Settle For More

Settle For More by Megyn Kelly

340 Pages. 2016

Republican or Democrat...I'm sure you have an immediate opinion about this book before you even pick it up.  I was a bit torn given Kelly's dislike for Trump and her former affiliation with Fox News.  A Liberal Republican maybe?  I wanted to find out!

This book was a gift from my Father.  I had actually been eyeing it up since it's release, and I was interested to see how this was going to pan out.  Would it be a book completely about politics and her hate for Trump?  Or would it be more about her life and the obstacles and hardships that she has gone through to become the successful woman that she is today.  

At the same time, my Mother had started reading it, and called me.  "Go read the first few pages of Megyn's book!  She had the stomach flu and took a medicine that stopped it!"  Now here is something you probably don't know about me...I have a major phobia of the stomach flu.  LIKE ALL ENCOMPASSING MAJOR PHOBIA.  So I was excited to read these first few pages of Megyn's story.  This miracle medicine is something I now carry in my purse at all times...and I will write more about this in the future.  But this was the start of my literary adventure to learn about Kelly and who she really is.

The book starts off with Megyn talking about her childhood and how she grew up.  A loving family, a close relationship to her Mother and Father, parents who were blunt, honest, and encouraged her to speak her truth.  I love how every night at the dinner table her Father would ask "What's the report?" and every child would have their turn to talk about their day.  Most people these days don't eat dinner together let alone actually listen to what their children have to say.

I love that her family was real, raw, affectionate, and didn't appease her to make her feel better about herself.  One of my favorite quotes her Father says to her is "Megyn, I will not lower my vocabulary to meet yours.  You must raise yours to meet mine."  HA! Tell that to you kids these days and see how they react.  I think that this kind of thought process pushes children to become a better version of themselves.  To make them think and want to flourish instead of staying status quo.  

She goes on to talk about the unexpected death of her Father, and how she went to bed angry with him that night.  It is a monumental moment that will stick with her forever... for so much can be learned from such an unfortunate event.  How many times do we go to bed mad at one another?  How many times do we hold grudges and let our pride get the best of us?  Probably way more times than we care to admit.  But when you look at the bigger picture, and how short of time we actually have with our loved ones, these fights and petty arguments are mere blips in our journey.  Megan's appreciation for life and loved ones is something I admire in her.

A major theme that Kelly discusses in this book is bullying.  She was bullied as a teenager, and she was bullied as an adult by Trump.  No matter how old you are, bullying is a horrible thing to go through, and it happens to people all the time.  I have been bullied at many stages of my life, and no matter how confident you may be, or how successful you are, the hurtful words and actions of other people can be very impactful.  It surprised me, being the strong, vocal woman that she portrays on television how she handled these situations.  Sometimes you don't want to make matters worse, and sometimes you just want to try to forget about it and move on.  But just knowing her from Fox, I would have expected a firecracker attack on her end.  

I love that she talks about not being liked by other women, and how she comes across as cold and bitchy.  HEY! That's me!!  It isn't until someone knows me that they can drop their first judgments about me and realize that I'm not the intimidating, cold person they originally thought!  Megyn has to deal with this throughout her life, and finally learns how to be more relatable and more vulnerable with her peers and her fans.    

Megyn Kelly is obviously a very successful journalist.  She goes through some major career changes to get there and a lot of hard work.  What I love most about her is her ability to remain humble and aware that at the end of the day she is just a person.  And no matter how famous you are there are always people who are more famous than you.  I love the quote "However low you are, there is always something to be proud of, and however high you are, there is always something to humble you."  There is always something to celebrate in life, but don't ever think there isn't something to work on either.  

Settle for more is the title of her book, and throughout her life that has become her mantra.  If you are envious of someone else's choices, then you must realize that you have settled for less.  Never settle.  Never think that you aren't worth more, or can't do more.  Settling for more isn't something that ends, or something that is achieved.  It is an evolving process that continues on as we age and as we go through this journey called life.  It is a mindset that we must keep on striving to be better, and do better.  She explains that our goals at twenty are different than at forty or sixty, and so we must continue to challenge ourselves every single day.

Megyn doesn't get to much into politics, but there are a few areas she touches upon.  One being the "Cupcake Nation" that we have morphed into.  "Some in the younger generation today seem determined to shut down any opinions that don't happen to match their own (typically progressive) values.  We are becoming what I have dubbed Cupcake Nation, trying to eliminate offensive or even differing viewpoints and, with them, our grit and resilience."  

YES YES YES... I love her view on this, and I won't delve too much into it.  But we all know these days that many people cannot tolerate thoughts that do not mesh with their own.  Everyone needs to be a winner, everyone needs to be right, everyone needs to have a "safe space."  What is this creating?  What are we teaching our children?  How will they know how to cope in the real world when they grow up?   "When we try to protect the young from any vaguely uncomfortable ideas or encounters, we do them a grave disservice.  Being tested by different viewpoints in my life, being sometimes offended or occasionally hurt, or even targeted, is a big part of what prepared me for the challenges I've faced in my career."  Hardships make us stronger.  Hearing different views makes us more open-minded and cultured.  And sometimes losing teaches us a bigger lesson than winning.

Kelly's chapters on Trump focus more on his personality and character than any of his policies or platforms as a Presidential Candidate (this book came out before he won the Presidency) and I will say that some of it is a bit disturbing.  

All in all I think that Kelly has made some really great points in her book...some made me think, and some even made me cry.  This is a great read for anyone looking to learn more about where she came from, who she is, and what she is all about.  It is interesting to see the politics that happen behind the scenes in journalism, debates, and the media outlets.  Props to her for putting it all out there.  It takes a lot of courage to broadcast your stories to the world!

<3 P.S.

I rated this book 3 stars on Goodreads, but if there were half stars it would be a 3.5.  Easy to read and definitely an inspiring biography.