Rodriguez connected this philosophy to the most audacious moves of his career. He had signed himself up for jobs he had 'no qualifications for whatsoever' — including writing movie scores for a 100-piece orchestra despite not being able to read or write music. 'There's always a way,' he said. 'You just have to keep your hand up.' The 'little kid' metaphor wasn't just charming — it was a deliberate strategy. Rodriguez argued that the naivete of not knowing the rules was what allowed him to break them, and that breaking rules was the only way to make anything genuinely new. 'You can't make a mistake if there's no rules. And if there are pre-imposed rules, break them. Those rules were made yesterday and the tide has already shifted today.' He also quoted Winston Churchill: 'Success is the ability to move from one failure to the next failure with enthusiasm.' For UT graduates entering a recession, the message was practical: your naivete, your willingness to try things that experts say can't be done, is not a weakness. It's the only competitive advantage that matters.