Happy International Women's Day ✨

50 lessons I've learned from women 🫶

Marnie Lemonik
March 08, 2026

Sending extra love to all my bright, kind, impressive ladies on here. I recorded a (last minute) International Women’s Day podcast today reflecting on some of the lessons I’ve learned from my women clients as a Career Coach.

I wrote the original list back in 2024, but realized I’ve never shared it in the newsletter. If you want to hear me speak to my favorite 20 from the list, you can check out the latest episode of my podcast (linked below). But here’s the full list of 50 for anyone that needs a little extra motivation for International Women’s Day. 💫 ✨

You don’t “care too much,” you just haven’t found the thing worthy of your passion yet.
After a certain level of persistence, success becomes inevitable.
The way you explain the thing is more important than the thing itself, framing will dictate whether it’s a net positive or a net negative.
Every.damn.experience is transferrable - like everything.
If you’re not doubting yourself sometimes, you’re not reaching high enough.
You are better than you think you are and others are (probably) less good than you think they are - but we love the drive to succeed and the deep empathy for others.
A goal is not an immovable post, it evolves with you and should evolve as you do.
Once you advocate for yourself, you’ll be able to do it moving forward.
1. Negotiation is one of the few skills I’ve seen people fully “adopt” after just a single experience.
The uncertain times lead to the brightest times.
You can’t fully see your own superpowers - it’s crucial to have outside perspective as a benchmark.
You don’t need to be smarter than anyone else to be a strong leader.
If you have freedom of time and attention, without the responsibility of caretaking, you are in the minority.
Burnout is (at least partially) an inside job and it needs to be handled within your own habits to be fully resolved.
No one caveats like a woman (see point above!), but it comes from an extreme level of self awareness which I view as a positive.
Something better only comes from confronting rejection.
Just because something is a “no” now, doesn’t mean it will be a “no” forever - learn to look at missed opportunity through the lens of “not now” v. “not ever.”
No one eats lunch early enough and we probably never will - can’t win them all.
The more you lift up the women around you the more recognition you will receive.
The way to “win” someone’s admiration is to show you are investing energy in their perspective, which comes from asking hyper-specific questions.
The big conversations you’re stressed about (a pitch, a review, etc.) will 9 times out of 10 be easier than you think.
The hardest type of miscommunication to fix is unspoken assumption - say the hard thing and say it directly.
You should have more than one mentor and you should be clear on the type of insight each one is able to provide.
Asking for more money is not going to cost you a job - there really is no harm in thoughtfully asking.
Your self worth is your ceiling, which means you have to believe in yourself in order to achieve something.
You probably don’t need more schooling or more certifications, you simply need to act rather than ponder.
The only constant will be you - professionally, personally, existentially.
The negativity will always be louder but there’s normally more of the positivity - it’s just harder to hear.
Your personal life and your professional life will constantly impact each other, stop trying to separate them and start embracing that the dimensions of you are not “at odds.”
However much you invest or don’t invest in your career is the “right” amount - the only one who understands your path is you.
No one knows what the vibes are on LinkedIn.
The clarity you need may be in the through line of your past experiences and not in another personal development podcast. (personal attack on myself)
There will be good days and bad days, but the most helpful way to measure true value is the ratio of the two over a longer period of time.
If you’re not willing to wait for something, you may not want it badly enough.
A helpful way to deal with overwhelm is by categorizing - identify different buckets and start grouping problems together to find efficient solutions.
The duality of women is a phrase for a reason - leverage the different aspects of you to make your life more full rather than trying to be “just one thing.”
If something is hard for you, it’s been hard for someone else which means there is nothing “wrong” with you.
There will be seasons to priorities, don’t be hard on yourself if you need to re-prioritize often.
While we tend to look for deeper meaning, sometimes things are really not that deep and it’s often a good thing.
You can find people that lift you up and you can find people that cut you down, it’s on you to build your circle accordingly.
A good manager can change your life, and yes, I actually mean your whole life.
Money matters more than we often admit and I’m still surprised at our hesitation to own that fact.
Having an “untraditional” career path will be your biggest advantage.
You’re allowed to claim things as “skills” or “personality traits” that you’re not a complete expert on.
If you are being pressured to make a really quick decision, it’s worth pushing back on the urgency of the decision solely to see how the other party reacts.
It will all make sense in retrospect - have confidence in your future self to find the meaning and know that there’s no singular path to happiness.
Your parents can be a resource for so much wisdom, but modern day workplace dynamics may not be in their purview.
You won’t regret being kinder than you want to be in the moment.
The most serendipitous connections come in when we’re “putting ourself out there” in some regard.
We all have less hobbies than the internet leads us to believe.
You are more respected and appreciated than you understand.

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