This is my museum of failures: A Harvard MBA and ex-JP Morgan analyst shares hard career lessons for today’s workforce

Grace Lee, 30, a Harvard Business School graduate and former JP Morgan analyst, went viral recently after sharing a deeply personal reflection on her career, health, and startup struggles via Instagram. In the post, she shared her “museum of failures” whereby she explained the different experiences that many successful people in life go through but have often not dared to share publicly. Her article has been very successful in touching the lives of young people who often pretend to have their lives together.

Instead of presenting a polished success story, Lee focused on what went wrong, the toll it took, and the lessons she’s carrying forward—reminding her audience that ambition alone doesn’t always translate into achievement.

Feeling behind at JP Morgan

Lee doesn’t mince words. “I am actually dumb,” she wrote. At JP Morgan, she says it took her three times longer than her peers to grasp concepts. During one presentation, she admitted she told her teammates she would only handle the introduction and the closing—literally just saying their names—because she “couldn’t trust herself with actual content.” Despite putting in long hours, she struggled to feel competent, a challenge that left a lasting mark on her confidence.

A life-changing ADHD diagnosis

A major turning point came at age 30, when Lee was diagnosed with ADHD. “Spent decades thinking I was just lazy and undisciplined,” she wrote. Academic success, leadership roles, and strict punctuality had masked the condition, as perfectionism and anxiety helped her overcompensate. Today, she says she’s determined to turn the “100 ideas racing through my head” into a superpower, reframing what she once saw as a flaw into an asset.

Startup dreams and the high cost of hustle culture

While at Harvard, Lee invested roughly $200,000 into a startup that she ultimately shut down after reaching about 1,000 users. She even pitched the venture on stage to investor Kevin O’Leary. The experience brought extreme stress and burnout. “Averaged three hours of sleep for a year. Woke up one morning covered in stress rashes that lasted a month. Didn’t tell anyone—I’d be ‘uninvestable.’ My body was screaming at me to stop, and I just kept going,” she wrote. The post underscores the physical and emotional toll of hustle culture and the dangers of ignoring personal health in pursuit of ambition.

Career instability and health challenges

Lee’s career has not been smooth. In just five years, she faced several layoffs and saw companies she worked for shut down, leaving her with no equity even though she spent much of her career at startups. She has also struggled with her health, including gaining and losing 40 pounds since college, knee problems, and trouble keeping up with exercise. “I’m terrified of pregnancy because I have zero track record of staying healthy when life gets hard,” she said. Her story shows how career stress can affect both work and personal wellbeing.

Learning to show up publicly

Even sharing her experiences was not easy. Lee revealed that she has recorded over 50 videos but has only posted about 20. “The rest rot in my camera roll—I overthink, over-explain, and talk myself out of posting. This post almost didn’t make it either,” she wrote. By going public, Lee hopes to normalize failure, reduce the stigma around career struggles, and help others recognize that setbacks are part of growth.

What students and young professionals can learn

Lee concludes her post with an important message: “I don’t regret these—they made me who I am. What I do know now is what doesn’t work—and why so many ambitious people feel stuck even when things look good on paper. If you’ve ever felt like you’re winning at a game you didn’t choose, follow along. I’m sharing what I’ve learned and what I’m still learning so you can skip what I went through.”

Her story is a reminder that success is rarely linear. Struggles, failures, and self-doubt are invisible but universal themes confronting everyone. For the student or the young professional, the reflection of Lee’s experiences can serve as an impromptu guide on how to handle one’s ambitions with one’s well-being, how to view failures as learning experiences, and how one’s career development is not just about successes but also about failures.
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