Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word: A Woman's Guide to Earning Her Worth and Achieving Her Dreams

by Debra Condren

Book Overview

Wouldn't it be great if you could be audaciously ambitious and happy at the same time? You can, and you will. "I'm here to tell you that all of your priorities--personal and ambitious career goals... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0767923146
• ISBN13: 9780767923149
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Crown Business
• Length: 303 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Debra writes in the voice of your best girlfriend who can tell you the "real deal." Ambition is Not a Dirty Word is "laugh-out-loud" funny in places and "pound-your-fist on the boardroom table" serious in others. You feel like you are getting the good, common sense of your grandmother, executive coaching from a seasoned professional and the things only your closest confidant would whisper in your ear, all in one book. I feel so strongly that Ambition is Not a Dirty Word is a "must read," that I gifted my personal copy many times while I was reading it. I recommended the book to friends and complete strangers I meet at networking events because the content is so relevant to the issues we are discussing. Furthermore, Debra's voice helped me at a very difficult time - when my father passed away. When I couldn't function, her words gave me permission to return to the world of the living and continue to pursue my dreams. I was able to embrace my ambition even while grieving and when nothing else made sense I was able to concentrate on things that I could control and feel good about.......building my business. AMBITION IS NOT A DIRTY WORD. Ambition helped me out of the abyss. For this I will be eternally grateful.

About that pay differential...

The data still come in that women earn about 80 cents for every dollar a man earns. 44% of that wage gap can be attributed to WHAT women do (pink collar jobs, taking time to raise children) and a further 18% of the gap was associated with workplace characteristics such as WHERE women work. But the remaining 38% of the wage gap cannot be explained. Author Condren attempts to teach women skills to bridge that considerable gap. Not since Hardball for Women has someone tried to instruct women how to play the game to win. The advice covers quite a range, from avoiding self-sabotaging female behavior (submissive, apologetic false modesty) to blowing your own horn, deactivating detractors and saboteurs, acquiring allies, getting coaching and negotiation skills. Landing a job with the right pay can have cascading consequences downstream to the rest of your career, so this is advice you really can't afford to ignore. I'd say "RECOMMENDED" but I think the right word here is "ESSENTIAL." Permalink | Why no voting buttons? We don't let customers vote on their own reviews, so the voting buttons appear only when you look at reviews submitted by others.

Finally, someone who gets it!

Finally, someone who's as sick as I am of being told to aim for "life balance" instead of going after what I really want. Condren gives really sharp examples of how women fall (or put themselves) into traps that make them feel good about selling their dreams short. She's out to remake the paradigm that says that smart, ambitious women are all bitches and makes a compelling case for "equal rights" for career, motherhood, and everything else.

Ambition is a virtue...

This powerful book is a must read for women of all ages. I wish I would have had this expert advice years ago! I am finally free of all the negative self-talk and guilt that has been holding me back for years. Now I look forward to living the life of my dreams by celebrating my ambition as a virtue rather than a vice. The sky is the limit! Thank you, Debra!

Inspirational!

This book has inspired me to get out there in the world and pursue my dreams. I do not want to be a women who just gets by 50% - that is not enough and is only limiting my potential. Societal views of women place us in a more confined place then we realize. This book was eye opening to cultural brainwashing I had not even realized. It gives a great sense of community through this fight and is an essential guidebook for all women trying to make their way in this male dominated career world. Condren writes with clarity and also a familiarity which is really that little voice we all tune out in our head. I highly recommend this book to anyone questioning why they are doing and where they are going.