Deborah Dunsire, M.D.,
President and CEO of Millennium Pharmaceuticals

-Read a letter by Deborah, about how to sort through opportunities and make good career choices.

Deborah's letter is written to herself in her 30s, when she was regularly presented with different career options and began assuming more responsibility.

Dear Deborah,

    You are well launched on a stimulating career which has been very successful--so this advice may surprise you. But it is terribly important because what I want to say will give you a vital lens through which to look at your life and the decisions you are making.

    Deborah, there is no conventional wisdom for how to proceed in your career. Each of us is utterly different, so our path is-and should be-completely unique. So…how does one decide the best course? Think about what you want your life to look like, the various components of work, family, relationships and more. How do those components come together? What are the things that fulfill you? And-most important-how do you want to make your contribution in each area?

    Here's a mistake you must not make: Don't let work be all-consuming and fit your life into what's left over. Fit work into life. This exercise may help guide you. Imagine yourself at your 80th birthday party. Who will show up? What do you hope they will say about you?

    When you understand yourself in this intimate, penetrating way, decisions about work options become much clearer. You can't go too far wrong if you make your choice knowing how you want to contribute and what you want to contribute. That knowledge becomes an anchor. This approach can be terrifying, because it means turning down some opportunities-opportunities that everybody else thinks are huge. You'll have to be comfortable knowing that someone else will snatch it up. But you will be comfortable--because you'll know that the wrong pathway will only take you further away from what you want your life to stand for.

With confidence in you,

Deborah