When Megyn Kelly announced that she will be leaving Fox News where she worked for 12 years, we had to applaud her for broadening her career. Kelly, who hosted her own program on Fox News called "The Kelly File," garnered 2.5 million nightly viewers and a strong following. She has moved on to host her own daytime news show, host a discussion program and help NBC News with their political coverage. The move doesn’t surprise us. There was speculation that Kelly was going to move on from Fox when she told Vanity Fair that "you know, there’s a lot of brain damage that comes from the job.” That statement would surmise her 2016 when she battled Donald Trump, went public about being sexually harassed and moderated the presidential debates while preparing for her book release. She was a trooper through it all, and still clung to her humility and class. Here are 5 inspiring lessons we can glean from the country girl from Syracuse, NY with a keen sense of humor.
Stand up for yourself.
The highly publicized battle between Kelly and Donald Trump was plastered all over the news and social media daily. The feud started when Kelly confronted the businessman at the first Republican presidential debate in 2015. The two became very quarrelsome when Kelly directed a question and said. “You've called women you don't like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.” He responded: "Only Rosie O'Donnell." Kelly continued and said: "No, it wasn't. For the record, it was well beyond Rosie O'Donnell." Trump went on to criticize Kelly after the debate: “There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.” Kelly held her own and waited it out without avenging herself. In 2016 she met with Trump and they mended fences. She insisted that she would not retaliate and would not engage in the attacks. When you are under pressure like this, it is not easy to hold your ground. Resist the pressure to give into negative comments or whatever is challenging you. You will come out looking like the champion.
Believe that you can achieve more.
In life, we become complacent and don't want to make a change even if it is for the better. Kelly was a lawyer for 9 years before she joined Fox News. She hired an agent to negotiate her first contract and they told her that she wanted too much money. But Kelly believed she could achieve more money and more responsibility because of her work history. Fox gave her what she wanted and the rest is history. "It's not a bad lesson for young people starting out: trust your instincts. Sometimes even those who are supposed to be looking out for you can underestimate your value. Often you are your own best advocate." If you feel stuck in a rut, it might be a case of where you don't think you can do better. Cast a shadow on this doubt and take a chance. There will times that things won't work out, but it will make you bolder because you took the risk. Along the way, you will gain insight. Believe that you can achieve more. It might be starting a new career or going back to school. Whatever it is, you can achieve more by stepping out of your comfort zone and believing in yourself more.
Put your family first.
Money can give you many options for childcare as a working parent. Despite this, it was not enough of Kelly, who is a mother of 3. She explained that she goes to daytime school events, but felt she wanted to participate more in their lives. "I want to see my kids for dinner, I want to put them down at night, I want to see their soccer games after school. I want to get to know the parents who take their kids to some of these events," she said in an interview with the Washington Post. Balancing it all can be a chore and understandably so. Make sure you start putting your family first and try to strike a balance. If you can't go to every game or school event, don't be hard on yourself. The thing is to make yourself accessible to your family.
Fight for justice.
In her memoir, Don't Settle for More, Kelly dropped a bombshell and wrote that former Fox CEO Roger Ailes made inappropriate sexual comments, wanted to see her in bras, tried to kiss her and threaten to fire her if she did not comply. She explained Ailes tried to “grab me repeatedly and kiss me on the lips. There was a pattern to his behavior." She said she would be called into his office and he would shut the door. That is when Kelly decided to fight for justice on her behalf and on the behalf of others he allegedly assaulted. Kelly spoke with a law firm that Fox hired to look into the alleged actions. He was let go. If we don't speak up, we can't make a positive change. If Kelly didn't say anything, Ailes could still be running the company. Think of all the women who could have been impacted by his conduct.
Work harder to break the glass ceiling.
As women, we need to power through to break the glass ceiling since executive positions for minorities is scarce. Yes, discrimination is a reality, but we can't view everything from a racial or gender prism. We need to work hard she said because "the best core solution, the best solution for us as we change the structure, is to power through with [a] great work product," she told the Washington Post. We have made many strides for women in the workplace in society. Yet, there is more we can do. Take Kelly's advice and continue to work hard and speak up if needed.
There is a reason people have gravitated toward Kelly over the years. She is clever, motivated and funny--she echoes what it takes to be a successful career woman.
