“I’ll let you in on a little secret: While these things are important right now, they are a lot less consequential than you might think,” Pichai said Stanford University graduates graduated earlier this month.
“You could have failed the biology test, skipped a class and never learned to play the tuba. And you would probably still be here today.”
Pichai learned this lesson firsthand when he, too, studied materials science and engineering at Stanford University. He admitted that he often obsessed over grades, career prospects and planning his future. Then an unexpected road trip to Las Vegas changed his perspective.
The soft-spoken tech director recalled how a classmate once convinced him to skip a class and drive to Sin City – a move that was completely out of character for someone who had never missed class before. On the way he saw snow for the first time and learned to play Blackjackand discovered something even more valuable when no one noticed his absence.
“For the first time I realized that if I relaxed a little, the world wouldn’t end,” the 54-year-old recalled.
Pichai added that while some life decisions are crucial to getting right – like choosing a partner, deciding whether to start a family or whether to make a big career change – ultimately “very few of them are crucial.”
“But if you are able to filter the signal through the noise, you can influence your life in those moments to have the desired effect,” he added.
Success rarely follows a straight line – and the CEOs of Amazon and JPMorgan agree that Generation Z must rise to the challenge
For Generation Z, tuning out the noise surrounding the economy and the future of work seems easier said than done. But Pichai is far from alone in urging young people to relax their rigid career plans — and accept that setbacks and less-than-smooth timelines tend to bring the most success.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently urged young professionals to start from the bottom instead of pursuing shortcuts to the top.
“If you’re not willing to start from the bottom and pay off your debts, it’s unlikely you’ll ever be successful,” Jassy said earlier this year The advisory expertise of the Capital Group Podcast. “You have to be willing to start from the bottom. You have to do what people ask of you, within reason.”
Mistakes and setbacks are an inevitable part of a professional career, he said. Curiosity and the willingness to adapt are important: “You simply have to be a learning machine.”
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon delivered a similar message – albeit with decidedly tougher love.
“Every part of a job will have some grunt” Dimon said at an event in DavosSwitzerland earlier this year. “Get over it.”
And even in difficult times, Dimon advises against moving just for the sake of the job Avoid friction.
“Don’t get a new job,” Dimon said. “Some people are constantly overthinking and ruining their lives because they should just enjoy what they do.”
The lesson extends even beyond the corporate corner office. fox News anchor Dana Perino She said her career accelerated when she took someone’s advice and stopped trying to find a perfect path.
“When I focused and stopped trying to do everything, all the other opportunities came at the right time,” she says told Assets Earlier this year.
Her advice to young people reflects Pichai’s larger message: Don’t obsess about finding the perfect first step.
“Just start working – wherever it is,” she said. “That doesn’t mean you have to stay there for two years.”