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Hilary Duff was catapulted into stardom as the lead of Disney Channel\u2019s Lizzie McGuire when she was just 13, and the franchise quickly expanded far beyond television\u2014spawning movies, merchandise, video games, and a level of fame few teenagers experience. But now she regrets saying yes to too much when her career was at its peak.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the doors start opening, it\u2019s very easy to think the right answer is always yes,\u201d Duff told graduates of Northeastern University in her commencement address. \u201cYes to the next project. Yes to the next expectation. Yes to saying yes. For years, I said yes to almost everything because I thought that\u2019s what you were supposed to do when you were lucky enough to have opportunities. You take them. All of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
But somewhere between commercials, appearances, and the relentless pressure to figure out \u201cwhat\u2019s next,\u201d Duff began to realize that taking on every opportunity came at a cost.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized just because something is a good opportunity or a good paycheck, it doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s right. By simply accepting what the world was offering to me, I was losing my own voice,\u201d\u00a0 the now 38-year-old added. \u201cI was reacting instead of asking myself what I really wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an uncertain job market, Duff tells Gen Z: \u2018Choose what gives you room to grow\u2019<\/p>\n
Over time, Duff learned to step back and redirect her energy\u2014moving away from the constant churn of projects and reshaping her career on her own terms. Today, she\u2019s a millionaire, a mother of four, and serves as chief brand director of Below 60\u00b0, a fragrance company. Her message to Gen Z: success doesn\u2019t require having your entire future mapped out.<\/p>\n
\u201cRedirecting your energy in one area can mean sprinting in another. The key is that I was choosing where my energy went instead of letting others choose for me,\u201d she said. \u201cA wonderful part of giving yourself that space is you can look back and see the distance you\u2019ve traveled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duff also recognized the uncertainty facing the class of 2026, noting that many graduates are entering industries being reshaped in real time by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence\u2014and that some of the jobs they\u2019ll hold in five years may not even exist yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cChoose what excites you. Choose what challenges you. Choose what gives you room to grow. And just as importantly, choose to let go of what no longer serves you,\u201d she said. \u201cThis will give you the freedom to evolve and become exactly who you are meant to be. The world only becomes more interesting and accommodating and marvelous when people show up as they truly are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett have preached the importance of saying no<\/p>\n
Duff\u2019s instinct to say yes to opportunities early in her career is not surprising\u2014it\u2019s a choice many ambitious people might make when doors unexpectedly begin opening.<\/p>\n
And some business leaders have argued that openness remains a crucial ingredient for success. For example, McDonald\u2019s CEO Chris Kempczinski has said that workers who stay flexible through career twists and turns are often best positioned to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aTo be a yes person is way better than to be a no person,\u201d Kempczinski said in an interview with LinkedIn. \u201cSo as those career twists and turns happen, the more that you\u2019re seen as someone who\u2019s willing to say yes and to go do something, it just means you\u2019re gonna get that next call.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, others have echoed Duff\u2019s realization that saying yes to everything can ultimately become counterproductive.<\/p>\n
Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with CBS News earlier this year that one of the biggest leadership lessons he learned from Steve Jobs was the power of focus.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Jobs] had an idea of focus that you say \u2018no\u2019 to a thousand things to say \u2018yes\u2019 to the one that\u2019s truly important,\u201d Cook said. \u201cAnd that when you do something, you should do it at an excellence level where good isn\u2019t good enough: it has to be insanely great.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similarly, Melinda French Gates said billionaire investor Warren Buffett taught her that once people identify their priorities, saying no becomes much easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWarren Buffett once said to us early at the [Gates] Foundation\u2019s life, \u2018Find your bull\u2019s-eye of what you\u2019re working on, and let the other things fall away. You\u2019ll feel better if you keep your talents in that bull\u2019s-eye, keep working those issues, and you\u2019ll feel less bad about letting other things go,\u2019\u201d French Gates said in a LinkedIn interview last year. \u201cAnd I think that\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n
#ExDisney #star #Hilary #Duff #warns #hurt #career #good #paycheck #doesnt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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