My Journey to the Top

Seismologists, many of us mothers and fathers, get deluged after an earthquake. On one level, what difference is it going to make to you to know what fault it's on? You still have got to repair your house, right? But I think we are part of the process in that we normalize the situation. We make people feel better. We give the earthquake a name, we give it a number, we give it a fault, and we say somebody understands this.

Shirley Franklin
Mayor of Atlanta

When I was young I wanted to be a ballerina. I never imagined that I would have a public image beyond dancing on a stage during my 20s and 30s. So this is all a big surprise to me.

I was always someone in the background, willing to work on the team, not step up. I didn't run for class president. I didn't seek high office at any stage in my life until I was in my 50s, and then I did so very reluctantly.

In college, I volunteered in Shirley Chisholm's office and I really became taken by the political process. In the late 1960s, I did analysis related to employment discrimination. It was transformative in many ways because I saw the work that I was doing resulted in the enhancement of federal policy. It was an opportunity for me to make a contribution. I knew then that you could change public policy as a result of analysis and innovation and creativity and brainstorming.I stayed involved in politics, a variety of campaigns, fund-raising, community organization, what's called field operations in politics.

I developed a reputation for being able to bring people together, for being analytical, for presenting policy proposals and for helping to organize the grass-roots support necessary to effect public policy.

But I didn't catch the leadership bug. I scrambled for the hinterlands. I scrambled for the back seat. I wasn't confident enough.

Women need to help women understand that we were not all born with all of the skills, nor was anyone, men or women, that are necessary. But with hard work and passion, you can be recognized as a leader. My fears of failure, my fears of not being perfect, kept me from thinking that I could run for mayor.

I was the top appointed woman in city government in my 40s. I stepped out, but I didn't have the nerve to run. I was still the person behind the man. In my 50s, I was willing to be the woman out front and that's when I ran for mayor.

I think people mature at different stages of their lives. Twenty years ago there were lots of barriers. There were social barriers, there were peer-group pressures not to step out of line. So I think the younger generation can start as early as they feel comfortable.

The key is to find your own comfort level with taking the risk of leadership. Some people get it earlier than others. In hindsight, if I had been born 20 years later, I probably would have seized more opportunities at an earlier age.

I encourage young women to find what their passion is and to work hard. They should not see any limits. I'm a perfect example of that. I am a very unlikely person to be in public life.

All of my family members would say that because I'm shy. I don't like the limelight. I step back from it. I do my job, and my job means I have to be center stage, but I'm not a natural. And I'm 5 foot 1. When I ran for office, I wore three-inch heels because people thought I was too short to be mayor and too blond to be mayor. So I said, "I can manage the height, but I'm not changing my hair color."

It was a spiritual journey for me in some ways. It is impossible to offer limitless opportunities to young people if those of us who are older are not willing to take the risk.

At some point, I looked in the mirror and said, "You cannot give another graduation or baccalaureate speech, or another pep talk to a young woman that she has no boundaries and no limits if you in fact are limiting yourself by your fear."

The best thing was running, and when I won, I was surprised. I was not predicted to win the way I won. I enjoyed every day of the campaign, and I enjoy every day, even the tough days, in the office.

I enjoy it because it's a challenge. It's a challenge emotionally, it's a challenge intellectually, and it's a challenge to find new ways to do what needs to be done to make this a great city.

And frankly, the public in Atlanta had not counted on Atlanta—on the city being in such bad shape, and I had to give them the bad news that we were close to bankruptcy, and that we would all have to really take a step back and reorder our priorities if we were to get through it. So I knew we had to stay the course—we couldn't turn the corner by creeping. We had to take a big step to turn the corner. So I love the challenge, and I have not regretted a single day that I have been in office.

Lorena Ochoa
Golfer

This has been a great season for me. I'm enjoying myself so much. I'm working hard and I'm glad that I'm seeing good results. There is pressure, but it's a positive pressure. I like to feel that. It's all about breaking records and making history. I'm happy to be in this position. I like competition and I like to win. When you lose, you get that feeling that hurts so much. Then you do whatever it takes to win next time. It's a passion.

Everything has been a process. You get better with time. My parents believed in what we wanted to do and what makes us happy and they didn't put any pressure on us. I started playing in tournaments when I was 7. When I was 8, I started playing international tournaments.I've made many mistakes. It took me five times to win my first title. It was tough for me. You have to give yourself another chance, and be positive about it and try again. I'm very easy in that way. I don't waste any energy or time in complaining or thinking about bad things. I just move on. It's just not worth it to waste time on the negative things. I just keep going.

It always helps to have a technique. In golf, it's all about visualizing. You have to practice; being in the situation is the only thing that helps. You have to make all the mistakes and you have to learn from them. The more you do it, the more comfortable you feel and then you learn. You have to have high goals. There is always room to improve. You are always trying to be one step ahead of everybody because there are so many good players out there. My name means something in the golf world. But at the same time, you always learn. It's never good to feel too comfortable.

I love being on the golf course but right now I travel so much and go to so many tournaments that I really look forward to going home and recharging. I am who I am because of my family and my friends and it is very important to be home with them. And then I go back to tour.

What I most enjoy is representing my country. I'm very proud to be Mexican. I think I do have the potential to be a role model for others, especially in Mexico. It's a great opportunity and I like the responsibility. I'm trying to do things in the right way and hopefully others can follow and dream and become professionals in the future. Every time I go home, I try to spend time with kids, to motivate them.

I have a foundation and at first, I thought I would help kids with cancer and other disabilities. But soon it was clear to me that education was the only thing that would make a real change. So many kids in Mexico don't go to school. I decided to concentrate 100 percent on education with a school. It's 230 kids from first grade to sixth grade. We give them breakfast in the morning and then they go to class. Also, the parents are important. The whole family is involved because then you really make change, with the parents helping the kids. We are buying land next to the elementary school and we're going to build a high school for next year.