“The biggest danger of success is if you stop being curious,” said Donahoe, Marshall’s 2023 Spring Commencement Speaker. “Curiosity opens up new worlds and possibilities. When you’re starting your career, it’s a gift to give yourself–the opportunity to try something new. And when our curiosity is stirred, we think more deeply and more creatively. We can discover how we can improve, what we can create, where we can grow.”
The longtime business leader, with stints running Bain & Company, eBay and ServiceNow, says he’s looking forward to encouraging the Marshall University Class of 2023 to find their own personal sense of purpose. 
“Graduates who spend time thinking about how they can be in service to others will put themselves on a path toward success,” Donahoe said. “The power of service has been a recurring lesson throughout my life, and I encourage the graduates to find their own North Star to drive them forward.”
The graduate of Dartmouth College and the Stanford Graduate School of Business says the key to being successful is to invest in yourself through mental, physical and emotional health. This can take the form of small things like eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep. It can also look like seeing a therapist to better understand yourself. Above all, a key to success is being able to travel through life with supportive communities of people.
Donahoe says he does his best to find time to relax and usually that involves his family.
“Always ask for flexibility when you’re navigating the balance of work and family,” Donahoe said. The worst thing is to assume you can’t do something. It takes creativity, but nothing should get in the way of that balance.”
If not with his family, Donahoe’s free time usually will involve sports. The Chicago native says he can still tell you every starter on the ’69 Cubs and finds joy in working out in the morning and getting to watch the NBA at night.
But he also practices something else: gratitude.
“What we know from science is you can, in fact, train your brain,” Donahoe said. “Our brains become more negative over time because negative experiences stick in our brains. So, you can counteract that by being more conscious of things you’re appreciative of – of the good things in your life.
Life is about creating a unique balance, one that allows for success in your job, but also in your life outside of work. Different parts of life require more of your attention at different times, but in the end, he says, they’ll balance out.
“You do not have to choose between children and a career, one partner’s job over the other’s, advancement over personal health,” Donahoe said. “My recommendation is to get as much out of life as possible and look for creative solutions along the way.”
Donahoe says he lived all of these lessons when he was offered the job as president and CEO of Nike – he went back to what his greater purpose was and asked himself, “Why would I want to do this?” He says to him sports are one of the few things in the world that have the power to bring people together.
“I felt like the opportunity was massive,” Donahoe said.” After all, in many ways, Nike IS sport. Nike is synonymous with sport, and our purpose as a company is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete. That purpose and that opportunity were front of mind as I took this job for sure.”
However, Donahoe says there isn’t always one right answer to success.
“The truth is, there wasn’t one moment during the last 30 years where I was certain I was doing the right thing,” Donahoe said. “There wasn’t one moment when I was in the middle of it that I felt, ‘Great, I’ve got this all figured out.’ I still don’t. The path toward happiness and success is rarely tidy. You’ll face adversity and personal setbacks. Failure happens. So, invest in yourself to navigate through those moments and you will be rewarded.”
