Settle for More

by Megyn Kelly

I’m no lover of being overly PC, but there is a limit to how far the overcorrection to that can go.

So much of how we think we’re supposed to act comes from the signals we get from our parents.

The powerful shoulder of a real man.

To this day, I can handle people who are dumb, lazy, or generally annoying. The one thing I cannot and will not tolerate is a bully.

Sometimes less is more when it comes to showing someone what a moron they are.

A person can encounter such inadvertent cruelty after losing a spouse.

Who are we, as mere mortals, to say there is no power beyond? To presume all of this energy, this beautiful, strong, complex energy, just dies when our hearts stop beating? I believe my father’s spirit lives on, and I believe somehow he got that card to my mother that day.

Sometimes you’re angry. Sometimes you’re tired. Sometimes you can’t resolve things before you close your eyes. If I ever fall asleep mad at Doug, and then die before we make up, I just have to trust that he knows I love him. As for my kids, I’ve never gone to bed angry with them; in fact, I’ve really never been angry with them.

“These tears are not about you. They are about my husband. But don’t let the tears dilute the content of my message.”

I was determined to try to stay alive.

The six-foot-seven center doesn’t tell you how tall he is.

In fact, I believe women with very high voices should consider voice training; there is no better way to be instantly dismissed—other than bad wardrobe or makeup choices—than to sound like a child when you talk.

If I failed, it wasn’t really me, but an alter ego. That took some of the pressure off. With “Rachel” and my voice, I became a killer telemarketer and made excellent money for a summer job. They never made it official, but I felt sure I was chief telemarketer.

With moot court, I’d been able to sense that fine line between hoping I would be good at something and actually being good at it. That kind of self-awareness rarely just happens—it needs to be cultivated. Having that intuition about my own abilities validated was a crucial first step toward believing I had promise in this field. It started to dawn on me, sitting in that office in my jeans and a T-shirt, sporting a ponytail of blond hair, that I really might be more than a cheerleader who could type fast.

I am in charge of changing my life, and hard work matters.

how can you know how much you hate losing if you never experience it? I can draw on that dejection right now—it’s still there at the ready. And it is, indeed, a powerful motivator.

“Look, for those of you sitting here feeling bad about yourself because you’re in danger of failing out, don’t beat yourself up too badly. Just remember, you’re still in law school—something thousands of others wanted but were denied. And for those of you at the top of your class, feeling great about yourselves and thinking, ‘I’ve got it made,’ just remember: you’re still at Albany.”

Gender, typically, is not something I spend much time thinking about.

To this day, I believe planning out confrontations in detail is key. It prevents regrets in the moment (e.g., your temper getting away from you) and lets you control the exchange.

did learn that standing by your principles is always the right call, even when dealing with people in positions of power.

Man, what a wake-up call.

the day America lost its innocence.

For one thing, it would be taking the opportunity away from someone else.

“The only difference between you and someone you envy is, you settled for less.”

I realized that his death had given me a gift: the clear awareness that I couldn’t afford to waste a second.

None of us knows how long we have on this earth. And while hard work is meaningful, we can’t waste our time here constantly at the office, much less immersed in strife and conflict. I had to change horses. I heard my father’s voice, singing: “Today while the flowers still cling to the vine . . .” We only get one life. The lights twinkle on the tree, and then . . . it’s over.

Sitting around in a circle playing music and singing together is a wonderful way to bond with fellow human beings. It made me aware of how much I craved connection and creativity in the rest of my life.

The pros make it look simple; trust me, it isn’t.

I was also feeling something I hadn’t in years—a sense that I was learning fast and couldn’t get enough.

“What you have, I can’t teach,” he said. “What you need to learn, I can help you with.”

“Winners take responsibility. Losers blame others.”

I began to take an honest look at myself. Why can’t I make friends more easily? Why don’t more women want to be around me?

“The only way you’ll disappoint me is if you try to hit a home run instead of a single,” he said.

After I had my children, something had to give, and I gave up on exercise.

One of the rules of dealing with a stalker (much like dealing with a bully) is to have no direct contact and to offer no response.

(By the way, to all women, whether you have a stalker or not, read The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. It is life-changing. Please, just do it.)

business consultant Laura Garnett calls the “zone of genius,”

“You’re thinking about the wrong person.” It means when you find yourself devoting too much emotional energy to something, try redirecting your thoughts to yourself and how you can improve your own life. What is within your power to change? How can you make yourself more fulfilled?

He said he was passing through for work, and later confessed that he had scrounged up a meeting of no consequence for the following day.

It’s also nice to be with someone who can make decisions. Especially these days, I make hundreds of decisions each day at work. It’s better to come home to a partner who can make decisions too.

Anyone could see a kiss was coming, especially two professionals paid to watch me. They might have been trained killers, but they were also gentlemen, and turned their backs.

I think my father’s death made me determined not to be left again. That meant being “perfect,” in my mind. I had to do what it took to maintain a relationship; being abandoned was simply not an option.

it’s never too soon to start the life you want.

She is my model for how to be a mother-in-law someday to my own children’s spouses. I have only ever felt one way about her—I love her and want to be more like her.

I will love you, and honor you, all the days of my life.”

We root for and are unafraid to be honest with each other. We both believe that the harder a thing is to say to your loved one, the more important it generally is to say. We fight, but we never fight dirty.

Slowly but surely, I was learning that having a family might not be an impediment to my career.

This allowed me to pursue motherhood as enthusiastically as my career without fear that the two were incompatible. Working mothers go through enough as it is; to have a company that makes it easy on you is an enormous boon.

death tax and Obamacare.

“It’s like holding your crying baby on the airplane and looking around at the other passengers. Those who get it require no apology, and those who don’t, never will.”