What I Know Now About Success
Letters from Extraordinary Women to Their Younger Selves
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Erma Bombeck once said, "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I'd hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" How each woman defines success might be a personal matter, but there are certain gems of wisdom we can all share. Editor Ellyn Spragins invited women from all walks of life to write letters to their younger selves, filled with the knowledge they wish they'd had before beginning their own journeys. Including tales from trailblazers like legendary news journalist Barbara Walters, finance expert Suze Orman, pro golfer Annika Sorenstam, fashion designer Kate Spade, newscaster Soledad O'Brien, and fashion icon Diane von Furstenberg, these letters highlight what helped each woman get ahead, what got in her way, and what really mattered.Whether they address launching a company, running for office, starting a family, or succeeding in less conventional ways, these voices will both move and inspire any woman who counts herself a success-in-the-making.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The unusual premise for this compilation is not successful in practice. Spragins, an editor at large for Fortune Small Business, persuaded 40 well-known women among them Maya Angelou, Queen Noor of Jordan and clothing designer Eileen Fisher to write short letters passing their current wisdom to their younger selves. But too many of the messages these women send themselves are overly familiar: designer Fisher says she should not be so frightened of being alone (i.e., without a man). Sen. Barbara Boxer admonishes herself to be less judgmental of people who disagree with her. More unusually, Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) encourages her younger self to be true to the inner voice telling her not to eat meat. Madeleine Albright addresses herself at a more advanced age, 44, when her marriage broke down: "You will get through this fog and uncertainty.... You won't become cynical, stoical or hard-bitten...." While the letters reveal personal vulnerabilities, it reduces lessons hard earned through complicated lives to very brief, simplistic messages.
