There have been times when I chose not to. 我自己也有好几次选择了说“不”。

In the summer of 2006, a tiny start-up called LinkedIn was looking for a new CEO, and Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn's founder, reached out to me. 2006年夏天，当时规模还很小的初创公司LinkedIn需要找一位首席执行官，公司创始人里德·霍夫曼对我发出了邀请。

I thought it was a great opportunity, and after five years in the same position at Google I was ready for a new challenge. 我认为这是个绝佳的机会，而且在谷歌工作了5年后，我也已经准备好迎接新的挑战。

But the timing was tricky. I was thirty-seven years old and wanted to have a second child. 但那时正赶上我准备要第二个孩子的备孕期。

I told Reid the truth: regrettably, I had to pass because I didn't think I could handle both a pregnancy and a new job. 于是，我对霍夫曼如实相告，拒绝了这个工作机会，因为我认为自己无法同时应付怀孕和新工作。

His reaction was incredibly kind and supportive. 他的反应相当宽容，也对我的选择表示理解。

He tried to talk me into it, even volunteering to work full-time at the company to support me during that period, but it was hard to see a path through. 他甚至提出在我休假期间代理我的工作以示支持，但我还是觉得事情很难解决。

For some women, pregnancy does not slow them down at all, but rather serves to focus them and provides a firm deadline to work toward. 对一些女人来说，怀孕完全不会让她们放慢事业上的脚步，反倒会让她们顶着一个“最后期限”，更为关注地工作。

My childhood friend Elise Scheck looks back fondly on being pregnant, saying she has never felt so productive. 我的童年好友埃丽泽·舍克十分怀念怀孕的日子，她说自己从来就没有那么高效过。

She not only worked her usual hours as an attorney but organized her house and put five years of photos into albums. 她不仅保证了身为律师的日常工作时间，还把5年以来拍摄的照片都整理好，一一放进了相框。

For others, like me, pregnancy is very difficult, making it impossible to be as effective as normal. 对一些人来说，比如我，怀孕的日子就相当难过，完全不可能像平时那样高效工作。