I was fairly young when I learned to ski and realized I could be pretty good, she said. So I set my sights on going all the way to the Olympics. That… - Bonnie St. John

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I was fairly young when I learned to ski and realized I could be pretty good, she said. So I set my sights on going all the way to the Olympics. That drove me, and gave me a real fire. When I was waiting tables in Colorado, I wasn't just a 'ski bum' – I was making my way to the U.S. team. That big goal made even the little things meaningful. Starting a business is always hard. When I left President Clinton's economic team, I began working as a writer and speaker and got pregnant with my daughter. I no longer had an office in the White House. So I needed to be relentless again, towards another really big goal—to help the best get even better in Corporate America.

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About Bonnie St. John

Bonnie St. John (born November 7, 1964) is an American former Paralympic skier, author, and public speaker. St. John had her right leg amputated below the knee when she was 5 years old. Despite these challenges, she went on to excel as an athlete, a scholar, a mother and a businesswoman. She is the first African-American to win medals in Winter Paralympic competition as a ski racer, and the first African-American to medal in any paralympic event. St. John earned bronze and silver medals in several alpine skiing events during the 1984 Winter Paralympics. After graduating from Harvard and earning a Rhodes Scholarship, St. John went on to successful corporate career, first in sales with IBM, then as a corporate consultant. She has also written six books, including one each with her daughter Darcy, and her husband, Allen P. Haines.

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Additional quotes by Bonnie St. John

My mother had married an older man, who was retired, so he was home alone with me frequently while my mother was at work," she said. "He used that time to abuse me sexually, from age two until seven. I later learnt he abused my older sister as well.”

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By going through meeting these amazing women who were in these high roles in so many places...they brought their own personality, their femininity, their personality, their quirks to the way they led," says St. John. "And (my daughter) saw, 'Oh wait a minute, so I don't have to become like the men that I see. I should bring my own personality and leadership.' And I think that's one the most important lessons we need to give to the next generation of girls."

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