What Isabel Allende Tells Herself When She's Afraid

2024 TX CFW Keynote Speaker Isabelle Allende

Isabel Allende is the author of 28 books that have been translated into more than 42 languages and sold more than 77 million copies. She has won numerous awards, including the American Book Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

A long committed advocate, and the founder of The Isabel Allende Foundation, she is dedicated to empowering women and girls worldwide.

But many of the most important things about her life, she has said, will not appear in a list of accomplishments but in the secret chambers of her heart.

Among the beliefs she has shared are these:

“It is important to be kind, to be truthful and to take care of others and myself.”
“If the world is ever going to heal, it will be women who will make it happen.”
And “in every human being there is a core of shining dignity and courage.”

But when she spoke at the 2024 Texas Conference for Women, she also shared what she says to herself when she is afraid.

“Go ahead. Do it. Take risks. Everybody's more afraid than you,” she said. “And I always remember that. Every time I'm confronted with a situation that I am scared of, I say, ‘Everybody's more scared than me.’ And I just go forward.”

“A life without risks,” she added, “is not a life.”

Watch it here.

Negotiate What You Need for Career Success

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If you dread negotiation, you are not alone.

And if you think men are better at it than women, CFW speaker Ashleigh Shelby Rosette, PhD, has some encouraging news.

Research shows that while women tend to be less bold in their initial offers, they are more relational—and, as a result, less likely to walk away empty-handed.

Discover tips on how to negotiate what you need for career success from Rosette, the James L. Vincent Professor of Leadership at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, here.

Women Making Headlines

Playing Nicole Kidman. Have you caught the hilarious impression Reese Witherspoon does of her friend and Big Little Lies co-star Nicole Kidman? You can catch it here.

Even better, you can catch Nicole at the Texas Conference for Women on Wednesday, October 29. Learn more and grab a ticket here.

$100 Million to Advance Women's Health. Philanthropist Melinda French Gates announced another significant contribution to women's issues this month: $100 million to advance women's health R&D.

As she wrote, "Science and medicine have a long history of treating men's bodies as the default and women's bodies as an afterthought. As a result, the health issues women face are chronically underfunded and catastrophically under-researched."

"The good news, and there is good news, is that it doesn't have to be this way. There are solutions at our fingertips—new tools, diagnostics, and treatments that could benefit women everywhere in the world—if only we're willing to reach for them." Read her full letter here.

Do You Let Them? When Mel Robbins appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week, Fallon announced that her latest book—Let Them—is on track to become the fastest-selling nonfiction book in history.

And guess where she is speaking in-person this year? At every CFW event, including next up: The Texas Conference for Women on Wednesday, October 29.
Learn more and grab your ticket here.