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Elaine Welteroth Shares How to Take Charge of Your Mission in Life

Former Teen Vogue editor-turned-activist and social media influencer Elaine Welteroth sat down with Arianna Huffington to chat about everything from bravely exiting life as she knew it to what she wants to teach her generation in the latest Thrive Global Podcast with iHeartRadio.

After securing a position as the beauty and style editor at Ebony magazine out of college, Welteroth went on to become the youngest ever editor-in-chief in the 107-year history of Condé Nast at Teen Vogue. The fashion-forward activist, who was just 29 at the time, helped contribute to the magazine’s socially conscious growth and created the Teen Vogue Summit, an event that takes "socially conscious, civically engaged, career-focused" Teen Vogue readers and allows them to meet and forge friendships and businesses.

Her decision to leave the magazine, she told Huffington, was a difficult one, and she leaned on mentor Ava DuVernay to help her ultimately decide.

“She just said, ‘I think that the universe is calling you to be a little bit braver right now,’” Welteroth recalled of their conversation, explaining that she had been going back and forth on different pros and cons. “When she said that, immediately the thing that I was, like, grappling with, felt like it was like a non-decision. There was no decision to make. The decision had been made. I need to fly. I need to be free. I need to jump, and I need to take a bet on myself.”

Welteroth, who has since signed with CAA and been busy working on a multitude of projects including TV writing for Grown-ish, added that she also listened to her instincts.

“I had a bigger dream that was blossoming, and I had the courage to take a leap and go for it, and so I think there’s no better feeling than to be right where you’re supposed to be,” she shared. “Oprah has this quote that your purpose, or if you can align your passion with your purpose, no one can stop you, and I’ve always used that as sort of a guiding mantra for my career.”

The editor-turned-activist also took questions from the audience during a Q&A portion of their hour-long Thrive podcast chat and further expressed how one can realize the right time in their career to move on.

“I think if you feel like your work is done, your mission is accomplished, whether you have external validation of that or not, or you feel like your mission can not be accomplished, and you’ve done everything you can to try but it just won’t work in that space, give yourself permission to move on," Welteroth concluded. "Because if you don’t, you’re doing yourself a disservice and you’re doing a disservice to all the people that you will impact who are counting on you to be brave enough to take a leap.”

Listen to Welteroth and Huffington’s full conversation in the audio above to learn more, including how to create a healthy work-life balance, how to manage your own social media and even when you know you've found "the one."

The Thrive Global Podcast with iHeartRadio, hosted by Arianna Huffington, where she speaks with notable leaders, celebrities, athletes and influencers to learn how prioritizing well-being — instead of burnout and overwork — has made them happier and more successful. This podcast provides tips, tools and microsteps to transform your life and go from surviving to thriving.

The Thrive Global Podcast is brought to you by Sleep Number.