but entrepreneurship is a level playing
field there’s no rules when you think
about women entrepreneurs now what a
perfect time to be one we’re all going
to have these days where it just feels
like it’s too hard we don’t want to do
it anymore
and you want to quit and that’s okay but
you can’t quit or give up on those days
[Music]
what’s that belief nation it’s Evan my
one word is believe and I believe in you
I believe you have Michael Jordan level
talent at something and I want to see
you find it embrace it and use it to
make a difference in this planet now I
started the girl boss series I’m
obviously not a girl but I started the
girl boss series because I believe you
couldn’t shine a light of support I want
community without bringing another
community down so the aim of this series
is to shine a light of excellence on
women entrepreneurs and leaders with the
goal to hopefully inspire a few more
girls to believe in themselves I also
want to give a quick shout out to
Alexandra thank you so much for your
help in sourcing a lot of these clips
and for your participation and making
this video happen
enjoy alright let’s kick things off with
rule number one believe with Dina habib
powell the best advice that I would
impart is to believe in yourself you
know we see so often these extraordinary
women working against odds in their
communities that are unimaginable to
many of us and they persevere they work
harder than they even think they can
they believe in their dream and most of
all they believe in their children and
the legacy they’re gonna leave behind
I’ve had more than one of them say to me
that’s what I asked myself what is my
legacy going to be and I think that’s an
extraordinary way to see the world
rule number two be yourself with Barbara
Corcoran and the only time my business
ever fell behind was when I was so busy
watching my competition I analyzed
everything I had their listings on a
chart by category by size who had one
who was my dog but the thought I was
like a genius at my field it was the
only year of my whole career I never
pushed the business ahead I was so busy
watch the next guy wasn’t watching me
all right so being yourself I would say
would be the most important thing I
forget about the female male thing I’m
not saying it’s not important in certain
industries certainly if you’re an
attorney a best friend banker it’s such
a man’s world there’s a lot of man’s
world out there but I’m
nor ship is it level playing field
there’s no rules and you know when I
find and sorry I meant to say this but I
find women can work in a real where
never mind they work harder they work
harder they just work harder rule number
three focus on who you want to serve
with Sheryl Sandberg it’s funny I don’t
know if I chose to become this kind of
leader or that I thought there were
things that weren’t being said that
needed to be said so I graduated from
business from undergrad in 91 from
Business School in 1995 and I looked
above me and it was all men and I looked
alongside me and there were all these
great women and I just thought that by
the time I got where I was it would be
half and it just wasn’t and so there
were two thin bunch of things I wanted
to say that I thought people weren’t
saying one was that men still run the
world and that’s not okay
like put a stake in the ground that it’s
not okay when I gone on a TED stage and
I said men stole were on the world
everyone gasped as if that was a
surprise and to this day I can go into
rooms and say men’s to around the world
and people like yes they do what a
shocker
you’re like guys wait you have 95
percent of the top shops like this isn’t
that hard right but the answer is why
like what are the cultural things that
are holding us back
ready men in the audience men only raise
your hand if anyone ever called you
bossy there’s always there’s always one
or two women in the audience raise your
hand if anyone ever called you bossy I
really I want everyone to turn around
so next time you see a little girl
called bossy and it will be this weekend
if you look for it you walk right up to
the people that called her bossy
probably her parents and you say that
little girl is not bossy that little
[Applause]
why you to wait ready I’m gonna try that
the other way that little boy has
executive leadership skills I have done
that exactly that way and gotten a huge
laugh out of every audience in every
country I’ve ever done that in but
here’s the bad news
that’s bias and if you don’t think you
have it I just proved you do because the
reason we laugh is that it’s funny that
a little girl has executive leadership
skills because it goes against our
expectation then type so in case you sit
here at the Stanford Business School
thinking that other people have the
biases that hold women back it’s you too
I laughed you laughed
it’s me and it’s you we all have the
stereotype that is keeping women from
leading and you just got through two
