'You will be defined not just by what you achieve, but by how you survive.'
It's a good thing I didn't read Lean In because I'm not upset by what Sandberg did or did not say in that book and how she's changed her tune since.
We have to remember we are all human. No individual knows everything and no individual is without flaws, including leaders of large corporations. So she's learned a lesson and changed her mind, albeit the hard way, through loss of a loved one. Forgive her. Like the rest of us, she's still learning and growing.
That said, I love the above quote, which she said in her speech at UC Berkeley's recent commencement. Sharing her vulnerability humanizes the thoughtful leader and inspires others with her influence.
Surviving difficult situations or circumstances alone is an unrecognized achievement in and of itself that all too many of us, myself included, overlook.
As a survivor, I am reminded once again to not overlook the things I have overcome and ultimately achieved, though unrecognized through classic conventions of what successful means.
To be human is to struggle. To overcome struggle is to achieve. xo
