What do you know now that you wish you had known earlier in life? Jean talks to Ellyn Spragins, editor of What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self, who interviewed dozens of well-known women about the advice they wish they had had when they were younger. Many of the women featured talked about financial security and success:
Marilyn Carlson Nelson, CEO of Carlson Companies, advises that you can have it all—just not all at once. It's important to realize that there will always be other opportunities.
Joyce Roche, who runs the nonprofit Girls Inc., points out a deep uncertainty and lack of confidence that we need to overcome—something that she calls the "imposter syndrome."
Jane Kaczmarek, an actress, says that true success means being someone with balance and compassion.
Ellyn is also a long-time financial writer, with a published piece in the December 2006 issue of Money magazine called "Harvard or Bust. Or Both." She shares her insights on parents who are spending thousands of dollars to get their children into the best colleges:
It's gotten out of hand, Ellyn says. Parents are spending tons of money to get their children into the best schools, or feel that they are handicapping their children if they can't lay out the cash.
It is important to get perspective. According to Ellyn, there is research that shows that success in life and career is not attached to the selectivity of the school you attend.
Don't look at college costs as a blank check. You should be the judge of what is reasonable to spend on simply getting your kids into college. Remember that once they do get in, you have to pay for the tuition.
Printed from Oprah.com on Wednesday, June 19, 2013
