Speaker Pelosi Has a Conversation with Mika Brzezinski

Is there an app that you can't live without? And that is our answer. Do you use emojis? I use hearts. I have a lot to do with food. What is the first place you went to when you were vaccinated? Oh, I haven't been anyplace. I'm going to say something and you think of one word that comes to mind. Millennials. Joy to the world. Do you like being called grandma? Mimi is my name. Retirement. What's that? Exactly. Some rapid fire questions I did with Nancy Pelosi at the end of our interview. She was so much fun. She was so genuine. I spoke with the house speaker ahead of her selection to be part of the inaugural 50 over 50. By the way, we don't I don't like talking about I arranged those flowers. No, you did not. I just wanted to be just right. Those are California wildflowers. She loved them. They were I mean, this was like a work of art. We had an all female photography team at Forbes headed up by Robin Selman and artists were involved. And this was a big deal. And it was beautiful. And she loved it. She kept telling us amazing stories. It was an incredible day. And the list spotlights the diverse voices and work of female entrepreneurs and leaders who are well over the age of 50. Here's my conversation with Speaker Pelosi, who became America's first female speaker of the house at the age of 66. I'm wondering if you could dig deep and think about yourself. And I know you got into politics at maybe 47. Well, I came to Congress. I ran 46 was 46. Okay. So even before that, yeah. And you had five children. When you were a younger woman, did you? Did you have an imagination? Did you imagine your career after 50? No, I didn't. I certainly did not involve. I had no interest or idea that I would run for public office. I was doing what I love to do. Being a mom, I just loved that. And so as that was coming to its, shall we say, they were going away to college and the rest. I was interested in doing something. I had a lot of energy. I don't know whether I attributed to being Italian American or the family I was from. Or just a woman. Just a mom who has had so much, shall we say, multitasking to do. But I knew that I would be doing something because I just had all this energy and motivation. My motivation, my why to do anything sprang from being a mom. Because my five children, my husband and I, Paul and I, one in five children in America lives in poverty, goes to sleep hungry at night. So that was really sort of my motivation. So maybe Nancy Pelosi at 25, what did you picture yourself to be doing in your 50s? And how does that picture compare with the reality where you are now, well after 50? You know, I didn't really even look that far forward. I didn't either. I think that's half the reason why we're having these conversations. Because a think about their careers after 50, 60, or 70. And perhaps, perhaps they should. Well I think the world has changed in terms of possibilities for women. Thanks to people like you. Who, well as an example, you as an example and a motivator in so many ways. But I remember thinking when I was young that my mother should have been in my time. Because she could do so many things. But she was so curtailed by her generation, by my father really even. And of course that went by the by, right? And families now, people recognize that their daughters, their sisters, their moms, their wives can do whatever they want. I know that your greatest accomplishment is your five incredible kids. So putting them aside just for a moment, what would you consider your greatest accomplishment over the age of 50? Well I don't think anything compares with the Affordable Care Act. That was because it enabled millions of people to have access to quality affordable care. And again for families and for the children. And not only 20 million more, but also families to have better benefits at lower cost, more accessible, more affordable. So nothing to compare to that. I consider it a pillar. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Affordable Care Act. So you've spent some time in the past few years standing up to power. Especially to a president. And I'm wondering are there ways in which you feel more empowered at this stage of your life? How can I say this? First of all, I'm excited to have this conversation with you because what it means to other women and to younger women. Because you don't know what's coming next. And I always say to young women, be ready. Just be ready. Take inventory of who you are and what you have inside of you and what you have done. Give yourself a gold star for being the unique person that you are. And so when the challenge is there, you'll be ready. And of course, little did we know that the challenge would be such a horrible devastation to our country. But nonetheless, I was ready. You were ready and you stepped right up. And that's a great message for young women who kind of feel like, oh, what am I doing? I feel like my career is stalling or I'm not doing enough. Every day of your life, you're practicing for that moment where you may need to be ready. Well, it's true. And I always say to people, know your why. Know why you are following the career that you are or the pursuit that you may have in the community. Whether it's education, saving the planet, social and economic justice, and whatever it happens to be. Know your why. Know your what. Know about it so that people will ask your opinion and respect your judgment because you know about it. And then show people how you would get things done. Your why, your what, your how. And when that happens, your genuine commitment will attract people. You'll be a leader. But again, don't underestimate it. Just, you know, you say it so beautifully. Know your value. That says it all. I think women, that's the one key that kind of gives them that. It does. And the word that I would say if I could give every woman something, it would be confidence. Just be confident in who you are. Authentically you. So I'm wondering if there was a moment in your career after it started, the political career, where you might have given up or almost gave up and what that was? No, I didn't have a moment of giving up because my expectations were not whatever I was doing at the time was what I was there to do. It was valuable. It was valuable. And so that does, I hope that doesn't sound overconfident about things. But no, it's like this is, this is what this is. Lessons learned. No, I, when I lost, I lost a race for, you may not know this because I don't know if you were born yet, but I lost a race for a national chairman. It was the best thing that ever happened to me because I learned so much from what the possibilities are. To young women, you don't know what's around the corner. So just be confident in who you are, know your subject so that people respect your judgment and, and that you have a plan. You have a vision and you have a plan. You will succeed. What is your message for women in their twenties and thirties who feel that they're in a rush, that they have a lot to get done. They need to have kids. They need to keep their career on track. What do you say to those women who feel so rushed? Well, my first message to them always is be yourself. Just be yourself. Take stock of who you are and then understand this. You're going to do the best you can. It's not always the best you know how, because you won't control all the factors of it, but don't make any judgment about yourself because you didn't do the best you knew how. But what about to the women starting out in their twenties and thirties who feel like they have to get everything accomplished now? The timing of life's timing is, is a gift that we all receive. Women just have to make their decisions. Decisions are the most liberating acts you can make. You decide, decide I'm going to start my family or decide I'm going to go start my career and then come back to that. It's hard to do both at once, but it's very possible. I have four daughters who are professionals. They had their families and their careers at the same time, but that was their decision. And don't worry. Here's, I guess, my simpler message would be your path is your path. Don't worry about following somebody else's path. What it, what it will have its own natural tempo. And it's challenging. You know, it is challenging to, uh, to multitask all the time with family and the rest. People tell me that's the hardest thing for them is how do they allocate their time? I love the fact that this list really tells young women that there is a long runway for you and life can interrupt your career and your career can interrupt your life and it's okay. It's okay. And all of these interruptions are enhancements. That's right. So see it as an opportunity and as a plus. Now they asked me if I ruled the world, what one thing would I do? If I ruled the world, um, I would educate girls and women in the whole world because nothing is more important than the full involvement of women in decision making in our society, whether it's a governmental education, uh, military, corporate America, or the world, than to have women involved. So, uh, my message to young women would be know your power, be confident, and understand that nothing is more important than you fulfilling your role, whatever that may be. And, um, nothing for politics, nothing is more wholesome than the increased participation and leadership of women in government and in politics. So when you're thinking about whether you should do this or not, know that it is necessary that you do it. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and I just have to say that was the most inspirational interview I've ever done. Uh, she was amazing and the story does not end here. Tomorrow, we're going to tell you what's next for 50 over 50 along with Forbes.