Work/life balance is something people, especially working women, have been struggling to get right for years and years. When Regina Dugan was diagnosed with a life threatening disease, she realized a few things about work and love and relationships.
Regina Dugan is an American businesswoman, inventor, and technology developer. She served as the 19th Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and she was the first women to do so. There she earned a reputation as a motivator and creative thinker leading non-traditional projects.
In March 2012, she left government to take an executive role at Google. Just prior to the acquisition, it was announced that she would create, and lead, the Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group at Google-owned Motorola Mobility. In 2016 she left Google and joined Facebook where she now leads a newly formed team called Building 8.
In this Pop Tech video, Dugan shares her personal story about her most important fight – her fight with cancer, and how the lessons she learned during that battle have shaped her worldview.
Dugan says she learned three things specifically:
“First the doctors said I had a 10 percent chance at survival. And I learned the odds are irrelevant. If it’s possible and it matters, you take the shot and you never give up.”
“Second, if the odds don’t matter, every moment does. Live life big. Don’t be afraid of failure because no one is promised tomorrow. It brings a sense of urgency to everyday.”
“Third, if you want to make a difference in someone’s life, showing up is key.”
Dugan applies these lessons to her work today. She says work is how we make love visible.
View the full video here:
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For further speakers related to the topic of women in technology, check out our Women of Color in STEM top speakers list!
