More from Mark Rober

Embrace your inexperience and keep taking leaps forward.

MR

Mark Rober

MIT Commencement 2023, 2023

7:55

Video starts at 7:55 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Rober wraps up his case for naive optimism. He tells graduates that anyone who claims they knew 20 years ago they'd end up where they are today is "either lying or delusional or a time traveler." He couldn't have predicted his own path from college to NASA to YouTube to MIT commencement speaker. Instead of creating a master life plan, his attitude of naive optimism combined with dedication and willingness to jump from one safe rock to the next is what got him here. He urges: have faith in yourself — you're about to get a degree from MIT, so you've obviously made some great decisions so far.

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