Words of wisdom?

From the NY Times:

You can learn a lot about Michael R. Bloomberg, it turns out, from what he says at graduation ceremonies. He claims to have never had a bad day. He hates legalese. And he tries to call his mother every day.

Mr. Bloomberg offered words of wisdom to graduates at four schools this year. At each ceremony, he gave a distinctly Bloombergian speech: a few jokes tailored to the local crowd, a nostalgic retelling of his rise from middle-class roots and vague prescriptions for success.

His advice, in a nutshell: Risk failure. Embrace good ideas if they are backed by data. Don’t fear criticism. Network.

“Let me tell you some of the things that people have said about me,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “ ‘He never listens, never consults, never compromises. He’s running a government by dictatorship.’ Well that part’s right. ‘Anyone would be a thousand times better than Mayor Bloomberg.’ I don’t think that’s true. ‘Don’t let it go to your head.’ That one came from my mother.”

From the NY Times:

When speaking about the media, Mr. Bloomberg told the students he has no problems with it, but is annoyed when reporters don’t get the facts straight, pass off opinion as news or intrude into his personal life, Ms. Gatlin said.

Asked whether he considered himself a celebrity, Mr. Bloomberg said he left that to entertainers and athletes and wanted to be taken seriously as mayor.

Reading from her notes, Ms. Gatlin quoted the mayor as saying: “My life is fundamentally boring to the press. I live with a woman who is age appropriate. We don’t do drugs, we don’t do flashy stuff. The press fundamentally leaves my private life alone. At one point, one guy wrote a story that said I was gaining weight and so I went on a diet.”