Oct 15, 2020

Naomi Gleit started at Facebook in 2005, working as the assistant to Sean Parker, Facebook's then president. Now she's the vice president of product and social impact, leading the platform's efforts to register people to vote, donate blood, pitch in to causes they care about, and other projects to promote people "doing good. "  She's spent countless hours working directly with Facebook CEO and cofounder Mark Zuckerberg, but one instance in particular sticks out to her. It was when Zuckerberg shared his top life advice. In 2013, Gleit and Zuckerberg volunteered to teach a course on entrepreneurship to a group of middle schoolers in East Palo Alto, California. One of the sessions was specifically on personal growth. Zuckerberg took to the chalkboard and wrote down four rules:  Love yourself  Focus on what you can control For those things, never give up "These lessons I still abide by," she told Business Insider. "They're my own life lessons as well. "  There are two main takeaways. The first is that before you can serve others, you have to accept and take care of yourself. The second is that it's useless to focus on things outside of your control. Only focus on the things you can control in life, and be persistent in your focus on them, Gleit explained. "I just think that's really, really good advice," the executive said. She's applied it to her own life, and it's helped her in her career. "None of this work is easy — being a woman leader in tech at one of the most relevant companies in the world and determining how we can bring the most positive impact globally — but what gets me through even the most challenging days is focusing on the things I can control," she said. Newsletter A selection of our best stories daily based on your reading preferences. Sign up for Insider Select.