Never be ashamed of trying. Effortlessness is a myth. The people who wanted it the least were the ones I wanted to date and be friends with in high school. The people who want it the most are the people I now hire to work for my company.
Taylor Swift
New York University Commencement 2022, 2022
Video starts at 16:04 — the moment this quote was spoken
The Story Behind This Quote
Swift, receiving an honorary doctorate, opened her speech by acknowledging she was '90 percent sure the main reason I'm here is because I have a song called 22.' She positioned herself not as a guru but as someone sharing 'life hacks' — and the first was a full-throated defense of enthusiasm in a culture that prizes ironic detachment. She diagnosed the problem precisely: 'There is a false stigma around eagerness in our culture of unbothered ambivalence. This outlook perpetuates the idea that it's not cool to want it.' Then she weaponized her own career as proof. She'd started writing songs at 12, released 11 albums, switched genres from country to pop to alternative to folk — none of it effortless, all of it driven by obsessive care for the craft. The twist at the end — hiring eager people for her company while having once been attracted to detached ones — was a sharp, funny indictment of how maturity changes your values.