Ambition.

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

As we approach the new year, and talk of resolutions rears its head — believing we deserve better than #newyearnewyou, I’ve broached more realistic ways to address new year goals here and here — ambition comes to mind.

Ambition has long been considered a bad word when it comes to women. No longer. Women are more ambitious than ever, particularly post pandemic as remote working and overall flexibility accommodates the multitasking roles that stretch us thin. Promisingly, there are far more women in the C-Suite (29% in 2024 vs. 17% in 2015) and throughout management, yet broken rungs remain (diversity for starters), according to this year’s Women in the Workplace 10th Anniversary Report. I revel in the fact that companies like THE BOARD — with its fractional talent approach that benefits both the accomplished (predominately female) highly vetted talent and companies seeking help — and Amy Griffin’s G-9 Ventures, which is always “looking for the next women-led unicorn,” are thriving thanks to our ambitious ways. Amy’s annual Summer Summit is a prime example of drive at its finest; female entrepreneurs arrive en masse from Beautycounter’s Gregg Renfrew, Stripes Beauty’s Naomi Watts and My Kitch’s Cassandra Thurswell to Spanx’s Sara Blakely, Kroma Wellness’ Lisa Odenweller and Sprinkle’s founder and author Candace Nelsen. Just to name some of the accomplished few. Women empowering women is not just a great hashtag (although it has over 7MM in IG alone) but this stellar set’s collective motivation and inspiration for us all. As Griffin has noted, “I’m super optimistic that things are moving in the right direction.”

Another Summer Summit attendee, Reese Witherspoon, articulated it best in her 2015 Glamour Women of the Year speech: “Ambition is not a dirty word. It’s just believing in yourself and your abilities. What would happen if we would all believe in our ability — to be a little bit more ambitious. I think the world would change.”

I couldn’t agree more. We have it in us. And our representation matters. Not just in the boardroom, but in the world at large. And not because it’s the new year, but because it’s time. Find your voice. Propel your passion. Get get ‘em.

PERSPECTIVE

I greatly admire how In Kind Magazine founders, Leah Melby Clinton and Hannah Weil McKinley, approach the concept of ambition; it’s such a reflection of their brand’s open-minded, expansive ethos. If you have yet to explore the publication, be prepared to settle in to read conscious, curated content abundant in depth, heart and of course great style; you’d expect nothing less from two former fashion editors.

I had the honor of speaking with them in the Spring issue about the topic. Coincidentally, they began the publication on the heels of an ambition exploratory corresponding with entering motherhood. While we were feeling the same shifts culturally, at 55, with twin 15-year-olds and significant aging milestones, I provided a different perspective. Fifty is no longer a “mid-life crisis” — and thankfully scientists have declared this phenomenon dead, replaced by a “u-shaped happiness curve” — but rather an ambition bolster. Speaking of our state of being, “I’m Not Dead”, the spectacular multi-media brand I’ve previously lauded, embodies what so many women I am surrounded by feel — a bold and unapologetic fearlessness; greater aspiration knowing there is less time ahead than behind. Just as I told In Kind Magazine:

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At 40, I left my Vice President role at Calvin Klein. I relocated, got married and pregnant with triplets within a year — “a trifecta that influenced what I wanted and valued and gave me the opportunity to step back and rethink more than my career, but my identity. For decades, it felt I was known more so for what I did than who I was. With each year, I learn more about myself, my strengths, my talents, and know that opportunities are presenting themselves at precisely the right time. I’ve found that my overarching goals have become grander with age. I’m more confident and willing to take more risks. And it’s more than decades of experience and wisdom that incite bravery. Failure does not reflect on your self-worth as it once did.”

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That’s the crux of it. We don’t need to limit our ambitions because there is no downside to lofty dreams.

PROGRESS OVER PERFECTION

In 2001, renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong (ok, suspend what you think of him now, post-doping and lying, and stay with me here) turned around to gauge how far his competitor Jans Ullrich was behind him on a grueling climb in The Tour de France. “The Look” is infamous in cycling, as after delivering this piercing glare Armstrong accelerated to the front and won. You don’t have to be a cycling (or even a sports) fan to see how applicable this is to what we do here on Substack — and in life.

There will always be someone better. Or younger. Ambition is not about the competition but setting — and striving for — our own personal goals.

If you ask Mel Robbins — and who isn’t these days as her book “The Let Them Theory” is a bestseller and she is a reigning voice of reason: “Ambition has nothing to do with money or business. It has everything to do with your attitude. To be persistent and striving for a goal.”

Want inspiration? The New York Times’ “Unstoppables Series” — about people whose ambition is undimmed by time — is a phenomenal read; Grace Coddington and Bethann Hardison’s (all NYT articles paywall gifted) are a fabulous place to start.

This year, my ambitions mimic brilliant Rick Rubin’s advice of “put on your blinders and focus on creating something you love.” It will be a dream come true to deliver my fashion essay collection to you come Fall, 2025. Eleven chapters still to write and so many decisions remaining…but I am ambitious about it.

Wishing you an ambitious, healthy, loving, creative New Year.