Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser of US President Donald Trump. Photo / AP
Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser of US President Donald Trump. Photo / AP
Ivanka Trump's latest book has hit the shelves. Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success take a look at Trump's career to date and offers advice on how women can get ahead.
In it, the First Daughter explains how she has built a professional portfolio around her passions, fromreal estate to fashion, and how she combines her work as an entrepreneur and executive with her life as "a wife, mother, daughter, and friend."
In the introduction she writes: "Women Who Work will equip you with the best skills I've learned from some of the amazing people I've met, on subjects such as identifying opportunities, shifting careers smoothly, negotiating, leading teams, starting companies, managing work and family, and helping change the system to make it better for women-now and in the future.
"I hope it will inspire you to redefine success and architect a life that honours your individual passions and priorities, in a way only you can."
The book is out this week, but for anyone who doesn't have time to read its 256 pages, we have summed up what it will teach you about Ivanka...
1. She didn't have a massage during the election
Trump laments that she was so busy during her father Donald's election campaign that she didn't have time for a massage or meditation.
"During extremely high-capacity times, like during the campaign, I went into survival mode: I worked and I was with my family; I didn't do much else," she writes. "Honestly, I wasn't treating myself to a massage or making much time for self-care. I wish I could have awoken early to meditate for 20 minutes and I would have loved to catch up with the friends I hadn't seen in three months, but there just wasn't enough time in the day."
2. She wants to debunk the 'superwoman myth'
Trump says that she wants to post honest photos of her life on Instagram, as she might be "doing women who work a disservice by not owning the reality that, because I've got an infant, I'm in my bathrobe at 7am and there's pureed avocado all over me".
She continues: "I realised that it might be helpful in changing the narrative - even in a small way - to, for example, debunk the superwoman myth by posting a photo that my husband candidly snapped of me digging in the garden with the kids in our backyard, my hair in a messy ponytail, dirt on my cheek."
Trump and her husband Jared Kushner - a senior advisor to Donald Trump - live with their three children in a $5.5 million house in Washington DC. In her book, she explains that she tries to make bedtime special for Arabella, Joseph and Theo by giving them "spa baths." She also has "date nights" with her husband.
4. She doesn't believe in work/life balance
The 35-year-old - whose social media feeds show pictures of her at work, playing with her family and cuddling up to Jared - writes that she doesn't manage a balance in her own life, and doesn't think anyone can.
"I don't and you can't, so I don't even try. Work/life balance simply does not exist. The sooner we accept that is not a feasible goal, the less stressed we'll be."
In her book, Ivanka explains how she works at her real estate and fashion offices: "I start making the rounds at 5:30[pm] to check in and announce that I'm going home as I leave. My team knows that I trust them to make the right decisions about how they allocate their time, and they would never abuse the privilege. They also know to expect e-mails from me at 11pm - and that I don't expect an answer at that hour, unless they, like me, leave early!"
6. She models herself on her mother
"It was my mother, unapologetically feminine in a male industry, who first embodied and defined for me what it meant to be a multidimensional woman-a woman works at all aspects of her life," Trump writes of Donald Trump's first wife, Ivana, who was married to the US President for 15 years. "By example, she taught me to define success on my own terms, to set my own priorities, and to be true to my values."
In an interview with Vanity Fair, while he was still married to Ivana, Donald Trump said: "I would never buy Ivana any decent jewels or pictures. Why give her negotiable assets?"
Ivana Trump pictured in Saint-Tropez, France, in August last year. Photo / Getty
7. She's an obsessive planner
Ivanka has a system of symbols in her diary, colour codes her calendar and reviews it every week. She also includes goals about spending time with her children and family.
"I know this sounds incredibly formulaic, but committing to these relationship goals with each person in my family, when there aren't other issues that are immediately pressing, allows me to put a plan in place for those times during the year when it is more chaotic," she explains.
8. She values her father's advice
In her book, Ivanka talks about a hidden side to the US President. "He's certainly known for having strong opinions," she writes. "What's less known is how he forms them - by asking the people doing the work for their feedback."
