Schultz spoke candidly about the fear and self-doubt that had accompanied every major decision in his career — from leaving a comfortable corporate job to buy a tiny Seattle coffee company, to taking Starbucks public, to stepping down as CEO and then returning years later when the company lost its way. He told the ASU graduates that the conventional path — the safe job, the predictable career — was often the most dangerous choice of all, because it meant surrendering your dreams to other people's expectations. Schultz's own father had spent his life following the paths others laid out for him, and it had crushed his spirit. The son was determined to chart his own course, and he urged the graduates to do the same.