“I see some people stay in one place because it’s convenient or it’s comfortable. But they’re missing out on their passion.” – Arianna Huffington
One conviction Arianna Huffington holds that catapulted her to become the success she is today is that failure does not matter. Huffington wasn’t, and still isn’t, one to have a plan B.
She approaches life and love with a singular way forward. Having only one plan and no backup has allowed her to focus on achieving her goals without distractions lurking in the corner.
Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington
Arianna Huffington is best known as the founder of The Huffington Post, one of the top news and commentary websites in the United States.
She is also a prolific author, with 15 books to her name, and the founder and CEO of Thrive Global.
Childhood and Early Life
Arianna Huffington was born on July 15, 1950, in Athens, Greece, with the maiden name Arianna Stassinopoulos.
Her parents, Elli and Konstantinos Stassinopoulos, separated when she was very young. Huffington’s father worked as a management consultant and journalist.
Although Huffington remained in touch with her father, she grew up in a tiny one-bedroom apartment with her mother and little sister, Agapi.
Huffington fondly related, during an interview, how she, her sister, and her mother bonded over the meals her mother prepared.
Huffington’s mother loved to cook. She would, on many occasions, delight Huffington and Agapi with meals.
The three would sit at the table, eat, bond over stories, retire to bed, and repeat the same process the following day after school.
Fact: The first website Arianna Huffington hosted was Ariannaonline.com.
Education
Arianna Huffington began school in Athens, Greece but moved to the United Kingdom to study economics at Cambridge University.
Her decision to go to Cambridge was a daring one that pushed her out of her comfort zone. She was only 16 and had never traveled anywhere outside of Greece.
She didn’t know English, nor had any direct connections to people or organizations to help her with her university application. Fortunately, her mother managed to assist.
At Cambridge University, Huffington became president of Cambridge Union, Cambridge’s esteemed debate organization.
She also pursued her master’s in economics at this same university and then later studied briefly in India.
“We take better care of our smartphones than we do of ourselves – the phones are always recharged!” – Arianna Huffington
Early Career
Upon graduation, Huffington moved to London, where she began her writing career. She released her first book, The Female Woman, in 1973.
During this time, Huffington dated Bernard Levin, a famous English journalist. Levin mentored her through the beginning of her writing career until the two broke up in 1980. Huffington then relocated to New York, United States.
In 1981, Huffington published Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend, a biography of Maria Callas, an opera legend.
She then released The Gods of Greece, a book that goes deep into her ethnic roots and ancient myths surrounding the Greece culture. Huffington continued by publishing Picasso: Creator and Destroyer, a biography of Picasso.
Personal Life
Arianna Huffington met her ex-husband Michael Huffington in 1985. The two got married a year later and were blessed with two daughters, Isabella and Christina.
Michael was a secretary within the United States Department of Defense. He later campaigned for a seat as a republican in the United States House of Representatives and won.
In 1994, Michael, with support from Arianna, raced for the United States Senate in California but lost narrowly to Dianne Feinstein. Michael and Arianna divorced in 1997.
Running for California’s Governorship
In 2003, Huffington ran for California’s governorship on an independent ticket. She ran against Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, Huffington withdrew her candidacy to support Gray Davis, a former governor.
She later released a New York bestseller, Pigs at the Trough: How Corporate Greed and Political Corruption are Undermining America.
Founding The Huffington Post
In 2005, Arianna Huffington teamed up with Kenneth Lerer to establish the Huffington Post, an online news website. She served as the editor-in-chief.
Huffington initially founded The Huffington Post as a blogging, liberal news aggregation, and commentary website. Over the years, the site added more coverage on politics, sports, and business.
In 2008, The Huffington Post got ranked the most powerful blog site globally. Today, this website (renamed HuffPost) receives approximately 80 million monthly visits.
Fact: Country music is one of Arianna Huffington’s favorite genres.
As The Huffington Post rose in prominence, Arianna Huffington kept writing and releasing books. In 2007, she published On Becoming Fearless in Love, Work, and Life.
The Huffington Post continued to grow, going so far as to release local editions in Chicago, Denver, and New York by 2008. Today, HuffPost has local and international editions in the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, and Germany.
Huffington sold The Huffington Post to AOL for $315 million in 2011. This acquisition earned Arianna $100 million since she owned 30% equity in her company.
She remained with The Huffington Post as the president and editor-in-chief until 2016, when she departed to establish Thrive Global.
Founding Thrive Global
After resigning from The Huffington Post, Arianna turned to her latest venture, Thrive Global.
She founded this platform to help individuals, communities, and corporations improve their performance through science-backed behavioral change and storytelling.
Huffington’s mission for Thrive Global is to end stress and work burnout. The organization supports and advocates for wellness and fitness for busy people.
“But you have to do what you dream of doing even while you’re afraid.” – Arianna Huffington
Huffington began Thrive Global with $7 million in initial funding. She then received $30 million in a 2017 funding round. Today, Thrive Global is one of the top 50 successful startups worldwide.
The company partners with corporations like SAP, Samsung, and Walmart to advocate for employee wellness programs. Thrive Global has an estimated valuation of $145.9 million.
Through Thrive Global, Huffington advocates for finding a good work-life balance. She encourages individuals to get enough rest, exercise more, meditate, and eat healthily.
Doing so will enable them to be more productive and motivated to chase their professional goals.
Huffington, however, was not always focused on health and wellness. Her shift towards well-being occurred in 2007 after passing out from work exhaustion.
Huffington fainted while making phone calls and responding to work emails. She then began prioritizing wellness, which she maintains is the reason she managed to grow The Huffington Post to become one of the top news platforms in the United States.
