Spanx Founder Sara Blakely Advises Florida State Graduates on Mindset

Sara Blakely delivered a commencement address at Florida State University, where she graduated in 1993. She told graduates that career outcomes depend more on internal mindset than on traditional markers such as resumes or networking. Blakely described being turned down by twenty employers at a campus job fair and later taking temporary positions, including several months at a Disney World park and seven years selling fax machines.

She said these experiences preceded the 2000 launch of Spanx, a company she started without outside investors or a patent attorney.

Blakely credited cassette recordings of Wayne Dyer’s book “How to Be a No-Limit Person,” given to her at age 16, with changing how she directed her own thinking. ” She noted that friends from Clearwater High later referenced the tapes after she appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine in 2012 as the youngest self-made woman on that year’s billionaires list.

Blakely told graduates that mistakes can become memorable and instructive. She recounted an on-air error during a BBC interview about Spanx and said she incorporated the incident into her personal narrative rather than allowing it to undermine her confidence.

She also urged listeners to work with available resources instead of waiting for ideal conditions and to protect time for thinking and addressing self-doubt. Blakely closed by telling graduates they face a choice between distraction and self-discovery.