I was at a Boston Levo League event this fall where we all received copies of Harvard’s Women in Business magazine, Make it Happen. On this year’s cover was Arianna Huffington, the president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, author of thirteen books, and all-around female powerhouse being #29 on Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women in 2012.
While reading, I was struck most by the following quote:
I’ve tried always to keep in mind that for women to rise in the workplace doesn’t necessarily mean we have to become carbon copies of men – briefcase carrying, pinstripe wearing career machines who just happen to have vaginas. I love the way Anna Quindlen put it: “Was the point of this great social revolution to have corner offices, fat retainers and retirement accounts? Did we want the right to lead imitation men’s lives? Or did we really want something that we haven’t quite gotten yet, the ability to put our grand stamp on the ethos of the entire world?”
To me, this quote showcases that people have different goals in life, and you should not feel like your goals are any better or worse than anyone else’s. Not just men versus women, but individual versus individual. All of my friends have different goals in their careers. Some are working towards more money, some more responsibility, others still are working just to get by and do other things. We all should not be copies of one another, even in the same industry.
Your goals shouldn’t just be what the world should think your goals should be. They should be what YOU think they should be. Don’t follow a career path if it isn’t right for you. This is your LIFE, do with it what you want to.
For me, the grand stamp on the world I’m hoping to find, isn’t quite defined yet; there are only bits and pieces of it coming together.
Whether in life or the workplace, one theme is always there: Be true to yourself.
What does this quote mean to you?