So

I almost hesitate to ask our next question because you've probably already been asked it a million times. But if you were giving advice to young women just starting in their careers, what's some of the best advice

you would give to them? I've been asked this question a lot. I'm going to give you a couple of things that I think are really important. So John Rogers gave me one, which I think is really important. He always told me, don't make any important decision based upon money. And that sounds crazy coming from someone who manages money. But he said, I've seen so many people make life decisions based upon nickels and dimes. And he's like, you make decisions, you know, I've seen them leave jobs based upon a $10,000 raise somewhere in a place that they won't like as much with people who don't care about them. And, you know, if you've got a good thing, don't nickel and dime yourself. Try to make decisions that are based upon bigger life goals as opposed to, you know, the gives and takes. My mom said something similar. I was buying my first apartment. I was 25 years old. It was in Chicago. It was $135,000. And this was like a million to me. I made $35,000 a year working at Ariel when I graduated from college. And I just remember, like, I kept calling my mom and I was like, I'm trying to get her down to 120. And I was, you know, really, you know, I'm on my like, I'm going to negotiate the hell out of this thing, right? And my mom, who didn't go to college, who, you know, made the financial decisions I told you about, she was super practical. And she said to me, she's like, Melody, you're 25 years old. If you lose $10,000 on your first home, it won't matter. What are you doing? And like in a practical application of what she said at 25, and I was hopefully going to live to maybe 95, hopefully. I don't know. She wasn't wrong, right? You know, on the margin, the absolute dollars were de minimis with the lifetime of earnings that I hopefully could expect. You know, that was just very practical, not nickel diving yourself and not, you know, walking away from something over, you know, five grand. It just didn't make sense when I was 25. So that one was one that I just give you. Don't make big, important decisions over money. I know that sounds weird, but it really, I really do believe that John is right about that. The second piece came from my mother and she just said, make yourself indispensable. Make yourself a person. Every single person wants you on their team and they cannot live without you. And I want those people working with me. And I absolutely, but she's like, if you're indispensable, you'll never lose a job. And for John, the son rose and sat around him. Whatever he needed or want, I was available and ready to go. And I kept saying, in my 20s, he owns my time. If I'm successful in my 30s and 40s, I'm going to control my own time. And I said, in my 20s, I have no responsibilities. I have no children. I have no spouse. I can actually live like this. And I'm going to do it so that later I have the ability to control. And that was something that was very, very, very useful to me. So I told the story about John coming to the office one day and asking me to write a thank you note for a birthday party his daughter went to. And I said, I need to talk to her. And he was like, what? She was like eight. And I said, well, I need to know about the party because I'm going to write the best thank you note they've ever seen. And that's, and I was enthusiastic about it. I wasn't like, why is he asking me to write this personal thank you note? But I really, I wanted him. I said, if John looks good, Ariel looks good. And if he looks good and I made him look good, then I'm going to look good to him. For

our last question, I'd love to hear about your thoughts on legacy, Melody. When you reflect on what you've accomplished so far, what you'd like to accomplish in the future, what do you want your legacy to be? I

heard someone say that the only people who are going to remember you at best are your great-grandchildren. Like after that, even in your own family, you will be forgotten. And I started to think about that. Like, I don't know anything about my great-grandfather or great-grandmother. And I was like, wow, that is profound. Like, you know, we're all talking about legacy and all these things, but it's very rare that you sort of break through even in your own family. So I think about, for me, it's not about what I'm remembered for, but what I do while I'm on this earth. And what I want to do while I'm on this earth is do my very, very best to do two things. Have my daughter turn out okay, which I think is my number one job. She is obviously my legacy, but okay, meaning she's a solid citizen who's happy and as, you know, pursues happiness. I can't make her happy and is, you know, hasn't been hopefully harmed by me in terms of, you know, psychologically or otherwise. And has the world put in some context for her because it's a scary world, right? Yeah. And not to live in fear of this world. So that's number one, her. Number two is doing what I can to help the other hers. And what I mean by that is, you know, I do believe Everest will be fine, but I think a lot of people won't. And I have a job to do to help them. And I take that very seriously. They are in my firm, making sure that I work for them. I tell people I work for my clients and I work for the people people who work at Ariel equally. And they're counting on me and I'm counting on them. And our clients are counting on all of us. But then also that in the broader society, I have left nothing on the field that I had given everything I have to making good on all that life gave me, which is more than I ever could have imagined. Well,

Melody, we have loved talking with you today. Congratulations on the book. Congratulations on your fabulous career so far. Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to be with us today.

Thank you for having me. I'm so grateful.

Thanks, Melody.