While Shellye Archambeau is an unusually ambitious, disciplined, and focused person, who was also lucky enough to have parents who set big goals for themselves, had strong core values, and also ensured their children were well educated, her success story holds many lessons and insights that you can apply to your own life, whatever your background.

Shellye's story is a compelling one. As I've begun to connect with her on LinkedIn, it is obvious that she practices what she preaches. Though I believe anyone at any stage of their career can benefit from reading this book, I think those in the twenties are especially primed to make the most of its guidance.

I absolutely love this book. And I so wish that I had read this book in my youth. Because of those and many other reasons, I have starred this as one I’ll gift again and again to the young people in my life. What a thoughtful, motivational journey author Shellye Archambeau has outlined. From the constant moving around the country in her youth to her teenage declaration of her career goals and beyond, this is a woman who shows you how to get it done. And following through on the innocent declaration as a young woman—she did in fact realize her dream of becoming a C.E.O. and one of the few leading African American women in the technology sector. More @ https://booksuplift.com/unapologetically-ambitious/

The strategic mind of Shellye Archambeau is unmatched. While everyone else is playing checkers, she is playing chess. Reading about her path to the C-suite is fascinating, as is her unrelenting approach to accomplishing whatever goal she set out for herself.

Archambeau discusses two concepts in her book that really resonated with me. The first one is the idea of making "choices" versus "sacrifices" to achieve the life that you want. Such a simple reframing goes such a long way. We are making certain choices in the now to yield a certain result in the future.

The second is the notion of work/life integration versus work/life balance. It's funny because I have always looked at work and life as two distinct areas that should not intersect. With such ridigity, it's not surprising how it can feel like you have to consciously choose one over the other in a constant seesaw loop. However, finding ways for work and life to exist in tandem seems like a more sustainable method toward achieving happiness in both areas.

In her leadership book, “Unapologetically Ambitious,” Shellye Archambeau shows us how it’s done! In particular, she tells us what it’s like to become one of Silicon Valley's first female African American CEOs … all while being a young black female, a mother, a wife, and someone who’s worked hard to get beyond her imposter syndrome.

In each chapter, Shellye shares a roadmap for how we can strategically make a plan to reach our goals in business and at home. I love that she shows us, through her own experience, how it’s possible to break glass ceilings. It IS possible to put our eye on the prize and put ourselves out there to achieve success on our own terms. We CAN have it all. But we just have to understand our values, prioritize our family, put our financial house in order and put self-care on the top of our list!

This is a great read for young women who are coming up in the business and entrepreneurial world. This is a terrific blueprint for success!

Special thanks to the Grand Central Publishing, via NetGalley, for an electronic copy in exchange for my review.

I tore through the book in a couple of days.

The foreword from noted Venture Capitalist Ben Horowitz hooked me from the beginning, when he talked about how Archambeau took on a very difficult CEO role BECAUSE OF the challenge. I expected to learn a lot about her discipline, her approach to making and following through on plans and other CEO-type advice. And I found a lot of good advice, the kind you'd expect from someone as successful at breaking down barriers and achieving goals as Archambeau.

But I also found it to be a much more personal read, a thoughtful memoir She talks extensively about her marriage and how her husband supported her career. She shares many moment from her childhood and from her own parenting. The way she is always reflecting her longterm goals and short term tactics while focusing on both family and career is inspiring.

This is that rare book that could double as a "professional development" read and a beach read. It's that helpful and that fun.