- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell told Princeton’s Gen Z graduates that avoiding risks might be one the biggest career mistakes they can make. As the class of 2025 enters the workforce and starts their own businesses, the millionaire businessman’s top piece of advice is to face the fear and just do it anyway.
Chasing the magic of successes like Sam Altman, Rihanna, and Simone Biles, Gen Z grads may not be fully aware of all the failures they’ll have to traverse on the way to the top. But Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has a reality check for the next generation of workers: you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
“As you strive in the coming years to reach your full potential, you’ll need to take risks, and yes, make mistakes,” Powell told Prince University graduates during his commencement speech on Sunday.
“Everyone—and I mean everyone—makes mistakes. Take it from an expert. But the bigger mistake is to avoid taking risks. If you’re not failing from time to time you’re not asking enough of yourself.”
As the class of 2025 enters the workforce, starts their own businesses, and goes on to pursue their passions, Powell’s top piece of advice is to just do it.
“All I can say to you is: go for it. Throw yourself into the deep end of the pool, believe in yourself, take risks,” Powell continued. “When you fall down—and you will fall down—get up, and repeat the cycle.”
Powell’s advice for Gen Z graduates: take the leap, and pull others up with you
Many Gen Zers don’t aspire to climb the corporate ladder as their millennial counterparts once did during their 20s—instead opting to remain individual contributors for as long as possible. Some are even launching their own business, making them leaders in any case. But their reason for not wanting to climb the greasy pole—too much responsibility—is completely normal, Powell assures.
“It is very common to think, as I once did, that you’re not ready,” Powell said. “Just know that no one is really ready.”
Whether or not they’re ready for management yet, Powell shared how he made that leap in his career. As a junior associate at Dillon Read & Co. in the 1980s, he was desperate to meet his boss running the firm, former U.S. senator Nicholas F. Brady. One day he plucked up the courage to walk up to his corner office and ask for an audience; the meeting was brief, and Powell was extremely nervous. But two months later Brady asked if Powell would work on a project with him. It was a big break that budded from one bold action: braving rejection as a junior staffer.
“A little bit of initiative at the right time can make all the difference. The initiative is the rocket fuel of life,” Powell recalled. “As I look back, many of the most important developments in my life trace back to a few occasions where I showed just a little bit of initiative.”
And when the class of 2025 get a taste of success stepping into leadership roles, Powell stressed the importance of paying it forward.
“As you assume higher responsibility, understand that a big part of your job is to bring along the people behind you,” he said. “Be the leader that people can learn from, the one that people want to follow.”
Leaders’ advice for the budding generation of workers
The class of 2025 is getting essential career advice from the most unlikely of people—one of them being Sesame Street icon Kermit the Frog. Echoing the same sentiment as Powell, the celebrity Muppet advised Gen Z to share the spoils of their success.
“As you prepare to take this big leap into real life, here’s a little advice,” Kermit told recent graduates from the University of Maryland. “Rather than jumping over someone to get what you want, consider reaching out your hand and taking the leap side by side, because life is better when we leap together.”
Rap icon Snoop Dogg also shared lessons from his career spanning music, acting, investing, and entrepreneurship. Despite being one of America’s most recognizable celebrities, he told the class of 2025 at USC Marshall School of Business that he’s been an underdog his whole life. Hardship and rejection was thrown his way—but that didn’t knock him down from succeeding.
“But guess what, I didn’t let none of that stop me,” the rapper said. “I stayed true to myself. I stayed focused on the vision, and I turned them no’s into yes’s. See, adversity is like the gym for your soul. It hurts. It’s heavy, but it builds you up.”
