More from Josh Groban

It would be better to fail doing something challenging, something worthwhile, something I was excited to show the world, than to succeed doing something safe that wouldn't actually inspire much at all.

JG

Josh Groban

High Point University Commencement 2018, 2018

16:19

Video starts at 16:19 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Groban tells the story of his Broadway debut. He could have played it safe — done Oklahoma — but instead he chose a wildly unconventional musical based on Tolstoy's War and Peace, mixing rock, pop, Russian opera, avant-garde electric cello folk, and a fat suit. The creators believed in him enough to take a risk on him, and he believed in the piece enough to take a risk on them. When he walked out on that stage for the first time, with only a wheezing accordion to shield him and critics holding their notepads snark-ready, he was terrified. But that fear, he says, was 'so so good.' The lesson: the quality of what you attempt matters more than whether you succeed.

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