years at Stanford and it didn’t change
no let’s be honest that’s what I wanted
to say and then I wanted to say there’s
a whole bunch of stuff women are also
doing to hold themselves back so I don’t
think I chose to be any kind of leader I
chose to say those three things we need
more women in leadership the culture is
holding us back and there are things we
can do and again I think if you’re
looking for what kind of leader you’re
gonna be you are to inwardly focused
focus on what you want to say because it
matters or what you want to build or
what you want to make or who you want to
serve and that’s how you become the kind
of leader you are if that makes sense
rule number four never take no for an
answer
with Gayle King can you think about
women entrepreneurs now what a perfect
time to be one I operate from surround
yourself with the best people you know
surround yourself even with people who
are better than you because it forces
you to up the game up
own game and you’re always learning
something in the process you can never
ever ever stop learning and most
important of all never take no for an
answer I ultimately believe that most
knows will eventually become a yes and
there is a way to be persistent without
being obnoxious you have to figure out
the dance you have to know who you’re
dealing with but I it just it is very
difficult for me to take no for an
answer in fact I can t remember the last
time I told you I took no for an answer
for something I really wanted for
something I really wanted rule number
five don’t quit on bad days with Nastia
Liukin it’s one of those days you don’t
want to do it right you just exhausted
had plenty of those so what did what did
it look like on those days what are you
doing mentally what were your strategies
well waking up on those days and I and I
tell kids this and not just kids but
parents because when I talk to kids
sometimes there’s parents in the room
and I’m like freeze your hand if you’ve
ever had one of those days where you
don’t want to get out of bed and and all
the kids raise their hand and like none
of the parents aren’t like okay mom and
dad I know you’ve had those days too and
they’re all kind of like but it’s true I
mean regardless of if you’re training 7
hours a day 6 days a week or you know
you work at an insurance company or a
clothing store whatever it is that your
job is or just in life you know in in a
marriage in a relationship we’re all
going to have those days where we wake
up and we just like want to say I quit I
don’t want to do this anymore it’s too
hard it’s easier to just throw my hands
up in the air and walk away and then
what I would tell myself is okay like
that’s that’s the easy way out but you
know tomorrow or the next day when
you’re feeling a little bit better
you’re gonna regret that and so growing
up my mom had this rule and this has
just stuck with me for the rest of my
life regardless of you know doing sports
or business or just in life and she I
would come home from the gym sometimes
and a lot of times in tears telling her
this is just too hard I don’t want to do
this anymore
I hate gymnastics you know I I’m in pain
I
I just I really just don’t want to do
this and she would say okay that’s
that’s totally fine like you don’t have
to do gymnastics anymore and you know
what it was really interesting because
she was just like okay you can quit but
not today you have to go back to the gym
the next day and the next day and the
next day until you have one good day and
of course I rolled my eyes and I would
say but I don’t want to go back to the
gym tomorrow and she was like look I’m
never going to force you or push you
into gymnastics except for today and you
can quit after you have a good day so
you know in some days this would be
three days five days later and some days
it would be the next day when I would
have a good day and because moms always
know we have a good day without even
saying anything I would come home and
she would say okay great now that you’ve
had a good day you can quit will enroll
you back into public school find another
activity that you want to do and you
know I would look at her and say I don’t
know what you’re talking about I never
said I wanted to quit so the moral of
that story for me was that we’re all
going to have these days where it just
feels like it’s too hard we don’t want
to do it anymore
and you want to quit and that’s okay but
you can’t quit or give up on those days
and and I tell these young girls that
you know it’s okay if your passion
changes because we’re not all meant to
have or love the same things right we’re
not all going to fall in love with
gymnastics and love it forever I have
this passion for it but you can’t change
your mind or quit on those days you can
change your mind and try something else
if you if you’re having a good day and
you just in your mind you think you know
what this might not be for me let me try
something else
