Bloomberg delivered this concise truth immediately after encouraging graduates to take bold career risks. It was a natural follow-up to his personal story of being fired and then building a billion-dollar company — proof that failure can be a launchpad rather than an endpoint. The simplicity of the statement made it one of the most memorable lines in the speech. Bloomberg framed failure not as something to fear or avoid but as the most effective form of education, something no classroom can replicate. Coming from a man who had experienced both spectacular failure and extraordinary success, the words carried particular authenticity.