Condoleezza Rice: 'Find Something You Love'

INTERVIEW

WSJ: What was the key turning point, career move or life event that got you to where you are today?

Ms. Rice: From my point of view, finding what I was passionate about was the key for me. And I thought that passion was concert piano. After a kind of serious look at my prospects, I found, fortunately, a course on international politics taught by a Soviet specialist.

When you are searching for your passion you can't let it be limited by what others think you ought to do. There is no earthly reason that a black girl from Birmingham, Ala., would want to study Russian. And yet that's what really was fulfilling for me and what I was passionate about. And so I think that decision obviously was a very critical one.

But I would not have been in a position to do that without extraordinary parents. I'm often asked: 'Have you made sacrifices? Have you had to make tough choices?' And, of course we all do, but nothing compared to the choices that my parents made to give me every opportunity that they possibly could even though they were teachers, educators who made very little money. So I would say it's not so much things that I did, but I really was set up for it by great parents.


Because I really didn't have a 'plan,' I was fortunate that certain circumstances arose, allowing me to get here. But I think I prepared for it by finding something I loved and working hard at it. I think sometimes women believe there is something wrong with networking and getting to know people. Of course you need to get to know people.

WSJ: When traveling in your official capacity, how are you treated globally? Are there places that you go to where official negotiations are complicated by local attitudes towards women?

Ms. Rice: You almost become secretary of state, and that is without gender. But of course there are places where attitudes towards women, particularly in the Middle East, are not always very enlightened. It doesn't tend to affect me because I'm being dealt with as secretary of state.

But I'll tell you a way that I think it's actually been positive. I can't tell you how many places, conservative Muslim states, where a leader or one of the ministers will say: 'My daughter follows what you do, would you send her a note,' or in a couple of cases where people have actually brought their daughters or wives to meet me. I always find that really gratifying because it means that perhaps these leaders or ministers who are in very conservative societies still hope for something different for their daughters.

WSJ: What piece of advice do you have for young women today who want to advance far in politics?

Ms. Rice: Find something you love to do and don't spend time thinking about whether or not it's going to advance you in politics. If you don't love what you do and you're not passionate about what you do, you are not going to advance very far.

The second thing is to not to try to plan too far ahead. There are so many variables in life that you may or may not ever get there. It's not that you can be aimless and unfocused, but I always say plan for the next thing that you want to do, and plan and do it well. And concentrate on doing that well and enjoying it and seeing where it leads you, rather than trying to think four, five steps ahead, which is almost never going to work.