not lost on me how Vernon Jordan [6:19] knew that I liked art, because in all [6:22] the newspaper stories about my firing, reporters [6:25] had found it necessary to say that I [6:27] had majored in fine arts in college. That was [6:30] their one fun fact about me because my life [6:32] had been such a bore up until that point. [6:34] Fine arts major. So I thought, oh my ***, [6:36] Vernon Jordan knows what a loser I am. So [6:40] I sort of walked behind him to the next [6:42] room and I looked up and he is pointing to [6:45] what is probably the worst painting I've [6:47] ever seen in my life. And I thought, great, [6:50] now I'm going to have to lie to Vernon [6:53] Jordan about this terrible painting. Could [6:55] my life get any worse? And at exactly [6:57] that moment, Vernon Jordan said to me, [6:59] this is a terrible painting, isn't it? [7:01] My cousin's brother painted it, and I have [7:05] to hang it, and it's terrible. But Suzy, [7:07] that is not why I have pulled you into [7:09] this room. And then he turned, and he [7:11] looked me right in the eyes, and he said, [7:14] I'm crying inside looking at you. You're [7:17] broken. You're scared. You're a mess. [7:22] I'm so sad for you. [7:24] Did I answer him? I did not answer him [7:27] because I could not breathe at that moment. [7:30] But he went on. He pointed to the living [7:33] room where we had come from with all the [7:34] fancy people, and he said, I want you to [7:36] know something. The same thing that happened [7:39] to you has happened to every single [7:41] person in that room. They've all swung big. [7:44] They've all had hits. [7:46] They've all had misses. [7:47] What they have never had is [7:50] fear. They have lived life to its [7:53] edges, and they have crashed, [7:56] but then they got up. [7:58] Suzy, he said, it is time for [8:02] you to get up and start again. [8:05] will you do that? [8:07] And I said, yes, I will do that. [8:13] And he said, in that case, Suzy, [8:18] welcome to the society [8:21] of interesting people. [8:24] Welcome to the society [8:26] of interesting people. [8:28] Class of 2026, this is a club you [8:33] want to be a member of. This is the [8:35] club you want to be a member of. [8:38] And the cost of admission is not a bright [8:41] and shiny life without failures. It is [8:44] not a linear career, and it is definitely [8:47] not sewing all the curtains in your house. [8:49] It is getting up again and again. [8:53] Because the truth is, failure is [8:55] not an ending, it's an entrance. [8:58] an entrance to being fully human. [9:00] Now, I'm not saying I wasn't fully human [9:03] before I got fired, but I was a lot more [9:05] human afterwards. I was more empathetic. I [9:08] was more savvy. I was more complicated. And [9:11] now Vernon Jordan was telling me that [9:13] because I'd been knocked down, and especially [9:16] if I'd gotten up, I was going to be more [9:18] interesting. And I have to tell you, [9:21] I walked back into that party a different [9:23] person because failure had been [9:25] reframed for me. Failure had been reframed [9:27] for me as a kind of victory, and not [9:29] kind of a victory, but a real victory. [9:32] I had walked through fear, and I had played [9:36] big enough to lose in a way that [9:37] mattered, and I was not done. I was just [9:39] beginning, and I have to tell you something. [9:42] It was the beginning of the life of mine [9:44] that I have loved the most. It was the [9:47] life of risk that allowed me in 2021, [9:52] a person who had been a journalist and a [9:54] writer, to walk into the office of the [9:57] dean of NYU Stern and say, I think I have [10:02] an idea for a class called Becoming [10:04] You. Do you think I might teach it here? [10:07] Had I not gotten up, I would literally [10:10] not be standing here. I would not [10:13] be a professor at NYU Stern School [10:15] of Business, which it turns out has [10:19] been my heart and soul's delight. [10:22] Teaching you has been my heart and [10:28] soul's delight. I thank you for that. [10:31] I must have fallen down and gotten up [10:35] 1,000 times on the way here, and I'd [10:38] do it again tomorrow to be here today. [10:42] Class of 2026, you are sitting in this [10:46] New York City landmark where the greatest [10:48] artists in the world have performed. I [10:50] myself have seen in this room Lady Gaga, [10:54] Florence and the Machine, Elton John, [10:56] and I will admit I also saw Harry Styles [10:59] here. Okay, I got invited, all right? [11:02] They are all in the Society of [11:04] Interesting People. Wouldn't you agree? [11:06] And forget their talent. Talent, Schmalent. [11:08] Everybody has talent. And you [11:10] know what? You have talent. [11:12] But the people who have played this room [11:14] had something else. They have lived to the [11:16] very edges of their life. Failure be [11:18] damned, they have fallen down, and they have [11:19] gotten back up again and again and again. [11:22] I want that for you. I want it so badly. [11:25] So look, I am not going to not say [11:28] the truth. These are complicated times. [11:30] It's not easy out there outside this [11:32] room. The future is fuzzy, let's [11:34] put it that way. But you do have you. [11:36] And you have your brains and your grit. I've [11:38] witnessed it firsthand. you have your [11:40] family and your friends who are here, you have [11:43] your NYU Stern education, and you have [11:45] these people who are up here on the stage with [11:47] me and others who believe in you. Now, you [11:50] could take all that stuff you've got, and [11:53] you could go out and tiptoe into the fray [11:55] and play it safe for the next few decades. [11:58] You could. Or you could take it, and you [12:01] could do the hard, scary, interesting things. [12:07] You may get knocked down a few times, [12:09] and forget the word may, you will get [12:10] knocked down a few times, and you will [12:12] get better and better at life every time [12:13] you get up. You will live more fully, [12:15] and you will become more interesting. [12:18] So hurry up, would you? [12:20] Hurry up and write the story of your life [12:23] that only you can write. Live like you mean [12:25] it. Do not fear, fear, fear not having it. [12:32] The society of interesting people is [12:36] waiting for you. Thank you so much.