Huma Abedin on the ‘life-changing’ career advice Hillary Clinton gave her

If you’re lucky, you’ll meet someone in your life that you can turn to for advice, comfort and inspiration — for Huma Abedin, that person just happens to be one of the most powerful women in politics.

Abedin was just shy of her 21st birthday when she first met Hillary Clinton in 1996. At the time, she was a White House intern assigned to then-First Lady Clinton’s office. 

After four years in the White House, first as an intern then aide, Abedin, now 46, went on to work as a senior adviser to Clinton during her time as a U.S. senator, as traveling chief of staff for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign and as deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Department of State between 2008 and 2014, when Clinton was Secretary of State. She currently serves as Clinton’s chief of staff.

As demanding as a career in politics can be, Clinton was the first person to tell Abedin that her life “should never be just work,” she told CNBC Make It at the New York Women’s Foundation breakfast earlier this month where she was receiving an award. “She taught me the importance of work-life balance, it’s something that I’ve really been exploring and enjoying these last couple of years.”

That includes spending more time with her son, Jordan, in New York City and exploring new creative pursuits — she published her memoir, “Both/And,” in November 2021.

Early on in Abedin’s career, Clinton gave her a different “life-changing” piece of advice that has stuck with her ever since: “Trust yourself.”

“She told me, ‘Don’t ever let anyone else tell you what to do with your life,'” Abedin recalled. “You have to make choices that you think are best for yourself, no matter what people say around you … ultimately, you need to do whatever you think is right for yourself, and let your values guide your decisions.” 

That advice has helped Abedin be “braver and bolder” in her professional life outside of politics. 

“The biggest career decision I had to make was forcing myself to get out of my comfort zone once I left the White House,” she said. “Forcing myself to do things that I wasn’t sure I was going to be good at — writing a book, public speaking — was hard for me.”

“I didn’t think I would have the eloquence, or courage, to formulate a sentence or speak in front of a crowd. But what I discovered is that I was able to do the things I was scared of and come out the other side, so it’s encouraged me to try more new things.” 

Harnessing her intuition has helped her make better decisions for her career and take risks with confidence, too. “I’ve never made a choice or done something for work that I’ve then regretted,” said Abedin. “It’s always been something that in hindsight, I was like, ‘I’m really glad I tried that.'” 

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