I don’t know how many will be able to connect or relate with this book. I can understand if one doesn’t because you need to have gone through at least one of those dilemmas and struggles mentioned in the book.

There are things you know but you are not ready to accept openly. This book was a nudge that you are not alone. Many have gone through these confusions, prioritising family and kids, neglecting self-care, and mental health and sacrificing dreams assuming others won’t understand. These books worked as virtual support for me, imbibing confidence in me that I am not wrong trying to chase my dreams while taking care of my family.

A must-read for every woman- working or not.

Some lines that I loved in the book –

1. A 2011 McKinsey report noted that men are promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on past accomplishments.
2. Fear is at the root of so many of the barriers that women face. Fear of not being liked. Fear of making the wrong choice. Fear of drawing negative attention. Fear of overreaching. Fear of being judged. Fear of failure. And the holy trinity of fear: the fear of being a bad mother/wife/daughter.
3. Taking initiative pays off. It is hard to visualize someone as a leader if she is always waiting to be told what to do.
4. Then he explained that only one criterion mattered when picking a job—fast growth. When companies grow quickly, there are more things to do than there are people to do them. When companies grow more slowly or stop growing, there is less to do and too many people to not be doing them. Politics and stagnation set in, and everyone falters. He told me, “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask what seat. You just get on.”
5. Women need to shift from thinking “I’m not ready to do that” to thinking “I want to do that—and I’ll learn by doing it.”
6. Taking risks, choosing growth, challenging ourselves, and asking for promotions (with smiles on our faces, of course) are all important elements of managing a career.
7. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
8. “How can I do better?” “What am I doing that I don’t know?” “What am I not doing that I don’t see?” These questions can lead to so many benefits. And believe me, the truth hurts. Even when I have solicited feedback, any judgment can feel harsh. But the upside of painful knowledge is so much greater than the downside of blissful ignorance.
9. “Done is better than perfect.” I have tried to embrace this motto and let go of unattainable standards. Aiming for perfection causes frustration at best and paralysis at worst.
10. “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

Available on Amazon Kindle Edition, Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback, Audio CD.