NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang wishes 'pain and suffering' on students

The CEO of NVIDIA, a chip manufacturing company valued at approximately $2 trillion, has sat down for an interview at Stanford University, where he gave some wise words to students regarding being a successful entrepreneur.

Skip to 35:37 for "pain and suffering"

Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, was asked what advice he would give to students to improve their chances of success, to which he answered that one of his strengths is that he has very low expectations and that many Stanford students have very high expectations of themselves due to the school and peers around them.

Huang then explained that when you have high expectations, you have very low resilience, "and unfortunately, resilience matters in success. I don't know how to teach it to you except for I hope suffering happens to you". The NVIDIA CEO goes on to explain that he uses the terms "pain and suffering" within his company in a very "happy way" because you want to "refine the character of your company," and character comes from "people who suffered".

"Greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character. And character isn't formed out of smart people, it's formed out of people who suffered," Huang said at the event

This advice is certainly a stoic take on what could have been a very simple answer to the initial question and is definitely a refreshing response in a world where advice for entrepreneurs is inundated with truisms.

"People with very high expectations have very low resilience. Because they are not accustomed to, or prepared for, failure. Unfortunately, resilience matters in success. I don't know how to teach it to you except for I hope suffering happens to you," said Huang