Arianna Huffington, the Editor in Chief and co founder of the Huffington Post, has led quite an inspiring life. With no real motivational force as a child and growing in the midst of women, Arianna’s life choices started forming at the young age of 11. Witnessing the divorce of her parents at the age of 11, Arianna realised early on that if she had to get ahead in life and she had to do it alone. Being brought up by an extremely strong mother and sister, Huffington decided early on that education was what she needed to get successful in life. With English being a language with which she was not well versed, Huffington had to work twice as hard as the other children around her.

The next five years saw Huffington’s journey solidify to the University of Cambridge. Through all the mockery and all the negative feedback, Huffington and her mother worked day and night to ensure Huffington’s dreams came true, no matter what! Their hard work paid off and at the age of 16, Arianna was granted admission into one of the most prestigious colleges at the time. Her admission to the University of Cambridge was perhaps the move which redefined the way she lived her life. Every choice she made and every decision she took after, set the ball rolling for Arianna Huffington. Being a woman in the public eye and responsible for founding the extremely successful Huffington Post, Huffington has a lot to teach people around her. Here’s looking at some truly inspiring life lessons from the woman who broke all barriers and became a true inspiration:

1. Great creativity doesn’t come from burnout

Picture credits: The B Team

Sleep as a necessity came to Huffington when she fainted out of exhaustion in the year 2007. She fainted and had such a bad fall, she broke her cheek bone and had to get four stitches on her right eye. All the Huffington Post offices have nap rooms. When Huffington suggested the idea in the beginning, not a lot of people thought it would work. They told her the idea was ridiculous and her employees wouldn’t ever use the rooms. However, a few months later, the idea took off and now, the nap rooms are booked way in advance! According to Huffington, people cannot function during times of constant crisis and that in order to be successfully happy, sleep is extremely important! One of the rules at Huffington Post is, no one is expected to answer emails or calls after work hours and during the weekend. Even a five minute nap can rejuvenate you and at the Huffington Post, this is a rule of life one definitely follows!

2. Failure is the stepping stone to success

Picture credits: cnbc.com

Looking at all the hardships Huffington faced in her life, one important lesson can be learnt. Failure is not the definition of your life, but is, in fact, the stepping stones to success and growth! If you are not willing to fall and learn from what hasn’t happened the way you wanted, then there is no point in trying to grow, right? This was a lesson Huffington learnt from her mother and as a life lesson, this theory stuck with her for the rest of life!

3. Change the rules to win

Picture credits: Inc

Being brought up by women and being surrounded by women all her adult life, Huffington realised early on, the rules had to be different if she was going to succeed. According to Huffington, there are no questions about the multiple barriers women face. However, there are certain changes which are happening and these changes come under the broad umbrella of the third women’s revolution. The first revolution came with women being granted the right to vote. The second was when women were given complete access to education and equal pay. The third women’s revolution is  about changing the world and getting the women to embrace the world, rather than compete against it. Huffington deems the structure of the workplace as being inefficient for both men and women, in terms of the long working hours and the exhaustion due to these working hours. She believes this needs to change and in her words, “Everyone might benefit from a good nap.” Start changing the way you as a woman are perceived not just on the personal front, but also the professional front. Only when this is achieved, can you really start improving the way the world works.

With great power comes great responsibility and as a leader of the times, Arianna Huffington realised this responsibility. If you think we missed out on any other life lessons from the woman who had it all, comment and let us know!