--- ---  # Here’s Hillary Clinton’s Advice to Her Younger Self by [The Editors of Motto](https://time.com/author/the-editors-of-motto/) ## The Editors of Motto Feb 4, 2016 12:30 PM UTC  (GERMANY OUT) Hillary Rodham Clinton \*26.10.1947-, Juristin, USA, Ehefrau des 42\. US-Präsidenten Bill Clinton , - Porträt, - 1992 (Photo by Spiegl/ullstein bild via Getty Images) (GERMANY OUT) Hillary Rodham Clinton \*26.10.1947-, Juristin, USA, Ehefrau des 42\. US-Präsidenten Bill Clinton , - Porträt, - 1992 (Photo by Spiegl/ullstein bild via Getty Images)Ullstein Bild—Getty Images by [The Editors of Motto](https://time.com/author/the-editors-of-motto/) ## The Editors of Motto Feb 4, 2016 12:30 PM UTC Hillary Clinton spoke with TIME’s Joe Klein Tuesday night in an interview about her campaign and her values. One question she answered: If the former Secretary of State were to talk to her younger self about what she knows now, what would she say to her? “I’d say don’t ever lose your idealism. Stay true to your values about what you think needs to happen in our country to give more people, particularly kids, the chance to live up to their God-given potential. Keep working toward that, but also don’t just hang on to the idealism at the expense of actually producing results that will improve people’s lives. “When I look back on the string of Democratic presidents that we had in the last century and 16 years, I’m very proud that they kept the progressive movement going forward. They kept improving lives for people, expanding rights and opportunities. And that’s what you have to do in the political process. You could stay outside the political process and be an advocate and set the goals, and there’s a really worthy role for that and an American historical experience that supports that. “But if you get into the arena, as Teddy Roosevelt said, you’re going to get bloodied, you’re going to get knocked around. But it’s the only way to actually move a progressive agenda forward. And that’s what I’ve always been interested in, and that’s what I’ve tried to do in all those years since then.” Read [the complete interview](http://time.com/4206955/hillary-clinton-interview/). Hillary Clinton's Advice to Her Younger Self ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4206533/hillary-clinton-advice-to-her-younger-self/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4206533/hillary-clinton-advice-to-her-younger-self/"},"headline":"Here’s Hillary Clinton’s Advice to Her Younger Self","datePublished":"2016-02-04T12:30:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:47.492Z","description":"Be idealistic but get results, the presidential candidate says in an interview with TIME","url":"https://time.com/4206533/hillary-clinton-advice-to-her-younger-self/","keywords":["motto","politics","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5458801d4d226cd4/69887c16524fc0a70fdf6979/hillary-clinton-1992-green.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Editors of Motto","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-editors-of-motto/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5458801d4d226cd4/69887c16524fc0a70fdf6979/hillary-clinton-1992-green.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton","caption":"Hillary Clinton","creditText":"Ullstein Bild—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/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4206533/hillary-clinton-advice-to-her-younger-self/","name":"Here’s Hillary Clinton’s Advice to Her Younger Self"}}]}] ```