Page 28 - How We Lead Matters

Wanting It All

WHAT I KNOW NOW: Letters to My Younger Self is a unique book of
advice letters from successful women such as Maya Angelou, Madeleine
Albright, and Queen Noor written to their “younger selves.” Here’s an
excerpt from mine:

Dear Marilyn:
You have ambitious dreams that seem to include every possibility under
the sun. You want to be a mother. You want exactly four children. You also
want to be a political leader or diplomat. You want to serve as a community
leader and you want one day to have a meaningful role in your family’s busi-
ness at Carlson.
Those who know you wonder why you think you can do it all. How can
you possibly reconcile all those dreams into one lifetime? Maybe you should
let some go. What I know now is that women can actually come pretty close
to having it all, but you just can’t have it all every day.
If you look at each stage of your life as an opportunity to [make a dif-
ference], your effectiveness will increase, your reputation will grow and
extraordinary possibilities will present themselves. In the end, you weren’t
really dreaming about titles or position or even about being a wife or mother.
Rather, you were dreaming about living the life that would complete you.
Let it unfold,
Marilyn
(from WHAT I KNOW NOW Ellyn Spragins)

Marilyn Carlson Nelson 11