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The question

What counsel would you give your twenty-year-old self — and what should they ignore?
Indra Nooyi

Chief executive of PepsiCo, 2006–2018

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here
Never give up your passion for learning. And zoom out of your field before you zoom in. Some of my very best business insights have come from reading around subjects. They have come from approaching questions at a strange angle, from thinking about them from a different point of view. A lot of the knowledge that has really given me an edge in business has come from history, psychology, even chemistry. Connecting seemingly unconnected dots is what has served me well.

Wake Forest University commencement, 2011 source ↗

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J.K. Rowling Novelist and screenwriter
So given a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.
Recorded Harvard University Commencement, 2008, Harvard Gazette, 5 June 2008 source ↗
Marvin Minsky Cognitive scientist; co-founder of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
So any student who wants to get into psychology, right now the students are like lemmings. They say, “Well, it’s popular to study brain science, I’ll do that.” Or, “It’s popular to do neural networks; I see 30,000 people doing it, it must be good.” And my advice is if a lot of people are doing it, don’t waste your time.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, 4 May 2001 source ↗
Sylvia Earle Marine biologist and oceanographer; first woman to serve as Chief Scientist of NOAA
They encouraged me, the way I do others now, that if you really have something that you like to do, that’s what you probably should do. Despite what everybody says, that you can’t make a living, or that’s not practical, or a thousand reasons why you may not do this or this or this. If that’s what your heart says you should do, chances are that you ought to listen.
Recorded Academy of Achievement interview, 27 January 1991 source ↗
Susan Wojcicki Chief executive of YouTube; Google's first marketing manager
Life doesn't offer you the perfect opportunity at the perfect time. Opportunities come when you least expect them ... Rarely are opportunities presented to you in a perfect way. In a nice little box with a yellow bow on top. ‘Here, open it, it's perfect. You'll love it.’ Opportunities -- the good ones -- are messy, confusing and hard to recognize. They're risky. They challenge you.
Recorded Johns Hopkins University Commencement, Class of 2014, HuffPost, May 2014 source ↗

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Question What is one of the best investments you have made — of money, time, or energy? Money & investment
So I decided I was going to invest my time. I spent Monday through Thursday at Frito-Lay, commuting from New York to Texas. Then Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I did my regular job in New York. It was an incredible commitment of time but it was an amazing developmental experience. It was challenging, broadening, and helped me reach the position I have today.
Recorded Wake Forest University commencement, 2011 source ↗

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