Workhorses rarely transition into public-facing showhorse roles
βIt's like a cast system. Like there was no historical record of anyone becoming, like going from Workhorse to Showhorse. It's things like, someone said to me, as I've thought of it anyway, it's that showhorses have things. Workhorses strive to acquire things.β
Midlife career transitions often trigger identity crises
βI felt lost. I felt totally lost. I had quit my job. I was in my 40s. I went through a real crisis of, 'I'm never going to get hired again.' I really felt like I didn't know what I had to offer. I didn't know if I was going to be too old, to be perfectly honest, to be hired.β
Elite fashion media combines extreme glamour with gritty reality
βI think the movies make it look like, so many parts of it make it look really glamorous, which it was. It was at that time, like I don't have a, I had a great experience. But all in all, in taking the good with the bad, when you're in your 20s, it's a great job if that kind of thing sort of appeals to you.β
Ambition often requires quiet, difficult personal trade-offs
βIt's more about the relationships between the employees and also a little bit about, I guess both like the seduction and sort of the price of ambition, especially when you are in a very small bubble. I think she, a lot of it is ambition. A lot of it is wanting to fit in. A lot of it is like wanting to blend.β
Morning discipline is essential for major creative pivots
βI would get up at 4.15 every morning, seven days a week for two years. I wrote from 4.45 to 7.45. My first child gets up at 7.45 and then I was done. I couldn't do any, whatever the, after I'm looking for somebody's trumpet or croc or making lunch or screaming at people, I can't return to whatever that writing space is.β
βThe best advice I got about salary negotiations was, and I used it once... the only thing you're supposed to say is, 'That's not what I was expecting,' and not say anything else for a second. This guy who did it once, and the person was like, 'Oh, okay,' and then just all of a sudden up to the number.β
Reputation is your most valuable long-term career asset
βYou have to remember what you don't remember when you're young, that everyone you meet on your way up, you could meet on your way down. Your reputation is everything. You want to think about 20 years from now and someone says, 'I worked with her or for her.' What are the words you want them to say?β