Sheryl Sandberg
For millions, Facebook’s chief
operating offi cer is the model of a
successful woman in corporate
America. After earning her MBA from
Harvard, Sandberg worked for Larry
Summers, the treasury secretary
under President Clinton. She moved
into the burgeoning tech fi eld,
directing sales operations for
Google’s chief operating offi cer.
Then in 2007, Sandberg met
Facebook co-founder Mark
Zuckerberg at a Christmas party—
and her career skyrocketed. Her
best-selling fi rst book, 2013’s Lean
In: Women, Work, and the Will to
Lead, urged women to strive for
leadership roles and break down
gender barriers. Sandberg, 50, has
drawn criticism for her platform’s
controversial algorithms and the
handling of Russia’s use of Facebook
to attack the 2016 presidential
election. When asked what steps
she took in her 20s to become so
successful by her 30s, she told
Business Insider, “I think it really was
about getting on a rocket ship, being
willing to take risks and do
something that I hadn’t done before
like work in technology, and fi nding
the ways to start believing in myself.”
LeBron James
Many observers consider “King James” the greatest basketball player of
all time (though Michael Jordan fans may differ). Raised in the Cleveland
projects, the 6-foot-9 NBA superstar has won four Most Valuable Player
awards, led his teams to three league championships and owns a career
scoring average of 27.2 points per game. James’s endorsement deals,
along with a $35.7 million annual salary, have made him one of the
wealthiest athletes in the world. Known for his philanthropy, James, 34,
last year opened a school for at-risk kids in Akron, Ohio. In a 2018
interview, the King was asked what advice he’d give his teenage self. His
answer was this: nothing. “I don’t want advice, and the reason I don’t
want advice is because every experience is a teacher,” James said. “All
the experiences that I’ve had along the way since I became known at 15,
all the way to my age now. There’s been bumps, there’s been bruises,
there’s been good, there’s been bad, there’s been obstacles, but I’ve
learned how to deal with them because I experienced them . . . I could
tell you guys, I could try to coach you guys, and me being a parent, that’s
what I’m doing with my kids right now. I could give them the blueprint, but
at the end of the day, they’re going to have to travel their own road.”