I’m in the midst of watching the Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix, and I’m quite frankly gob smacked by Martha. Love her or hate her, there is no denying that this woman climbed her way to the top to become the first female self-made billionaire, not once but twice. She may have led with a heavy hand, but one cannot deny her prowess and success.
There were a couple of great quotes that came out of that documentary, one of them being, “The question is not is perfection attainable, but at what cost?” I found this incredibly moving, especially as many of us fall victim to comparison on social media. Martha, by many accounts, was the first to create a curated and crafted idea of perfection, long before social media came onto the scene. She was able to create a facade of incredible strength, beauty, and ease. All the while, her marriage was crumbling, she was, in her own words, “not a very affectionate mom,” and reeling from the reality of stardom.
While she carefully crafted this idea of perfection, once the curtain was pulled back, you saw her for what she really was—human, flawed, real. Part of me wishes she had had permission to be her messy self, but we know that during the '90s that would have never appealed to the masses.
Then began what many coined the “bitch hunt”—the modern-day witch hunt to tear down an incredibly powerful woman. We saw it first with Martha; then we saw the same “bitch hunt” with Gwyneth Paltrow, Sophia Amoruso, Man Repeller, and Emily Weiss from Glossier. And I couldn’t help but wonder why the internet and public love to watch a powerful woman fall from grace. Is it an inherent desire to see perfection crumble? Or do we want to “put them back in their place” when they become too powerful, too loud, too much for the average person to aspire to?
Again, love her or hate her, we cannot deny the empire she built… twice. I personally love Martha Stewart. I think she built an incredible company and showed such amazing resilience when the “bitch hunt” was in full effect.
I still believe you can have it all—not in a delusional, sacrifice-everything-for-perfection mentality, but in the sense that I can keep a beautiful home, make most of our meals and jams, be a present wife and mother, run my business, and take care of myself.
I feel fortunate because I’m not plagued with perfectionism. “Done is better than perfect” has always been my motto. I lead with intuition, doing things that feel aligned with a greater purpose, and try to spend my energy as wisely as possible. I do what I want, when I want (for the most part). Martha is a great example of holding your vision and purpose at the forefront and pursuing your goals your way. She may have made some missteps along the way (she’s human), but her relentless pursuit of greatness was singular. She did it her way, in her own time. Her unyielding dedication to greatness made her the insanely successful woman she is.
We don’t have to emulate Martha to achieve our goals, but she did pave a formulaic path to see how it’s done. Watching the documentary I learned to take the parts you like, leave the rest. Forge a path carved by faith, intuition, and gratitude. Enjoy the journey, and revel in the destination once you feel you’ve arrived.
If you watched it, I would love to hear what you thought about it!
