Elizabeth Liddy Dole in the Southern Quote

She was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, July 29th, 1934. Her father was a wholesale florist, her mother a stay at home mom. They determined to give little Elizabeth a traditional southern upbringing. She spent her childhood studying the piano and ballet and entering essay contests. Her parents’ instilled in her a rock-solid work ethic based on the habit of appraising your success by evaluating your own personal growth rather than comparing yourself with others.

Likeable Liddy, as she was known in her hometown, was Voted “Most Likely to Succeed” in high school. The highly motivated southerner graduated from Duke University with honors before earning a masters’ in education at Harvard University and a law degree from Harvard Law School. She has fondly mentioned that her Duke University freshman handbook advised coeds to: “Write thank-you notes to your date.” Of course, Liddy did.

Elizabeth was thirty-six years old and serving a seven-year term on the Federal Trade Commission in Washington D.C. when a powerful politician stole her heart. Despite the thirteen year age difference, the policy makers were married several years later, creating one of Washington’s most famous “power couples.”

Despite her best efforts to see her husband win the White House and her own unrealized Presidential race, Elizabeth Liddy Dole, is considered one of the most successful people in Washington. She has served five United States presidents, headed the American Red Cross, and been recognized numerous times by the Gallup Poll as one of the ten most admired women in the world.

In today’s Southern Quote we hear sound advice from the current senator of North Carolina. Senator Elizabeth Liddy Dole once said, “In seeking success you must also seek fulfillment. Ask yourself not only what you want to be, but who you want to be. — Elizabeth Dole