One person's career advice for the class of 2025

The value of work, attention and acceptance of uncertainty

Excerpt: "The standard advice for young people is to be careful what you wish for, because you might get it. A wise old owl once remixed it for me: Be careful what you wish for because you will get it. Dreams come true every day.

I said “dreams,” not fairy tales. The New York Yankees can only have one center fielder at a time. If that’s your dream, the odds are low. But if you love baseball and want a career in and around the game, you could easily end up working for a Major League team. It may not be your first job out of college and it may not be the Yankees. But if you set a course and stay on track, it will happen.

The same is true for the movies, theater, music, art—all the low-probability careers that your parents warned you against pursuing. Fairy tales are few and far between, but there are jobs in these industries for people who want to work in them.

While you don’t always get the job you want, second place isn’t a death sentence. Take it gracefully and see what happens. I once lost out on a gig and spent a few days grumbling to myself about what a bunch of shortsighted dummies they were. Then I got a call that the first choice had backed out. Was I still available? You bet."