Failing Forward: An Open Letter to the Class of 2027

This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting and addressing the incoming Freshmen of the Class of 2027 at the The Johns Hopkins University .

I was one of five distinguished alumni panelists invited to speak on the topic of Failing Forward. This panel was held during the New Student Orientation and was designed to help new students understand that failures and setbacks are an important part of their experience at Johns Hopkins. And more importantly, the failures can be touchstones for personal and intellectual growth and maturation as both students and adults entering the next chapter of life.

The panel was co-moderated by the Vice Provost for Integrative Learning & Life Design, Farouk Dey and The Director of Student Ventures, Josh Ambrose . I want to thank them both for the invite to share our experiences in failing forward as alumni now thriving in an ever-changing world holding heartbreak and healing.

And I want to extend a thank you to my fellow panelists, Pava LaPere , Alex Schachne , Mecca McDonald , Mia Dunn . I look forward to sharing our recorded collective remarks in the future with family and friends.

As I flew home to the West Coast after this event, I reflected on how powerful this session was, not only for the students, but also for us as alumni invited back to campus. In many ways the words shared from that stage to the next generation of leaders were the words we needed to hear so many years ago, when we embarked on this stage of life.

I know my 18-year-old self never could have imagined some 27 years later he would be on stage addressing the largest freshmen class in the University's history, sharing personal failures and heartbreaks that shaped his success.

And as I fondly look back to how it started, now smiling as I think about how it's going, I am reminded of the power of a quote I came across this week:

"Create the stories you aren't seeing."

Thank you to The Johns Hopkins University Staff, Faculty, Students and Alumni for helping each of us create, and share, the stories some of us didn't see then, so that others might now.

And now, to the Class of 2027, an Open Letter:

You've Already Made History

Take this moment to celebrate all the unique experiences and interests that led you to where you are sitting now. You came here as 1 of ~1400, and you proceed among and part of ~260,000 living alumni around the world who will champion your chapters from here on out. You get to share your gifts, talents and trials with 1400 other hearts and minds amidst you, all calling Homewood home for the next four years. Know this...you have already made history at this university, and you're only on week one. That is what it means to part of the Johns Hopkins community. That is #HopkinsPossible.

Transmute Your Challenges to Become Your Rewards

It may be challenging at first to recognize, but I want to assure you that everyone is experiencing the same emotions, holding the same fears, and chasing the same dreams. You are all experiencing growth and change and challenge daily, and in a beautiful setting. Some might call that alchemical. Consider this the chrysalis. It takes time to form, fracture, fall, and then fly. Make that experience memorable and generative for others while on campus. Embrace the collective wisdom of the many doctors - both medical and academic - who will save you along the way. And don't forget those "doctors in life" - your Residential Advisors. They will reflect back to you your worthiness and your inherent value. There will be challenges, but with time and trust you can transmute them to become rewards worth remembering. Be ever the alchemist.

Allow Yourself to Be Surprised Along the Way

Yes, there are things beyond the books and brainstorms and syllabus that you will call upon to be a good human, servant leader and lawful citizen. These will look like investing in and building deep relationships, committing to causes greater than self, leading with curiosity, always answering an insatiable hunger to learn, and often calling on the ability to try and fail forward in hopes of learning your way into a better world. If you are an engineer, take a humanities course. If you are a linguist, take a neuroscience course. Some of the most unexpected coursework (Introduction to Fiction & Poetry, Anthropology of Love, Self-Made Man, etc.) might just change your life. You cannot imagine the doors that will open to you, but with perseverance and persistence you will soon realize the power you have in helping others achieve their dreams. Technology is a great enabler, but it will never replace the greatest gift we can offer. Humanity in empathy.

Prioritize the Power of Reflection

Discovering your purpose while here will only come if you prioritize reflection. The pursuit of purpose is rarely a straight line, and it is in the detours and setbacks and heartbreak and missteps where you get time to reflect and rewire. And the fastest way to feel good and heal your heartbreak is to serve others. Servant leadership is a dividend that keeps paying. Let the world reflect back to you where your gifts are needed in times such as these. Listen to lessons in the silence, dance wildly in the wide-open spaces, and don't be so quick to dismiss the distant whispers that are in a language only you can understand. Let the blues captivate you.

Expand the Capacity to Listen and Forgive...Starting with Yourself

This is the time and the place when and where you get to expand your capacity to learn and live as a global citizen encountering new ideas. Expand your capacity to listen. Listen to others. Listen more than you speak. Strengthen your capacity to forgive. That begins by forgiving yourself often, and then increasing your capacity daily to forgive others. Give them a second chance. Increase your capacity to give and extend grace. It can save lives. And remember, everyone has the right to heal. You may surprise yourself learning you're as much a healer as you are a teacher. May every interaction during your time here contribute to "enlarging the scope of those beliefs alongside others and in light of the best available evidence."

Be Who You Needed

You are a future leader, creative and designer and that comes with the privilege, power and the social responsibility to collaborate with the communities where you learn, live and play. You get to co-create the stories that we are not seeing nor hearing in our world today and create the platforms and spaces where others can manifest wholeness, healing, care and radical joy.

That work began this week, when you showed us what it means to take in a wider viewpoint and embrace the ONENESS of it all. Think about your Class Photo taken just under the Gilman Tower. You appear as one. You all move as one. Remember that and you'll never feel alone. And if you ever do find yourself feeling alone, give me a call or drop me a line. I got you.