Let It Unfold

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A few days ago Maria Shriver hosted the Women’s Conference in San Francisco as she does each year, but this is her last year doing so as First Lady of the State of California. One day I’d love to attend this conference, but since I can’t get out there, I try to watch some of the live streams during breaks or catch up on full video at a later time. During the evening news the other night, I saw Shriver speak near the end of the conference with a story about how she admitted she was wrong to try to talk her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, out of running for Governor seven years ago. He was right not to listen to me, she went on. When she expressed her fears to her mother, Shriver explained that her mother said:

“Do not ever stand in the way of a person’s dream. You can go ahead and say what you think, but then shut up.” Maria continued, “She went on to tell me. Just let it unfold. Let it play out. You are going to learn a lot about life and yourself in the process. And then, after Arnold won, she said, ‘now you have a job to do. Go and do it and do it well. Finish it properly and when it’s over you can move on to something else. In the meantime, I don’t want to hear another yip out of you.’ Well, it turns out my mother was right. She’d always say, ‘whatever you decide what to do, do it well. Finish it properly and then you can feel free to move on.'”

– text transcribed from ABC World News with Diane Sawyer, October 26, 2010

This is so powerful. I remember when Shriver had to leave journalism due to the possible conflict of interest it might cause with her husband’s new role in politics. She was a veteran of TV news journalism, hosting “Dateline NBC,” among other shows. Had it been me, it would have been hard to leave what I love, what defines me, in order to become something that I had to do because of my husband’s dream. “What about my dream?,” I can see myself asking. Well, Shriver has shown me a different spin on things. That by thinking of something bigger than herself and believing in the process, it can lead to even greater opportunities.

Sometimes you have to let go and “go with it” and see where it takes you. She certainly has done so much in her role as First Lady — the Women’s Conference is one of the highlights I think.

Whatever you do, do it well. Finish it properly. Move on.

Related:

• The Women’s Conference 2010
• First Lady of California website
• Is Maria Shriver eyeing a job in TV again?
• Watch Diane Sawyer’s interview with the first female Supreme Court Justices. Fascinating conversation from two leading women.