“Mainstream media tend to just mouth the conventional wisdom, to see everything through the filter of right and left.” – Arianna Huffington
Other Notable Accomplishments
Huffington served on the board of multiple corporations, including Uber, Onex Corporation, Berggruen Institute, and the Center for Public Integrity.
She also received an honorary degree in 2016 from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
In 2018, Huffington was ranked 77 in the Top 100 Power Women list. She was also named on the Top 50 over 50 list in 2021.
Setbacks and Failures
Huffington views failures as not the opposite of success but rather a bridge that will eventually lead one to triumph. Whenever she fails, she pivots and keeps moving forward.
Arianna’s second book received 37 rejections before getting published in 1978. Huffington cites that she almost gave up after the 25th rejection.
She was broke but gathered the courage to seek out a bank loan. The loan enabled her to endure 12 more refusals. Fortunately, the 38th publisher agreed to publish her book.
Huffington also failed when she launched HuffPost Live, a real-time online broadcasting platform. This venture did not get as much attention as projected.
HuffPost Live was discontinued on March 2016 after the company spent $12 million on the project.
Fact:Â The first website Arianna Huffington hosted was Ariannaonline.com.
Advice From Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington believes taking care of yourself is one of the most important success factors. You don’t want to have an experience like hers.
She once overworked herself so much that she passed out at her desk, waking up hours later to a pool of blood.
Naturally, the above scenario would jolt us into better care of ourselves.
Ariana is a strong believer in getting enough sleep.
Whether you are a high performer or not, You won’t be as effective if you push yourself beyond your limits and deprive yourself of sleep.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you can experience all or some of the following problems.
Lack of Alertness
When your alertness suffers during your day, you could miss out on a great idea or information that can cause you to make a mistake.
Daytime Sleepiness
If you’re sleepy during the day, you will need more energy to perform, and pushing yourself through these times results in less-than-optimal performance.
Therefore, it’s better to get into the habit of getting enough sleep so that you can perform at optimal levels during the day.
Impaired Memory
When you deprive yourself of sleep, your memory is impaired. Your memory is an important part of your performance. Inefficiency can cost you dearly if you forget to complete tasks or miss important steps.
Quality of Life
Suppose you get into the habit of not getting enough sleep. The quality of your life suffers. The long-term effect can be devastating.
Your work performance suffers, which spills into your personal life. As a result, your energy levels and performance drop, which can lead to other problems, such as depression and feeling insecure.
Considering all the problems associated with the lack of sleep, it makes sense to get enough sleep and make that one of your priorities to becoming successful and living a happier life.
One of the attributes of success is having a balanced life. But, unfortunately, without enough sleep, your life is unbalanced.
Arianna Huffington
1950:
Arianna Huffington is born in Athens, Greece.
1966:
Huffington moves to Great Britain, where she pursues economics at the University of Cambridge.
1971:
Huffington gets featured in a Face the Music edition alongside Bernard Levin.
1973:
Huffington publishes her first book, The Female Woman.
1978:
Huffington publishes her second book, After Reason.
1980:
Huffington relocates to New York, United States.
1981:
Huffington releases a biography of Maria Callas, Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend.
1985:
Huffington meets Michael Huffington.
1986:
Arianna Huffington marries Michael Huffington.
1994:
Huffington works to support her husband during his campaign for the US Senate seat.
1996:
Huffington publishes a biography of Picasso, Picasso: Creator and Destroyer.
1997:
Arianna and Michael Huffington get divorced.
2003:
Arianna Huffington runs for California’s governorship on an independent ticket but withdraws her candidacy later.
2005:
Huffington launches The Huffington Post website and serves as co-founder and editor-in-chief.
2007:
Huffington publishes On Becoming Fearless in Love, Work, and Life.
2008:
The Huffington Post gets ranked one of the most powerful blog websites in the world. Huffington publishes another book, Right is Wrong.
2010:
Huffington releases another book, Third World America.
2011:
Huffington sells The Huffington Post for $315 million. She remains with the company as president and editor-in-chief.
2014:
Huffington releases another book, Thrive.
2016:
Huffington launches Thrive Global and joins Uber. She also publishes another book, The Sleep Revolution.
2019
Huffington leaves Uber’s board of directors to dedicate more time to Thrive Global.
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“It’s no longer an exaggeration to say that middle-class Americans are an endangered species.” – Arianna Huffington
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The information in this post answers many of the questions about Arianna Huffington. This section provides a summary and any additional information.
1. How did Arianna Huffington become successful?
Arianna Huffington founded The Huffington Post in 2005. She then sold this site to AOL for $315 million, during which she made $100 million from her 30% ownership of the company. Huffington credits her success to sleeping enough, eating healthy, and meditating.
2. How many hours does Arianna Huffington sleep?
Huffington gets at least seven hours of sleep. She cited, during an interview, that seven hours are enough for her to stay alert and focused for the rest of her day.
3. How did Arianna Huffington become wealthy?
Arianna Huffington became wealthy after she sold The Huffington Post to AOL. This acquisition made Huffington $100 million. She later founded Thrive Global, which currently has an estimated value of $145.9 million.
Fact: At the age of 23, Arianna Huffington published her first book.
4. Why did Arianna Huffington leave Uber?
Huffington joined Uber’s board of directors in 2016 but stepped down in 2019 to focus more on her startup Thrive Global. She felt that Thrive Global demanded more time and attention, given the company’s exponential growth.
5. What is Arianna Huffington’s leadership style?
Many people describe Huffington to be an intelligent, humble, and authentic leader. She advocates for a good work-life balance and well-being.
Huffington’s ideology for leadership and success differs from how most people approach success. She champions the need for rest, going so far as to provide nap rooms for her employees.
6. Where did Arianna Huffington go to college?
Huffington attended Cambridge University, where she pursued her undergraduate and master’s degree in economics.
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