Does Having Babies Kill Your Career

So have you heard it? Having babies kills your focus. Hedge fund Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones has reportedly said that having babies kills the focus for women in the trading industry. Macro trading, a male-dominated, highly competitive industry, requires a lot of focus and drive. Tudor Jones said once kids enter your lives, your focus isn't as single minded. So you are less likely to achieve the same level of success as before you were a mom. Does this only pertain to this specific industry? Can having kids kill your career?

Of course, I'm not in the macro industry. And yes, maybe you need to be extremely focused in that career. There are plenty of careers where you need to be focused, driven, and motivated. To say you can't do that and have kids is just wrong.

So maybe your job isn't your priority as it was before... then again, I don't think your career should be so much your priority that you lose yourself in it. So kids or no kids, if you're working 70 or 80 hours a week, napping in your office (assuming you have 15 minutes to do so), and living to work, it's not benefiting you. You may end up sad, depressed, unhappy, lonely, exhausted, unhealthy, and alone. No one wants to live that way.

When I became pregnant, my first thought was Oh my gosh. My career. Everything I've worked so hard for just went out the window. These thoughts consumed me. I had spent so much time trying to figure out what I wanted to do and had finally found it (so I thought), that I didn't want having a baby to ruin it. Boy, was I wrong.

My baby catapulted my career. I started a company serving single moms because of him. If I never became a single mom, It would have never occurred to me to start a company specifically designed for single moms. He makes me more focused and determined. He motivates me to do more, be more, and achieve more. I want to give him more, teach him better, and grow so he can grow too.

I think many moms feel that way. We want more for our kids. We see the possibilities and opportunities. So no matter what industry you're in (even the male dominated, highly competitive ones) babies can catapult your career. You may not be single focused, but you are now more narrowly focused on what really matters and how to get what you want.

Babies can increase your drive and perseverance. They bring care, love, and concern into your world like you've never imagined. They motivate you to get up in the morning or make you get up because they are your new alarm clock setting. They teach you about yourself, others, and life, making you a more well-rounded person and helping you truly see things.

Babies may alter your focus, and that's a good thing. Babies push you to be better, fulfilled, and empowered, which allow you to achieve greater success than you even imagined before. So, take that Paul Tudor Jones!