Great Lessons From Great Women
Great Lessons From Great Women
By Tanja Hester 10 May 2020
A decade ago, J.D. shared some great lessons from great men. He had a wealth of material to draw from: biographies of historical figures from centuries ago, classic business texts, and the earliest self-help books.
If you want to compile lessons from great women, however, you don’t have the same sources, because women have not been considered “great” for much of history, and thus they’ve not been asked for their opinions on most things — certainly not financial matters! Multiply that times ten for women of color.
Today, I'd like to share some great lessons from great women. But the wisdom I’ve collected here comes primarily from media sources and speeches. It’s no less wise than the wisdom from books written by great men, and it applies to everyone of all genders, although it’s informed in many cases by much tougher life circumstances than the white men who lent their thoughts to this post’s counterpart.
Here are ten inspiring bits of wisdom that I’ve learned from great women.
Do the Work
“There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.” – Indira Gandhi, India’s first (and only) female prime minister
We are trained to look for shortcuts in everything. More than that, we're surrounded by people who want the glory and the money associated with having done something without actually doing the thing.
But real success – and with it a sense of true accomplishment and fulfillment – only comes if we actually do the work. Success without having done the work feels hollow. And the belief that success should come instantly and with glory puts us in the wrong mindset to achieve big things.
I’d tweak Indira’s quote just a little, though, to say that it’s fine to claim credit – in fact you should! – but only after you’ve actually done the work.
Work first, credit second.
Define Success for Yourself
“To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world — that I am able to change it in positive ways.” – Maxine Hong Kingston, author
Our society tends to have a one-dimensional definition of success: To be successful is to have power, status, and money. While those things might satisfy some of us, it’s simply not true that everyone will feel equally fulfilled by having them, never mind that our current economy simply won’t allow most people to achieve those things.
Instead, let’s follow Maxine’s advice and define success for ourselves. She defines it as effectiveness at carrying her ideas and values into the world, which is true for me, too, but you get to choose your own definition.
Mistakes Aren’t Failure
“You know, failure hurts. Any kind of failure stings. If you live in the sting, you will undoubtedly fail. My way of getting past the sting is to say no, ‘I’m just not going to let this get me down.’” – Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina justice on the U.S. Supreme Court
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