Worry less about what you want to be, and think more about what you want to do.

President Obama giving advice to White House interns

“Worry less about what you want to be, and think more about what you want to do. Because this town is full of people who want to be a congressman, or want to be a senator or want to be a president. And if that’s your focus, if that’s your moral compass, then you’re consistently going to be making decisions solely on the basis of how do I get, for me, what I want.

If you think in terms of what do I want to do? I want to solve climate change. Or I want to employ disadvantaged youth. Or I want to fix a broken healthcare system, then even if you don’t get to the place you wanted to be or the office you wanted, during that entire time you’re going to be working on stuff that’s real. And getting stuff done.

And you’ll be able to wake up in the morning and say, ‘Well, ok, I didn’t end up being a congressman but I ended up running this not-for-profit and I’m still responsible for getting this done because I pressured a congressman to do it, right?” 

What if male sports coverage was like female sports coverage? See male athletes get asked the same absurd questions that female athletes get asked all the time.

Cover the Athlete

“Something’s wrong with media coverage of female athletes. Sexist commentary, inappropriate interview questions, and articles focused on physical appearance not only trivializes a woman’s accomplishments, but also sends a message that her value is based on her looks, not her ability. And it’s much too commonplace.”