Short newsletter this week. I have been going through all the feelings this week watching Serena at the U.S. Open. Our girl is about to really do a mic drop.
I’ll be back with a normal newsletter next week.
Last weekend I finished reading Iman Hariri-Kia’s novel, A Hundred Other Girls, which has been dominating social media. The book follows the protagonist Noora who got an exciting job working for her favorite magazine, Vinyl, and quickly finds that the job and the company are not as glamorous as they seem. Many interesting turns happen throughout the book, and I often laughed or snapped while reading the book. I even felt little Bow Wow tears falling from my eyes at a certain point. In the book, Noora appeared to be ambitious and was even called it a few times but not necessarily with a positive connotation, making me think of what it means to be an ambitious woman.
On a personal level, my ambition comes in waves. Sometimes I am extremely ambitious and driven; at other times, I just want to exist. Ambition has been a hot topic recently, and I wanted to share some of the favorite things I have read or listened to that speaks to ambition.
🎧 Podcast: Archetypes: The Misconceptions of Ambition with Serena Williams
This was the first episode of Meghan Markle’s podcast, and it was a great listen. Meghan talks with Serena Williams about ambition and how the world views ambitious women. They also speak about ambition coupled with motherhood, how ambition is seen for women vs. men, what young girls learn about ambition, and more.
“In excess, ambition damages reputations, relationships, and can lead to catastrophic failure. On the other hand, too little ambition can make the person in question look lazy and unmotivated. Further, it can result in mediocre performance, boredom, and a bleak sense of futility. Fostering a healthy level of ambition is not easy, and amidst so much uncertainty, it may seem like a low priority. But well-balanced, ambition leads to creativity and innovation, greater levels of performance, and deeper levels of joy and satisfaction at work, wherever “work” may be.”
“… your ambitions can serve as a compass, guiding you toward the fulfilled and impacting leader you’ve imagined becoming.”
Phew, Ann Friedman can sure write. This article resonated so much and addresses many things I have been talking about with my girlfriends. I have so many highlights from this article in my Pocket.
“Yes, I’m ambitious,” a friend told me recently, “but climbing the corporate ladder does not interest me like it used to. A title, a bump in pay—it’s not satisfying. What I need to feel successful and fulfilled is completely different. Am I doing something that brings satisfaction? Do I feel like I’m learning? Do I feel like I’m contributing? Do I feel like I’m connecting to other people? Do I feel like I have flexibility in this new way we live and work? Am I given not only responsibility but autonomy? Am I in a place that aligns with my values? The things that I am looking for have changed.”
“For many of us, the ambition to rise through the ranks in our chosen field has dissolved into something simpler: the desire to not feel so stressed and exhausted all the time.”
“For ambition to be sustainable, it has to be personal and complex, not just about rising through the ranks. For every woman who is burned out after placing too much value on work as a key component of her identity, the task isn’t letting go of ambition altogether. It’s relocating those ambitions beyond the traditional markers of money, title, and professional recognition. Ambition does not have to be limited to a quest for power at the expense of yourself and others. It can also be a drive for a more just world, a healthier self, a stronger community. And it’s definitely achievable in soft pants.”
SEEEEE.
📚What Beyonce & Serena Williams have taught me about ambition and motherhood
I loved this article and the perspective again of motherhood and ambition.
“And as these women have demonstrated, my dreams, my ambitions don’t have to stop now that I’m a mother. If anything, motherhood has given me permission and hope to dream new and bigger dreams.”
📚My Career Has Barely Started & I Already Have Ambition Burnout
Thought this was a pretty good read.
That’s it for this week!