Wouldn't It Be Great? : Part 2

Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word: A Woman's Guide to Earning Her Worth and Achieving Her Dreams
by Debra Condren, Ph.D.

(Page 2 of 3)

Wouldn't it be great to set free your aspiring, bold voice? To say, "I'm ambitious," with pride, not reticence? Without worrying about what others will think of you because you know that you're a decent, ethical woman who acts with integrity? Without believing that you're a self-absorbed, aggressive, flat-out bitch who blows through the workplace leaving countless enemies in her wake? Wouldn't it feel fabulous if you could finally reach for the moon, shouting your deepest-held ambitions from the rooftops without feeling guilty or believing that you're neglecting a husband, a child, family, or friends? Wouldn't it feel amazing to regard your determination to go after your career dreams as an attribute-as a tribute, really-to the greatest part of who you are as a woman?

Wouldn't it be great to be amBITCHous?

Well, you can, and you should be. If you don't, you're letting the best part of you, the part that the world deserves to have you contribute, rot in a basement. Let's get her out. This book will show you why you ought to be an ambitchous woman-and how to be her now.

Be More, Not Less, Ambitchous. Go for Harmony, Not Balance

This is most emphatically not a book about how to be unapologetically bitchy to get what you want. This is a book about redefining your ambition in the face of social sanctions and unapologetically going after your dreams. I wrote it to encourage you to be more, not less, ambitchous. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to sacrifice-or balance-your ambition to have a great life; in fact, just the opposite is true. This book will reveal to you that the real way to have a great life is to see your ambition as a virtue-as a part of your value system that you must give equal attention to, along with other priorities you hold dear, including your spouse, children, and friends. Our culture encourages women to derive our sense of self from being selfless, by giving to everyone else first and foremost. Could there be a more confusing, contradictory recipe for self-satisfaction? No wonder we drop-kick our dreams! This book will show you how being the best woman you can possibly be comes from always staying true to your most ambitious self rather than feeling pressured, under social duress, to put your ambition last, after every other priority in your life.

I know you may not believe me that working harder to fulfill your ambitions will make your very busy and complicated life of juggling family, career, and social life easier, but it will. There's another way of seeing things that will make you happier, more fulfilled at work, and more content in the rest of your life. There's another way to think about achieving your big, inspiring career dreams and whatever else you cherish in your personal life. There's another, more rewarding, and less stressful way of framing the big picture.

I'm here to tell you that all of your priorities-personal and ambitious career goals alike-can fit together harmoniously. I'll show you how, like thousands of women I've worked with over the years, you can make more money, earn the credit and recognition you deserve, have more power, and be as ambitious as you want to be. I'll show you how you can be ambitchous without compromising your ethics and integrity. I'll show you that you can feel worthy and entitled to all of this without fear that you risk sacrificing your desire to have a full, happy personal life and without being afraid that you'll be less of a woman. It's worked for me. It's worked for countless ambitchous women I've advised. It will work for you.

Why Should You Trust Me?

"Who is this ambitchous woman," you may be asking. "Why should I trust her?"

I'm a business psychologist, executive coach, and career adviser who has spent more than fifteen years helping women embrace their ambition and achieve their career goals. As the founder and president of Manhattan Business Coaching, a professional development firm based in New York City and San Francisco, I've worked with thousands of clients throughout the United States and the world. I served as an advisory member to an American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force for empowering adolescent girls. I lead dozens of workshops every year and lecture frequently on women's need to embrace their ambition.

In 1995, I founded-and currently am the executive director of-the Women's Business Alliance, an organization that has served as a motivational think tank for more than twenty-five hundred women over twelve years. I founded the WBA specifically to help women overcome the barriers that keep them from reaching the top in their chosen fields. The U.S. Small Business Administration recognized my work with a "Women in Business Advocate of the Year 2000" award.

Copyright © 2006 by Debra Condren

About the Author

Debra Condren, Ph.D., is a psychologist, a business and executive coach and career advisor, and the founder and executive director of the Women's Business Alliance. Dr. Condren received a U.S. Small Business Administration's Women in Business Advocate of the Year Award in 2000. Her client roster includes a diverse list of Fortune 500 companies, and a wide array executives, professionals, and students between the ages of sixteen and sixty. Her advice has been featured in major media outlets including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and NPR's Morning Edition. She lives in New York City and San Francisco with her husband, son, and stepson.