The founder of Shake Shack has some advice for graduates they may not want to hear: Your major isn’t everything.
In a Monday interview with Fortune, famed restaurateur Danny Meyer said the best advice he could give new graduates is to follow their passion, listen to their gut, and tune out others’ expectations.
“In fact, maybe—even for a moment—tune out what your college major was,” Meyer, 66, said. “You learned a lot; there’s no question about that, and nobody can ever take that away from you. But there may be something else inside of you that really wants to express itself.”
That’s what happened to Meyer, who’s now the founder and executive chairman of Union Square Hospitality Group, which runs a smattering of New York hotspots including Union Square Cafe (Meyer’s first restaurant), Ci Siamo, The Modern, Daily Provisions, and Gramercy Tavern.
Before he was serving burgers and juggling James Beard awards, Meyer was a political-science major at Trinity College, well on his way to taking the LSAT and going to law school, because that, in his mind, was what political science majors did. “I’m really lucky, and the world’s really lucky, that I was never a lawyer,” he said.
He came close. But the night before taking the LSAT, Meyer had dinner with his aunt and uncle, and his uncle could tell something was off. Meyer expressed his fears that if he didn’t become a lawyer, he’d have no clue what to do.
“All I’ve heard you talk about, your whole life, is restaurants and food,” Meyer recalled his uncle telling him. It was a glass-shatter moment. “it was staring me in the face and I didn’t even see it.”
He encourages soon-to-be or recent graduates to consider the same possibilities. “Really think about the stuff that makes you happiest in life, and realize that throughout your school years, you had to take the courses that were required,” Meyer said. “Now, you get to do the courses that you want.”
More to the point: “You’re your own boss right now.”
What could possibly go right?
Meyer, who boasts an estimated $400 million net worth, shared a similar sentiment with this year’s graduating class at his alma mater, Trinity College in Connecticut.
“As you make big choices, while it may be tempting to do the thing others expect you to do, I challenge you to listen carefully to your gut, to follow your passion and heart, and to pursue what you really love,” he said. “The best decisions I’ve made in my life have almost always stemmed from listening to my gut, which is at least as smart as my other brain and has always guided me as a reliable compass.”
Meyer then told graduates about some of his fresh-out-of-college jobs—a pro bono gig in the political affairs department for Chicago’s public TV station; a field coordinator job for a third-party presidential campaign; a special projects manager for a company that sold electronic tags to prevent shoplifting—each of which, he said, taught him integral skills that he brought to his actual life’s work.
“Of course, it’s crucial to set aspirational goals and go for what you want in life. But as someone who has never had a five-year plan, I’ve also found that it’s at least as thrilling when a compelling idea unexpectedly comes knocking on my door and that I’m prepared to open it and walk in,” Meyer said. “I think it’s true that good luck favors the prepared.”
