Perhaps we're big softies for a success story, or maybe we can blame it on our overwhelming need to understand more about a person than what can be seen by the eye — or, in this case, gleaned from a byline. And, our favorite part of this AOL MAKERS feature on The Huffington Post president and editor-in-chief is learning about Arianna Huffington's early years.
Even if you've only somewhat followed Huffington, you may have come to understand a few basic things about her. For instance, she's had an illustrious career that crosses over into media and politics, she has no qualms about stating her opinions in her somewhat-famous (you know you've made it when you've been parodied on SNL) accent, and she has a real problem with the way we define individual achievement. Simply put, Huffington's interested in the kind of success that extends beyond dollar signs and accounts also for our well-being, health, and personal fulfillment — she's coined it the Third Metric. And, this recent interview puts it all into perspective.
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In this candid chat, we get to see what one of the most powerful women in media was like when she was just a young 20-something in Cambridge University's famous debate club, the Cambridge Union Society. And, to understand part of why her Third Metric level of success is so important, it seems we can look here. She walks us through discouragements (people telling her she be wouldn't be accepted to Cambridge or the debate team laughing when she spoke), rejections (she had a book turned down by publishers 37 times before getting a "yes"), and injustices (those obnoxious Schwarzenegger comments from her run for the California governor's office) that have been as important to her story as they have been to her accomplishments.
This interview comes on the heels of the announcement of The Third Metric Live, a tri-city event launching this year. Watch on to hear the full account and see the old-school pics that explain how a modern-day media mogul achieved her unparalleled success.