When people watch me on TV they see part of my life. I wanted to let them know the real me behind the scenes. The child who was a concert violinist from the age of six. The young woman who took on the challenge to compete in the Miss America pageant. The television journalist for twenty-five years. The mother of two who, just like most women, struggles to balance work and family.

Gretchen Carlson

Categorized in : Children Mother Real

My hope is that when people read my story, it will inspire them to reach for their goals and not give up. The real story is this: if I can do it, you can too.

Gretchen Carlson

giving-up real people

What drives me nuts is that we have these serial sexual predators, who hired back women whose careers were ruined by men who harassed or assaulted them and they're high profile people, and the next day the media is talking about who's going to rehire them. I'm like, Who cares? Why would they be hirable again? I mean, I'm all for comebacks, but what about the women? Shouldn't we be going back to them first? They had the American dream taken away from them.

Gretchen Carlson

taken dream mean

I felt vindicated that I decided to speak up for not only myself but women all across the nation who've been put down.

Gretchen Carlson

nations felt speak

Trust is the most important aspect of being a journalist. If people don't trust or find you relatable - you will not have success.

Gretchen Carlson

aspect important people

Here we go again. Pandering to the .3 percent of the American population that consider themselves transgender. Now I get to explain this to my 8-year-old, if I just wanted to watch a nice family show with some nice music.

Gretchen Carlson

population nice years

I'm a big believer in always challenging yourself and learning new skills.

Gretchen Carlson

challenge-yourself skills challenges

Self esteem is built from the inside out and that is my inspiring message to all people.

Gretchen Carlson

self-esteem messages people

The first time I was asked whether women can "have it all" was at the Miss America pageant. I said no. I didn't mean that women shouldn't fully pursue their dreams, only that we need to be honest with ourselves.

Gretchen Carlson

dream mean america

If you Google me, you'll find plenty of "dumb blonde" references - even though I graduated with honors from Stanford and studied at Oxford University. I don't let it bother me.

Gretchen Carlson

google dumb oxford

We're not going to fix the sexual harassment epidemic unless we can acknowledge that this is not a women's issue, this is a man's issue. The burden should not be on the shoulders of women only to solve this, because we can't do it alone and it's not fair. We're seeing now the tsunami of all these women coming forward, which is such a blessing. But the tipping point will be when men in the workplace decide to be our allies.

Gretchen Carlson

workplace blessing men

In the Miss America system talent is worth 50 percent of a contestant's points so my mom encouraged me to give it a try. And once I decided to do it, like anything else, I gave it 110 percent.

Gretchen Carlson

mom giving america

My messaging is not just to empower women, it's actually more directed at men because I think it's important for the men on college campuses to hear a women's perspective on how you shouldn't behave in the workplace.

Gretchen Carlson

college men thinking

I felt like it was a sense of duty for me to give these women a voice.

Gretchen Carlson

duty giving

One of my Miss America judges called me a "God-clutcher" way back when because I spoke about my faith being an important part of my life during my interview.

Gretchen Carlson

judging missing america

In our family, at this point,[Sunday School] its not a choice for my kids. It's a duty for us as parents to give them faith as a foundation and hope that when they bemuse older teens and young adults they will choose the same thing for themselves.

Gretchen Carlson

sunday kids school

It is what it is. It, meaning terrorism. Terrorism is what it is.

Gretchen Carlson

it-is-what-it-is terrorism

I've never understood why it's a negative to showcase a talented, smart woman who also happens to be attractive.

Gretchen Carlson

attractive smart negative

The discipline learned from putting in time and effort as a child is a skill and a talent you carry with you for the rest of your life in trying to achieve goals.

Gretchen Carlson

discipline skills children

Through the many struggles in my life, my faith is sometimes the only thing I have to hold onto. God was my only friend.

Gretchen Carlson

struggle sometimes

I learned that I had to work triply hard every time I started a new job in a newsroom to prove my value and worth.

Gretchen Carlson

new-job prove jobs