Mark Zuckerberg recently shared a candid moment involving his seven-year-old daughter, August, who told him she wanted to grow up to be like Taylor Swift. The Meta CEO recounted the story on the Acquired podcast, explaining how he gently but firmly told his daughter that following in the pop star’s footsteps wasn’t a realistic path for her.
Zuckerberg used the conversation to illustrate the importance of originality and authenticity, not just in life, but particularly in the tech world. “One day, my daughter said, ‘You know, Dad, I kind of want to be like Taylor Swift when I grow up,'” Zuckerberg recalled. His response was, “‘But you can’t. That’s not available to you.'”
He went on to share how the conversation took a more empowering turn when his daughter thought about it and responded, “Alright, when I grow up I want people to want to be like August Chan Zuckerberg.” Zuckerberg enthusiastically replied, “Hell yeah. Hell yeah.”
While Zuckerberg has made it clear he’s a fan of Taylor Swift—having taken his family to her Eras Tour and posting pictures of himself donning face gems and friendship bracelets—his comments on the podcast were focused on the idea of charting one’s own path. He used the story as an example to highlight the value of building something unique rather than simply copying others’ successes, advice he shared with aspiring tech entrepreneurs.
In response to a question about advice for those in the tech world, Zuckerberg emphasized the need to do something meaningful and pursue it with passion. “Do something you care about,” he said, adding that while his own strategy has worked for him and his team, others may find success through different approaches.
Zuckerberg, 40, who shares three daughters with his wife Priscilla—Maxima, 8, August, 7, and Aurelia, 13 months—has been making waves recently for more than just his parenting insights. Meta was given the green light to train its new AI technology using billions of public posts from British Facebook and Instagram users. This follows his recognition as one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in AI.
Despite his admiration for Swift, Zuckerberg’s message to his daughter was clear: create your own legacy.