When I was 24, my boss called me into a meeting, where his boss was the only one seated at the big conference table. They announced that they wanted to promote me to editor. I was dumbstruck. Although I was a responsible, hard worker, I never expected to get such a big job at that point.

Since then, my career path has been paved with pleasant surprises like this. I would define myself as driven, rather than ambitious. I never plotted and planned what my next job would be, but my hard work has generally paid off. I’ve been more like Melanie Griffith in “Working Girl” than Sigourney Weaver.

I’ve also encountered a fair share of bumps along the way. I suffered with an ambitious boss who was ultra-political, and massively untalented; a client who was so threatened by new ideas, she stormed out of an important meeting when she decided I was trying to outshine her, then didn’t renew our contract; a colleague who was a pathological liar.

I haven’t always been a model boss, but I try my best.

If we are the sum of our experiences, I’m satisfied by what I add up to so far…and that it’s all led to the creation of FOF. I’m continually learning, from my twenty and thirty something friends and employees to every single FOF who participates on the site. I hope I can continue to be so blessed for years to come. It’s a joy to be surrounded by people like you.

Geri Brin is the founder of www.faboverfifty.com, where women of substance share their style….