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“I told you so!”GOT A LIFE DREAM? HERE, FIVEWOMEN WHO PURSUED THEIRS ATTOP SPEED TELL YOU HOW TO NEVER TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.

BY MARYELLEN GORDONPHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN SKOW

EMMA GARDNER | 37 | COFOUNDER,EMMA GARDNER DESIGN, A RUG COMPANY

HER DREAM “I was working at a job I likedand was good at [Gardner was a Web siteeditor]. But when I got pregnant with my first child, I thought, if I’m going to be away from her to work, it’s got to be for something that really matters to me.”

HER NAYSAYERS “I’d just gotten my first rugsamples made when 9/11 happened.People said, ‘The economy is crap; noone’s thinking about decorating. And what do you know about rugs?’ ”

HER “I TOLD YOU SO” MOMENT “We’re seeingreal results this year—the press has beengreat; our rugs are sold in 24 differentshowrooms, and we’ve launched two newlines! To make it at something like this,you have to be committed to what you’redoing and be sure that it’s right for you.”

“Don’t hesitate!You have to do what you findfulfillıng.”

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FANTASIA | 20 | WINNER, AMERICAN IDOL

HER DREAM “I was a single mother at 17, andeven with a big belly, I never stoppedsinging. I was singing after I had my daughter,in churches, at weddings. Then I decided to try out for American Idol. I wanted peopleto hear my music.”

HER NAYSAYERS “Everyone gave me this looklike, ‘What? You were a teen mother. Howcan you be an Idol?’ And while I was on theshow, people were still saying, ‘Well, she’smade it this far, but she’s not going to win.’They thought that because I was an unwedmother, I would not be accepted.“

HER “I TOLD YOU SO” MOMENT “The more Iheard the negatives, the more I strived. And when I was one of the last two singerson the show, I’d sometimes laugh when I was up on stage because I’d think of allthose people who doubted me.”

“When I won, Ithought, I dıd it,even though yousaid I couldn’t!”

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“Even if no else is onyour side, you can havethe will to accomplish,to be empowered.”

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LORI FLORES | 21 | COLLEGE STUDENT, THE FIRSTWOMAN IN HER FAMILY TO ATTEND COLLEGE

HER DREAM “I love learning. I wanted to go to a collegeaway from home that would challenge me. I applied to Yale in secret, knowing my dad wouldn’t approve.”

HER NAYSAYERS “The community I come from is largelyMexican-American, and sometimes in that culture,girls are not supposed to go on to higher levels ofeducation. When I told my father I got accepted toYale, he said, ‘If you go, I never want to see you again.’He didn’t speak to me for nearly a year.”

HER “I TOLD YOU SO” MOMENT “At the end of my freshman year I went home. My father started aconversation; he admitted that nothing bad had happened to me while I was away and that I seemed really happy. He’s proud of me. Andnow I’m going to get my Ph.D., concentrating onLatino history, so that I can teach others about itand especially about the role women have played.”

PATRICIA HOGAN | 39 | EQUINE SURGEON(FOR PATIENTS LIKE SMARTY JONES, AT LEFT)

HER DREAM “I wanted to be a veterinarian andwas interested in equine surgery. It’s notori-ously an all-boys’ club, but I knew I cared andthat I could be a good surgeon.”

HER NAYSAYERS “People felt women couldn’tpossibly handle horses and understand the physics and geometry of orthopedics[Hogan’s specialty]. A senior person in surgery where I did my residency told me I wouldn’t last a year.”

HER “I TOLD YOU SO” MOMENT “I got a call fromJohn Servis, a [horse] trainer. One of his horseshad had an accident—he’d fractured his skulland needed emergency eye removal. It wasSmarty Jones (winner of this year’s KentuckyDerby and Preakness races). I saved his eye andtreated him. He came around. What was great is that some of the unsupportive people fromthe past called to say they were proud.”

“Follow yourinstincts. Be atrailblazer. Andnever give up.”

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ELISABETH HASSELBECK | 27 |COHOST, THE VIEW

HER DREAM “I heard they were looking for someone for The View, so I called myagent and said I’d really like to do this.She got me a phone interview with twoof the producers. At the end of our con-versation, they told me I could come toNew York for two days to give it a shot.”

HER NAYSAYERS “I could feel that peoplethought I’d somehow cheated to go frombeing on Survivor: Australian Outbackto The View. No, I’m not a journalist andI didn’t study television like the rest ofthe cast, but I’ve never done anythingwithout working my tail off to do it well.”

HER “I TOLD YOU SO” MOMENT “Every morningbefore I leave backstage, I have a StuartSmalley moment: I say to myself, you’refine; you don’t have to prove anything. I know I won’t let my cohosts down.”

“I was nervouswhen I got thisjob, but you can’tlet fear of failureparalyze you.”

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