As long as we are on the topic of overcoming diversity and dealing with failure (see my recent post on Spanx and Failure), I thought I’d share a different angle that resonated strongly with me.
Leon Wieseltier, literary editor of The New Republic, finds himself deeply uncomfortable with the many claims heard by the successful (such as that of Oprah Winfrey in her recent address to the graduating class at Harvard) that “there is no such thing as failure.” The success stories put forth, he suggests, reflect not a triumph of inner resources, but yet another example of the “triumph of outer resources — a common confusion [among people] at the top.”
Wesleyan University student Sarah Koppelkam has wise words for parents on the topic of keeping our female children healthy. Her personal blog entry was picked up and reprinted last month in 
Entrepreneur Sara Blakely transformed $5,000 in savings into a $500 million dollar-a-year company called Spanx, and in so doing revolutionized women’s undergarments in the process. She had never taken a business class in her life, and had never worked in the fashion or retail industries.