rule number six don’t seek validation
with Sara bleakly when I first created
the idea for Spanx I didn’t tell a soul
for one year and the reason I didn’t do
that is because ideas are the most
vulnerable in their infancy and the
moment you have an idea it’s human
nature to turn to your husband your wife
your co-worker and tell them your idea
and out of love and concern oftentimes
people will tell you the two or three
things that they think maybe you should
consider and it stops people a lot of
times often right in their tracks so by
not telling anybody my idea for one year
I left ego out of it and I didn’t have
to spend the time defending my idea or
explaining my idea I spent all the time
pursuing my idea rule number seven find
your worth with the young avenge and
when we think we are unworthy it means
that for some reason we believe that we
have to prove we have a right to our
space on the planet in life as we are
being who we are and that means that we
will do all manner of wonderfulness to
prove we deserve to be here and usually
some of the common things are we over
commit over give we over do we over
excuse we over compensate and we stay in
difficult desperate hurtful harmful
situations much longer than it is wise
or productive to do so worth what it is
that you expect from the world in
response to who you are it’s very
different from value self value means
how you hold yourself within yourself
and what you expect as a result now in
order to get to the word if you’re not
holding yourself within yourself that’s
worthy then what you expect from the
world is surely gonna hurt you so here’s
an assignment for you for the next 40
days every morning you are to write 40
statements of I am I am love I am beauty
I am peace I enjoy I am power I am worth
I
value I am truth I am light I am well
health whatever it is I am and write it
as a noun
not as a verb not I am loving or I am
lovable I am love I am power every day
for 40 days if you miss a day go back
and do it again I am it will restore
your Worth and rule number 8 the last
one before a very special bonus clip is
look at obstacles as opportunities with
Konya King through passion perseverance
determination you can achieve anything
and recognize there’s no insect
ratification when wanting to achieve
your dreams don’t look as obstacles as
obstacles but when things don’t go right
look at it as feedback and realizing
that what you change and do differently
so look at obstacles as opportunities
rather than challenges I hope you
enjoyed i’m so honored and happy to be
the part of this video and while I was
doing the research I was hoping it you
will find something they will trigger
that fire you have inside and who knows
maybe you will be the next person to
inspire the world but you can’t be that
person if you do the work so I’m hoping
that you will let us watch the video you
will actually do something with it and
you will continue to believe I’m sending
you my love and light and go do
now I’ve got a really special bonus clip
with Justin Trudeau on how to empower
more women leaders but before that I
want to know what did you think of this
series what do you think of this video
is it helping you do you want to see
more what message resonated the most
with you let me know please write it
down in the comments below I would love
love love love love to hear from you
thank you guys so much for watching I
believe in you I hope we continue to
believe in yourself and whatever your
one word is
much love see you soon and enjoy the
the idea of getting more women in
positions of leadership isn’t just
around fairness or doing the right moral
thing it’s the smart thing to do in
leadership on boards and business and
community organizations in the home
wherever when women have equal power an
equal weight and equal leadership
influence the kinds of decisions are
better you get a more collaborative or
respectful approach and more an approach
that understands a broader range of
perspectives than the single-minded
often narrow the competitive leadership
style that are so typically associated
with the male leadership style and that
means being open to collaboration
understanding that leadership and
strength is also about seeking help and
seeking allies or not being able to do
everything on your own all the time
that’s a male way of thinking and it’s
the wrong one we need to be more
collaborative more open understanding
partnerships and the teamwork that is
going to lead to a better world that
collaboration is at the heart of why we
need to have more women empower more
women leaders if you had to think of one
word that’s most important to you that
sums you Apple that would be like a
little beacon pay believe nation if you
want to know what the most important one
word is for Tony Robbins Gary Vaynerchuk
Oprah Winfrey will.i.am and Howard
Schultz I have a very special secret
video for you check the description for
details [Music]