2012 was a big year for Jimmy Soni, Trinity ‘07. In January, Arianna Huffington hand-picked Soni to serve as the managing editor of her popular news website, an accomplishment that motivated Forbes to name him one of the “30 under 30” in its list of media moguls. In October, Soni went on to co-publish his first book, “Rome’s Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar,” which chronicles the life of Marcus Porcius Cato, a champion of Roman republicanism. Though only 27, Soni has accumulated a wide range of experiences, having studied in Ireland, written speeches for the mayor of the District of Columbia and gained experience in management consulting. Here, Towerview’s Matthew Chase asks Soni—who was also a Chronicle columnist in his times at Duke—to discuss post-graduation life, risk-taking and the future of journalism.
Since graduating in 2007, you have successfully been involved in a wide array of careers. Given that many Duke seniors feel that they are constrained to a select few career paths—such as consulting and banking—what value have you gained from these atypical ventures?
I’ve learned how I do (and do not) want to spend my time. That’s no easy thing. If you’re not careful, your career can become stuck on autopilot, but it’s easier to avoid that when you meet and befriend people who live life deliberately. I’ve had amazing examples in my life, friends who are writers, military veterans, media personalities, teachers, historians, chefs, artists, poets, musicians—and by living vicariously through their experiences, I’ve clarified what I value and what I want to spend my days working on.
Can you talk about the value of taking risks (especially in your career path), and how to best manage those risks?
At the outset of my career, I took a well-worn path. Then I realized that wasn’t for me and I took a few risks—and that’s when I found work I loved. Was that a given? Probably not. In general, I’m suspicious of anyone peddling blanket advice about risk. People’s life circumstances are too diverse, their motivations too complex. What I can offer is a simple Stoic exercise I do anytime I’m on the threshold of a new venture: I write out in pain-staking detail what the absolute worst-case scenario would be. If I failed completely today, how would tomorrow feel? Once it’s written, I print it out, read it, and keep it close at hand. As you might expect, the worst case is never quite so bad as you believe. A simple meditation on failure can be a greater call to action than a thousand daydreams about success.
How have you eased the transitions between the different jobs you have held? What character traits were constant throughout your varied careers? What skills do you believe are crucial to being able to successfully navigate a diverse post-graduation plan?
Great mentors have made the transitions easier. In fact, two public policy professors from my Duke days—Bruce Payne and Bruce Jentleson—have been particularly helpful at each juncture. I’m deeply in their debt for the many frantic phone calls they’ve fielded over the years.
As far as skills, I would put writing atop the list. I’m far from where I want to be as a writer, but the combination of my coursework at Duke and writing for The Chronicle gave me a leg up when I graduated. Learn how to write, especially when Duke gives you every chance to learn. Frankly, it’s a shame that the only required writing class is Writing 20—a class you take when you’ve only just begun at Duke. If I could wave a magic wand and change the curriculum overnight, I’d have a required writing class every semester for four solid years (note: the virtue of graduating is that you’re allowed to say such blasphemous things). Put simply: clear writing is clear thinking. And you’d be surprised how far you can get in the world if you’re able to express yourself with coherence.
What do you think of the future of journalism? What repercussions do you think the shift to an online news cycle will have on the quality of news content and how readers will interact with that content?
I’m sanguine on the future of journalism. For all the challenges of the last decade, we’ve also seen the rise in that same time of Politico, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast and ProPublica—and that’s just scratching the surface. Disruptions are tough in any industry, and there’s no doubt the last decade has been a particularly rough time for journalists. That said, more people are creating content now than ever before, and it’s a safe bet that due to the web, online video and mobile technology, more people are consuming content than ever before, too. That’s a remarkable thing, an achievement on par with the advent of the printing press. Going forward, I think traditional media companies will have to work to keep up, but that effort will create even more innovation and force us new players to stay on our toes.
You have written that Marcus Porcius Cato, the subject of your recent book, matters in today’s world because his “mission was to live life on his own terms, even (and sometimes especially) when those terms put him at odds with everyone around him.” In light of recent political “gridlock,” do you think that adopting Cato’s political legacy would help—or hurt—today’s politicians as they try to make D.C. “work” better?
It’s tough to make the case that more Catos would help our politics. Cato was an uncompromising politician—history’s first recorded filibusterer, in fact—and someone whose refusal to bend his principles pushed his beloved Republic over the edge. We have too many lone wolves like that already. For me, Cato is a cautionary tale for our time—the ultimate lesson in why compromise is an essential ingredient to a functioning republic.
We imagine that your many careers have kept you quite busy. What advice do you have for maintaining a strong work/life balance?
This might only be one weary man’s opinion, but I think “balance” has become a false idol. Right now, my work is my life, and I’m more than happy with that choice. That won’t be true forever, of course, but in general, I think it’s up to each person to decide what “balance” looks like for them. For me, right now, it means being intentionally imbalanced in the direction of my work. Decide what your ideal is and go for that. Though—and this may be the only indisputably true thing in this entire interview—take any advice with a healthy dose of skepticism, but be especially doubting when said advice comes from the life experience of a still-wet-behind-the-ears 27-year-old.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.