Andrew Lloyd Webber Urges Young People to Experiment Before Choosing a Path: “Don’t Be Afraid”

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s advice to young people is simple: try things before deciding what path to follow. Speaking at Mexico Siglo XXI 2026, an event organized by Fundación Telmex, the British composer said experimenting and learning from mistakes offer one of the best ways to discover who we are and what we want.

“Don’t be afraid to discover who you are,” Lloyd Webber told the audience. He knows the value of an unexpected turn in a career. At 17, he had the chance to study history at Oxford, but an invitation to write a school play brought him closer to theater. That experience led to his work with Tim Rice on what would later become “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”

The successes that followed did not come without uncertainty. Lloyd Webber, who described himself as a perfectionist, recalled that after he wrote “Cats,” several executives told him it should not become a musical. The production later became one of his biggest successes.

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Don’t be afraid to discover who you are.

He said trying different options helps people understand what they want to do and who they want to become. Once they find that direction, he urged them to share it with society. “If you know what you want to be in life, pursue it, and if you achieve it, give it back to society,” he said, adding, “I’m still here and I’m 80, and I’m still going.”

During the event, Lloyd Webber also revealed that one of his next theater projects will be connected to the story of the Mona Lisa. He said the painting’s worldwide fame increased after Leonardo da Vinci’s work was stolen from the Louvre.

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If you know what you want to be in life, pursue it, and if you achieve it, give it back to society. I’m still here and I’m 80, and I’m still going.