Shields attributed the first part of this quote to Andy Warhol and then made it personal. After graduating from college, she expected to be 'welcomed back into the movie industry with open arms and countless opportunities.' Instead, she couldn't get a movie, a play, a TV show, or even an ad campaign. 'Suddenly, nobody wanted me.' Rather than giving up, she pivoted. Broadway, directing, writing memoirs and children's books — she pursued all of these 'because other doors were closed to me.' Her definition of success became longevity and endurance rather than any single triumph. 'I simply refuse to give up,' she said. 'I went to where the opportunity did exist at the time.' For FIT graduates entering creative fields where rejection is the norm, Shields's honesty about her own failures was more useful than any motivational platitude. She told them they would 'probably get more nos than you do yeses' and would likely experience being fired or passed over. The answer wasn't to avoid disappointment but to be 'resourceful and determined' — to keep moving forward, however slowly, and to never stop.