Billionaire Jensen Huang's heartfelt message to students
Báo Dân trí•09/12/2024
(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Billionaire Jensen Huang receives numerous invitations to speak at university graduation ceremonies to inspire graduating students.
Jensen Huang (61 years old) is the chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Nvidia, the world's largest chip manufacturer with a market value of over $3.5 trillion. This Taiwanese-American businessman is currently the 11th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $124 billion. Below are some inspiring quotes from Jensen Huang when meeting with students at universities.
Don't be afraid, venture into the unknown.
At the California Institute of Technology's graduation ceremony this summer, Jensen Huang said: "I am one of the most resilient executives in the tech industry today. For over 30 years, I've managed to keep myself constantly working, never getting bored. The secret behind that is resilience and adaptability." Jensen Huang is currently the 11th richest billionaire in the world with an estimated net worth of $124 billion (Photo: CNBC). Mr. Huang asserted that his journey to success with Nvidia was far from smooth. When he founded the company, he faced numerous major competitors. He launched impressive products that attracted the attention of potential customers, but there were times when Nvidia was almost driven out of the market. At that time, Nvidia couldn't compete with established rivals who had been operating in the market for many years. "When we couldn't penetrate the areas already dominated by the big players, I decided to explore a market segment... that had no customers. In new areas, even those unknown, with no demand and no existing customers, we wouldn't have any competitors," Mr. Huang said. It was under this intense competitive pressure and the need to find an untapped market segment that Mr. Huang and his colleagues began researching machine learning algorithms, a field of artificial intelligence. From this point on, Nvidia took the lead in artificial intelligence research. "My logic is: If we don't start building, nothing will come to us. So I hope that you will know how to put your faith in something, even if it's unconventional, something no one has thought of or done before," Huang told graduating students of the California Institute of Technology.
Young people need to live with less ambition and more... sadness.
Billionaire Jensen Huang said he suffered constant bullying while living and growing up in the United States. He also faced many hardships as an adult. He worked many low-paying jobs, such as a waiter and dishwasher, to cover his living expenses during his student years. When he founded Nvidia in 1993, he went through very dark periods. For example, in 1996, he was forced to lay off 70 out of 110 employees because the company's finances were depleted. According to Huang, low expectations are actually a psychological advantage in overcoming difficulties (Photo: CNBC). From childhood to adulthood, Mr. Huang's life has been filled with sadness and hardship before he built his great career. Despite enduring bitter and painful experiences, Mr. Huang is always grateful for them because, for him, they are the key to success. "A person's stature comes from their character, and character doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with intelligence. Highly intelligent people aren't necessarily those with beautiful character. But those who have gone through much pain and hardship have the potential to develop noble character," Mr. Huang shared in a meeting with Stanford University students this year. Many successful people often advise young people to dare to dream big and have big ambitions, but Jensen Huang thinks the opposite. According to him, low expectations are actually a psychological advantage that allows an individual to quickly overcome difficulties, obstacles, and even failures to achieve success. According to Mr. Huang, young entrepreneurs with high expectations often lack perseverance, resilience, and the ability to bounce back after setbacks and failures. Mr. Huang knows that the students at Stanford University are all excellent, many with impressive backgrounds, so they graduate with confidence and very high expectations for their future. However, for Mr. Huang, this is not a good sign, because, in his opinion, high expectations are always an obstacle to patience and perseverance. The billionaire said, "Whenever I talk about sadness and hardship, I do so in the most positive light. Therefore, to you students, I wish you will overcome sadness and hardship to gradually improve your character and resilience, and from there, you will achieve great things. If you don't have composure in the face of failure, you will never have valuable experiences. If you don't have experiences, you will never be able to improve and create breakthroughs. If you can't create breakthroughs, you can't succeed." Mr. Huang said that when recruiting, he also prioritizes candidates who have experiences demonstrating perseverance and determination. According to him, these are important personality traits that contribute to creative breakthroughs and success in work. Mr. Huang values perseverance more than academic qualifications.
Think and act like a child.
During a meeting with Oregon State University students in 2009, Jensen Huang said, "I hope you find joy in your work, that you will love what you do. That is the only way to achieve extraordinary things." Huang advised the students, when starting their own businesses, to think and act with the mindset of a child. "Keep a pure, unbiased mind, always be curious, constantly observe to discover new things. Maintain your belief even when others doubt or ridicule you," Huang told the students. When recruiting, Mr. Huang prioritizes candidates who have demonstrated perseverance and determination through previous experience (Photo: CNBC). When Huang founded Nvidia, many competitors, analysts, and even his clients expressed skepticism about the company's long-term viability. Many predicted Nvidia would fail because it couldn't compete with the established giants. However, Huang believed that there were always untapped areas in the market, areas with immense potential. "All traditional thinking and beliefs are only certain about what has happened in the past, but young entrepreneurs must learn to believe in the future they envision. Sometimes, you have to challenge traditional thinking with the naive yet unwavering belief of a child who doesn't know doubt, uncertainty, or wavering," Huang said. Finally, Huang advised graduating students to seize opportunities as soon as they appear. He said, "Whenever you see an opportunity, you must seize it immediately, you must chase after the opportunity that has just appeared. Remember, you must run, not walk. Do you remember when you were a child, when you saw your favorite food, how quickly you rushed to where it was? Run fast, whatever you want to do, you must act quickly and know how to seize the opportunity."
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