Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less

Author Tiffany Dufu is essential reading for moms everywhere struggling with perfectionism and finding themselves falling short.
Drop The Ball Tiffany Dufu

Millions of girls only need their fathers to pick up a dustpan for them to aspire to be engineers.

Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less” wastes no time in giving us a much needed shock to the system. A must-read for moms everywhere, the book closely examines the impossible standards women hold themselves to, why we are the way we are, and how we can break free of the self-sabotage. Working moms, stay at home moms, career women, women in relationships. Everyone should read this book.

From grappling with guilt, self-loathing, uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety to the all too familiar feelings of inadequacy, incompetence and of being an imposter,  “Drop the Ball” tells you in no uncertain terms that perfectionism is a myth, and author Tiffany Dufu tells us to let it go. Drop the ball, she says.

Just because you’re better at doing something doesn’t mean you doing it is the most productive use of your time.

Dufu is the Founder & CEO of The Cru, former Chief Leadership officer at Levo and launch team member to Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. She figured out how to manage the conflicting demands of work, parenthood, and her marriage — by letting some of it go. “What you do is less important than the difference you make”, Dufu says. And she’s right.

The reason Dufu’s book resonates so heavily with women everywhere and makes an appearance on the Jobs.mom features list is simple: Dufu is honest, humble, and straightforward about the issues, challenges, and mistakes she made. She minces no words and wastes no time in getting to the point, which is that that you can’t have it all, you don’t need it all, and the pursuit of “it all” is going to ultimately cause you grief. Furthermore, Dufu’s book outlines clear guidance and practical tips and tools that can be applied instead of waxing poetic or spewing philosophical vagaries.

What you do is less important than the difference you make.

“[These] powerful women understood that success in imperfect. What would happen if we all started speaking honestly and openly about our priorities and the choices we make about how we spend our time? How inspiring would it be to the young women in our offices if they saw female executives who don’t pretend to do it all, but are open and honest about the balls they have dropped to get where they are today? Women need to support one another by being honest about the compromises we make and by speaking openly about the help we require from our partners and other support systems.”

Tiffany Dufu’s book is available for purchase on Amazon in Kindle and print format.

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