If you don't encounter setbacks in your career, if you don't have doubts and disappointments, let me tell you, you're not dreaming big enough.

We've had all the ebbs and flows of any real career. Trust me. We've been at the highest highs and pretty low lows. But that said, we always stay true to who we were. We didn't jump on fads and fashions.

Look around at things that just aren't getting done. Maybe there's a project you could tackle. Maybe there's an issue that always gets back-burnered for other priorities. Challenge yourself to take on those difficult assignments. They're learning opportunities, and you have a chance to change something for the better.

I believe I would have curtailed my career, by quitting BCG to be with my dad and to help my family, had I not received this paid leave... we would have been in real financial trouble and unsettled.

People tried to do a lot of stuff with me early in my career where they tried to shape me into one thing or another. They couldn't just take the chance and go with my vision - which was just my intuition, really.

Don't make your career be your life. Let it be your passion. Let it bring you pleasure. But don't let it become your identity. You are so much more valuable than that.