"Mother, Get a Life."
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I had the honor of taking my daughter to see one of my favorite return-to-workers, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, in conversation at City Arts & Lectures here in San Francisco. Pelosi donned a hot-pink pant suit and talked for over an hour about many important issues, but brought the house down with the telling of how she went from “housewife to House Speaker” — her words — and the message she wants women to hear.
“How did this happen?” Pelosi asks the audience — how did she go from mother of five and volunteering to a political career spanning 35 years (still going) and being third in line to the presidency? She recalls contemplating her first run for office and asking her daughter Alexandra Pelosi, her youngest child and a rising high school senior at the time how she would feel about it.
“Mother, get a life,” Pelosi says Alexandra told her, garnering plenty of laughter from the audience.
But her real zingers came in what I’ll call true, stomp-your-foot, passion-driven, It-Is-Your-Turn-style messaging for all the women and mothers out there:
“I want women to hear this,” she said. “Whether you’re young or just newly coming out of the kitchen — your children now older and you can do things… know your power in this.”
“There’s nobody like you,” she continued. “Each one of you. Since the history of the world, nobody like you. So take inventory of your enthusiasms, your education, your environment in which you were raised — what you have to offer. Because nothing is more wholesome for our country than the increased participation of women in the leadership.”
Cue more cheering and clapping! But she wasn’t finished:
“But one thing, I was was ready. I didn’t prepare for it… I didn’t work toward it… but I was ready. Because you know your why. You know why you’re there. And this is what I tell you: Know your why. Why would you be interested in doing something like civic engagement? What is it you care about most? Is it education? Is it climate change? Is it peace in the world? Justice? What is your primary issue?”
“Know your why… and the judgement you bring to that will attract people…”
YES! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Know your why. Do the work to understand what fuels you — what issues you want to tackle, what specific strengths you bring to the table to problem solve. Align these understandings with your resume and LinkedIn profile, your elevator pitch, your summary ask. Put the pieces together and the rest will begin to fall into place.
To help with this, we have a fresh free webinar to kickstart your career in August - see details below to register. Career search is always more fun with people on your side!
I’ll leave you with my last favorite piece of advice from Pelosi that evening: “Organize. Don’t agonize.”
IT IS YOUR TURN! 👏
xo, Stacey
I encourage you to listen to Pelosi speak these words. Her remarks on this topic starts around 18:30.
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What: Key Components for a Successful Job Search
When: August 25 @ 10 a.m. PST
Where: ZOOM
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