Love her or hate her, Hillary Clinton offers lessons for anyone on how to slay a dragon, and it doesn’t involve covering your armor with spikes.
With the new year upon us and our optimism still high about turning over a new leaf or accomplishing things we’ve never thought possible, here are four “take-aways” from Hillary Clinton’s history-making presidential race that we should apply to our own hopes and dreams. Oh, right, she lost the presidency. In the United States we tend to be very fixated on the ‘winner and the loser’ but I think Hillary Clinton, to give a nod to the reality television masses, could truly be described as the ‘biggest loser.’
She’s gaining admiration and respect for her role as Secretary of State and in fact, she is more popular than the president. Candidate Obama was right: she is ‘likeable enough.’ Hee hee.
Here are the lessons:
1. Know your stuff. You may not be debating about the proper response to a change in government in Cuba in the wake of Fidel Castro’s resignation, but whatever you are supposed to know: know it.
2. Let bad media attention roll of your back. The bigger you get, the more bad stuff people will say about you. The only bad press is no press and for authors, Oscar Wilde summed it up: the only bad book review is no book review.
3. Get stamina. Do what you love so there is spring in your step. Sleep well, eat well and exercise, because your competition may be younger and springier.
4. Don’t quit. Stay in for the long haul because perseverance is the sign of successful people.
So here they are: Four take-aways from “Almost Madam President.”
Nichola D. Gutgold is a communication professor and author of several books including her latest: Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton ‘won’ in 2008 (Lexington Books, 2009).
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