Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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I've admired Arianna Huffington since before she became a global media maven. I would see her out and about and watch her on the Sunday-morning talk shows as a conservative commentator. I appre- ciated her intelligence and moxie, especially because she was often the sole woman at an all-male roundtable. Later she shifted her politi- cal ideology and in 2005 cofounded The Huffington Post as a liberal answer to The Drudge Report. My esteem further increased when I read Huffington's latest book (her 14th!), Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. Thrive debuted at No. 1 on t he New York Times best - seller list a nd remained there for 19 weeks. It has been published in 24 countries and was recently released in paperback. Not a fan of Lean In, Huffington challenges people to evaluate what success means for them—whether it's the corner office, a fancy car, a big house, an exotic vacation, or more family time—and her book has resonated with readers. Her thesis is that America's definition of suc- cess —money a nd power —ha s led to a n epidem ic of bur nout a nd stress-related illnesses and an erosion in the quality of our relation- ships, family life, and, ironically, careers. In being connected to the world 24/7, we're losing our connection to what truly matters. Her rem- edy? Slow down, sleep more, and for God's sake put down your phone. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Huffington, in addition to cofounding Huff Post, is president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and the author of many books. Her influence is far-reaching. She is a woman of the world, with Boston bright on her radar. "There's so much I love about Boston," she says, "from Walden Pond and Boston Common to the Museum of Fine Arts and all the wonderful universities." Which she knows quite well: Earlier this year, she delivered the keynote address at the Simmons College Leadership Conference. Over the years, she has spoken at Harvard and Tufts, as well as HubSpot's Inbound confer- ence and the Boston Chamber of Commerce. And her prized Huff Post Live general manager Daniel Koh was snapped up to be the chief of staff for Mayor Martin Walsh. She reportedly told him she wouldn't hold it against the city. And we know she won't lose sleep over it. It's been a decade since she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that has quickly become one of the most widely read, linked to, and cited media brands on the Internet. The website was sold to AOL for $315 million in 2011, cementing Huffington's status as one of the most inf luential women in the media world. "I've always loved starting conversations, even in my college room at Cambridge, around food, books, and art. Huff Post was about mov- ing these conversations online," Huffington says. "Even now, to have 850 reporters and journalists, with engineers in soon to be 15 coun- tries, conversation is the model and is still one of my absolute favorite things to do." The Huffington Post has 13 international editions now, with the launch of Huff Post Aust ralia, and a Chinese version is on the horizon—she hopes by the end of the year. China is a challenging market given its restrictions on the media, but Huffington has a plan. "The way we're looking at going into China is to focus on lifestyle," she explains. "There are huge issues in China at the moment about reducing stress and about well-being, all they are going through with t he tech indust r y—fueled by burnout and sleep depr ivat ion. This is one of t he a reas where we have rea l t hought ABSOLUTE arianna Author, entrepreneur, media mogul, and Harvard lecturer Arianna Huffngton is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her game-changing news site by launching in China — and powering down her laptop. by elizabeth thorp photography by daniela federici As editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a prolific best-selling author, and a frequent television commentator, Arianna Huffington could be excused for rushing around like a madwoman. But, in fact, just the opposite is true, as she explains in her new book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. bostoncommon-magazine.com 95