"If I lean in any farther, I'm going to fall over."

I am the first person to tell you I'm not conventionally business minded. I am TERRIBLE at figuring out the corporate world of censored emotions, false candor, lack of empathy, politics, backbiting, gossip, strategic alliances for personal gain etc... This certainly put me at a disadvantage when it came to understanding the mindset of certain people and how to plan my career. I have spent a lot of time reading about alternate definitions of success and the highly visible leaders who subscribe. One of my perennial favorites is Arianna Huffington. In my opinion, she gets it and she dedicates much of her career to surrounding herself with like minded people. I truly respect that. She decided that the mold wasn't working for her goals, health, family and decided to do something about it.

There is a great term I learned this week: moral turpitude. I believe that people who embody the above stated generalization, suffer from moral turpitude. Nobody is born, minus a few vile serial killers and the like, scheming to hurt others for their own gain. When did we become a society wearing blinders and ear plugs? We are an incredibly intelligent and forward thinking lot... When our health suffers, our stress levels rise, our families are breaking, our time to give back disappears.... isn't it time to change something? Everything?

Here is a little excerpt from Ms. Huffington's write up of her first-ever women's conference, "The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money & Power". The focus of the conference, hosted by HuffPost UK, was to discuss a more sustainable definition of success, one that includes well-being, wisdom, and our ability to wonder and to give back.

John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, talked about the need for... love:

We can't solve the problems at the consciousness we're currently at. We need our leaders to release love. Love is in the closet. And we all know women on average have a much higher emotional, spiritual and social intelligence than men do. Men's metaphors for corporations are primarily war metaphors, sports metaphors, and Darwinian metaphors -- survival of the fittest. Those are antithetical to having love in the culture. So, if love is going to come out of the corporate closet, it's going to have to be women who release it.

Katie Couric on being 'in the moment': "If we took a little more time to be in the moment and talk about real things, our life would be so much better."

Jill Abramson on perspective: "I was hit by a big angry white truck in Times Square... an accident like that will put things into big bold perspective for you."

Padmasree Warrior on hiring and promoting: "We never say we want people who are empathetic, who are creative, who are good listeners. And I think we need to change that."

Rebecca Miller on change: "If the whole system doesn't change a little, then our daughters and granddaughters will still be having the same conversations... As women rise to the top we need to begin to create workplaces that are actually different."

Valerie Jarrett on 'having it all': "You can have it all, but you can't have it all at the same time."

Mark Bertolini on balancing life and work: "When your work defines what your work-life balance is, you've lost control."

Dr. Mark Hyman on stress: "If you really knew what was happening when you're stressed, you'd freak out. It is not pretty."

Dr. Dean Ornish on the impact of stress: "When you're under chronic stress, your life is shorter."

Amishi Jha on multi-tasking: "Multitasking is a myth -- what we actually do is task-switching... Out of all the things our mind does, that switching function is the most depleting."

George Stephanopoulos on meditation: "It's been a lifesaver. I've been meditating for about two years now -- consistently. I did it for reasons that we're discussing now, here -- to manage a frenetic life... I was always overly tired, over-stressed, feeling a kind of, constant low-level impatience, and I didn't like it."

Bill George on men: "The men I know are just as concerned about being caught up in money and power... We want the same opportunities to define a life of meaning and service."

Cindi Leive on 'leaning in': "If I lean in any farther, I'm going to fall over."

Christina Huffington on taking care of yourself: "I know now that I can't go out into the world and help someone else unless I'm taking care of myself."

Tanya Wexler on cheering yourself up: "Imagine your life as a sitcom, and when things start to get bad, just hear that laugh track."

Penny George on integrated medicine: "Integrated medicine really is the Third Metric... We are in trouble with medicine because of the first two metrics."

Zeke Emanuel on cutting health-care costs: "The only way we're going to save money and cut costs is prevention."

John Mackey on which employees to reward: "I tend to promote people who are more spiritually awake... because I know they'll be better leaders."

Bill George on what it takes to be a successful leader: "If you don't have an introspective practice, I don't know how you'll be a successful leader."

Sallie Krawcheck on what sustains her: "How I get through it: I am endlessly grateful."

Sally Osberg on giving back: "Giving back always sounds to me like you're paying a debt. What about just giving?"

Susan Cain on passion: "I would add another element to that Third Metric, and that's passion... and learning how to say no to things that are not in the service of that passion."

Adrian Grenier on success: "It's about humbling myself and asking what can I learn from others."

Cathy Isaacson on the real meaning of success: "When most of us measure the success of our lives, most of us won't ask if we had enough money or enough power."

Mika Brzezinski on our responsibility to each other: "We all need to have a true, honest conversation about not only the challenges we face but how we can help each other."

Tony Schwartz on renewal: "Renewal is not for slackers, renewal is a way to increase your capacity, to be more effective."