There is a lot of advice telling women what they need to sacrifice to succeed. Work harder. Stay late. Take risks. Say yes to opportunities. Build your network. Be available. Keep pushing.
While ambition requires commitment, there are some things no woman should have to lose in the pursuit of a successful career or business.
Success should add to your life, not take away the things that make you who you are.
1. Your values
Never compromise your values simply because you want to get ahead.
There may be moments when doing the right thing feels like the harder option, especially when shortcuts appear to offer faster results. However, your reputation is one of your most valuable career assets. Protect it.
A successful career built on dishonesty, manipulation or behaviour you cannot be proud of is not success worth having.
2. Your health
Your career can wait. Your health should not always have to.
It is easy to become so focused on deadlines, meetings, clients, targets and business growth that sleep, proper meals, exercise and rest become optional.
They are not.
You need your body and mind to build the future you are working so hard for. Do not make exhaustion a badge of honour.
3. Your self respect
Ambition does not require you to tolerate disrespect.
You can be professional without allowing people to constantly undermine you. You can be ambitious without begging for recognition. You can be successful without accepting treatment that diminishes your worth.
Know when to negotiate, when to speak up and when to walk away.
4. Your relationships
Building a career or business requires time and sacrifice, but be careful about becoming so consumed by work that you lose touch with the people who matter to you.
Your family, friends and meaningful relationships are part of your life, not distractions from it.
There will always be another email, another meeting and another target. Make sure there are still people around to celebrate with when you achieve your goals.
5. Your identity
You are more than your job title, business or professional achievements.
Being a CEO, director, manager, consultant, entrepreneur or professional may describe what you do, but it does not completely define who you are.
Do not become so invested in your career that you forget the woman behind the CV, business card or company profile.
Keep your interests. Keep learning. Keep laughing. Keep discovering who you are outside work.
6. Your peace
Not every opportunity is worth pursuing.
Some jobs, partnerships, clients and business deals may look impressive on paper but come with a cost to your peace of mind that is simply too high.
Learn to recognise the difference between healthy pressure that helps you grow and unnecessary chaos that constantly drains you.
Success should challenge you, but it should not destroy your peace.
7. Your dreams
Perhaps the most important thing you should never give up is the dream that made you start in the first place.
As responsibilities increase, it can become tempting to settle for what is comfortable or to abandon an idea because progress is taking longer than expected.
Remember why you started.
Your journey may change. Your strategy may change. Your timeline may change. But do not allow temporary setbacks to convince you that you are incapable of achieving something meaningful.
There will be sacrifices on the road to a successful career or business. You may have to sacrifice comfort, free time, money or certainty.
But do not sacrifice yourself.
A truly successful woman is not simply one who reaches the top.
Build the career. Grow the business. Chase the dream.
Just remember to take yourself with you.