Following your own path means taking risks. Maybe they’ll work out, maybe they won’t. When I decided to leave CNN for CNBC, I made an appointment to see my boss, Lou Dobbs, and tell him the news. He gave me a hard look and said, “Maria, you are making the biggest mistake of your life.” What Lou was telling me was that he believed in me. He also believed in CNN as the best place with the most opportunities for my future. At the time CNBC was an upstart, and I’m sure Lou felt I was short-circuiting my career. It’s easy to see that an opinion like that from a person you respect could send you spinning. But I had to trust myself and be willing to take my knocks if it didn’t work out. It occurred to me then that Lou might be right. But I also understood that if I made decisions based on fear of failure, I would never get what I wanted in life. My taking the CNBC job wasn’t a reckless act, but a decision firmly grounded on two factors: one, knowing what I wanted; and two, realizing that if it didn’t work out, I could dust myself off and try another way.

~ Maria Bartiromo