--- title: 10 Secrets to Success Every Woman Should Hear description: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Tamron Hall, and Linda McMahon share important advice. canonical: https://time.com/3482001/10-secrets-to-success-every-woman-should-hear/ author: Real Simple article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-09T11:30:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:08.243Z og:title: 10 Secrets to Success Every Woman Should Hear og:description: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Tamron Hall, and Linda McMahon share important advice. og:url: https://time.com/3482001/10-secrets-to-success-every-woman-should-hear/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb001c87d03db217/69875f435f570fd057b12920/456487964.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME And Real Simple's Women & Success og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Secrets to Success Every Woman Should Hear twitter:description: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Tamron Hall, and Linda McMahon share important advice. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb001c87d03db217/69875f435f570fd057b12920/456487964.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Secrets to Success Every Woman Should Hear by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Oct 9, 2014 11:30 AM UTC  Kirsten Gillibrand and Nancy Gibbs attend TIME and Real Simple's Women & Success event at the Park Hyatt on Oct. 1, 2014 in New York City. Kirsten Gillibrand and Nancy Gibbs attend TIME and Real Simple's Women & Success event at the Park Hyatt on Oct. 1, 2014 in New York City.Larry Busacca—2014 Getty Images by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Oct 9, 2014 11:30 AM UTC _This article originally appeared on_ [_RealSimple.com_](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/success-advice)_._ Back in August, _Real Simple_ partnered with _TIME_ [for a poll](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/job-career/women-success) of 1,000 women (and 300 men) to find out how they really defined “success.” Some of the results confirmed what we already know, like that motherhood has a big impact on how women view their success. Others were more surprising—it seemed like being “good” at their jobs was more important to the women surveyed than the men. But the biggest finding was that women seemed to lack confidence, even though almost 80 percent of them thought it was important to finding success. So we gathered together successful, confident women for a panel discussion Wednesday night about how _all_women can achieve their goals. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, _Frozen_ songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez, TODAY’s Tamron Hall, and former CEO of WWE Linda McMahon joined editors-in-chief Kristin van Ogtrop and Nancy Gibbs to talk about success (and failures), and how women can build confidence. Here’s what we learned: **1\. “Don’t be afraid to take a risk because you’re afraid you might fail.” –Linda McMahon** **2\. “Being in the moment is my path, my guide, to anything that’s right.” –Kristen Anderson-Lopez** Lopez offered this advice to those who are overcome with anxiety about finding success—so much so that they are unable to enjoy the present. **3.** **“What are you ‘having?’ A party? Another slice of pie? … What we’re really talking about is** **_doing_** **it all. How do we help women do all the things they want to do?” -Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on the idea of women “having it all”** ([MORE: How to Make Positive Changes in Your Life](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/change-things-better-10000001084082/index.html?xid=time-rs-100314)) **4\. “Don’t try to follow the exact steps of anyone… Where you’re going is the right direction.” –Tamron Hall** Everyone’s path to success is not the same—Hall herself had many jobs and many rejections before landing where she is today. **5\. “If we raise each other up around the world, I guarantee the world will be so awesome.” –Kristen Anderson Lopez** **6.** **“To have success today is to look around and see that we’re putting smiles on other people’s faces.” –Linda McMahon** McMahon no longer defines success by money or appearance—there are more important ways to feel successful. **7\.** **“Failure is a gift. If you’re willing to fail, you won’t only learn faster, but ‘fear’ is eliminated.” –Senator Kirsten Gillibrand** ([MORE: How to Look Good in Pictures](http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/how-look-good-photos-00100000107143/index.html?xid=time-rs-100314)) **8\. “Life in itself, I think, keeps you from feeling entitled… unless you’re just a jackass.” –Tamron Hall** When asked if parents should worry about making their daughters feel _too_ special, Hall shared these wise (and hilarious) words. **9\. “Look at what you’re doing in your free time. Whatever it is that draws you—listen to and follow that voice.” –Kristen Anderson-Lopez** **10\. “Be exactly yourself.” –Senator Kirsten Gillibrand** Because young women should never waste time worrying about what others think. ([MORE: 6 Office Wardrobe Malfunctions to Avoid](http://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/work-wardrobe-malfunctions-00100000130090/index.html?xid=time-rs-100314)) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3482001/10-secrets-to-success-every-woman-should-hear/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3482001/10-secrets-to-success-every-woman-should-hear/"},"headline":"10 Secrets to Success Every Woman Should Hear","datePublished":"2014-10-09T11:30:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:08.243Z","description":"Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Tamron Hall, and Linda McMahon share important advice.","url":"https://time.com/3482001/10-secrets-to-success-every-woman-should-hear/","keywords":["Living","advice","career"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb001c87d03db217/69875f435f570fd057b12920/456487964.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Real Simple","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/real-simple/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb001c87d03db217/69875f435f570fd057b12920/456487964.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME And Real Simple's Women & Success","caption":"TIME And Real Simple's Women & Success","creditText":"Larry Busacca—2014 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3482001/10-secrets-to-success-every-woman-should-hear/","name":"10 Secrets to Success Every Woman Should Hear"}}]}] ```