Diane von Furstenberg at 62

Ok I found it. I could not figure out who to write about. Sonia again? Michele Obama on health care? Hilary Rodham Clinton hanging around India with Mr. Tata? No. Here we go. "At 62, [Diane von Furstenberg] has seen her business skyrocket in the 1970s, crash in the '80s and, unpredictably, thrive today." NY Times 7/19/09. "It's more important than ever to have confidence," says Ms. von Furstenberg. Everyone else is insecure. It you start to take a little bit of everyone else's insecurity -- forget it." Did you hear that? CONFIDENCE. There is no reason not to have it. Not old stuff. Not guilt. Not childhood blues. Just go forward as if you are on a hike that is unexpectedly difficult but you know you can make it one step at a time. It doesn't matter if your feet are killing you and your legs are aching, or that you have to scoot on your ass down the ledge you come across. You are going to do it. And finally, you end up in the parking lot and there's your car! You did it. You can have this experience every day. You can. More on Diane? Ok. Well, she's not hiking. For her? "It's like we are on a surfing board in the middle of a tsunami," she says. "It just so happens that I'm surfing a good wave now. But that doesn't mean I can't fall." And what about that? What about the wipeout? "Failure makes you a better person and a better executive," says Ronald Frasch, president and chief merchandising officer at Saks. "And when [Diane von Furstenberg] came back, she catapulted."  So, all of you out there, whether it's life, business, a project, a relationship, we can catapult. We might fail, we might fall, but we can come back stronger, more confident, better. (Oh yeah and that is me in the photo - hiking up Mt. Alander in Massachusetts.) 

References to Diane von Furstenberg and quotes are as reported in the New York Times Sunday Business section 7/19/09