I wasn’t expecting Priyanka Chopra Jonas to get me. Not really.
I was making my smoothie one morning when Priyanka hit me with a line that made me pause the On Purpose with Jay Shetty episode I was listening to, sit up straight, and whisper:
“Has she… sold SaaS before?”
Because suddenly, homegirl started dropping insight after insight that felt straight out of a sales survival manual. Priyanka wasn’t just a global icon or someone married to a Jonas Brother. She was that woman from your old sales team. The one who most def crushed her quota, had clients and partners dropping her name like it was a VIP pass, and once told you to take a sick day and raise your rates.
From confidence to conformity, from ambition to rest (wait—what’s that again?), I found myself nodding, pausing, rewinding. Somewhere between ‘Put confidence in your backpack’ and ‘Support is space, not spectacle,’ I realized: she gets it.
I’m not saying she was in sales. I’m just saying… she gets it. Period.
And that’s when the juices started juicing—what happens when you put two seemingly opposite worlds in the same room? Celebrity meets corporate. Glam meets grit. Turns out, it makes for one super dope read. So here we go.
She said, “Put your confidence in your backpack.”
As I mentioned in a previous article, that one stopped me cold. I mean, I nearly stood up and clapped.
To be clear, she didn’t say you don’t need it. She said you don’t need it all the time. That’s a whole shift because the myth that we have to lead with confidence at all times is exhausting. And misleading. And, clearly, unnecessary.
Some of my best client calls happened when I was not feeling like a boss. I was human, honest, a little unsure, and refusing to pretend I wasn’t. Fake it till you make it was not my go-to. I was more the over-thinker, over-analyzer, over-preparer. Funny enough, that energy built more trust than any pitch deck ever could.
Confidence isn’t your only power move. Your curiosity, your intuition, your ability to pause and listen? Magic lives there, too.
She said, “Sometimes we conform to rules that stop our ability to grow.”
Amen and ouch.
As high-performers in sales and leadership, we’re often told to follow the formula. Say this. Offer that. Don’t rock the boat. Slash and dash… You know, typical in-the-trenches talk.
But what if the formula’s outdated? What if you are the new formula? The truth is, so many of us are over-performing under systems not built for us. We’re adapting to legacy cultures instead of creating spaces that reflect how we actually build trust, connect, and close. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone—and no, you’re not doing it wrong. You’re just outgrowing the box you’ve been placed in.
She said, “You have to rest when you’re tired, not when you’re done.”
And I said: “Why does this feel like a performance review from my future self?”
Burnout is real. Especially for women, and especially for women of color.
We’re working twice as hard to be seen, to be heard, and to stay invited. And sometimes the only person reminding you to rest is a stranger on a podcast. Priyanka might’ve been talking about emotional health. But all I heard was a quota-driven nervous system finally getting some PTO.
She said (paraphrased), ‘Support is space, not spectacle.’
When Priyanka was asked, “What does support look like when you’re busy, driven, and ambitious?” she explained it’s asking, “How can I make that person’s day easier?” And as Jay Shetty summed it up, “it’s about giving space, freedom, appreciation.”
I’m gonna say something that might feel too real: If your people only cheer when you hit a goal—but not while you’re trying to build one—reevaluate.
Women often carry invisible weight: the family we support, the messages we respond to at midnight, the exhaustion we hide under bronzer. What we need is not applause; it’s sleep. Respect. Room to focus. Not being interrupted while building an empire.
Whether you’re hitting quota or hitting a wall, the real support shows up in the quiet moments. The “I got this one, you rest.” The “You need focus time? I got you.” Or a personal fave, “Have you eaten yet? Let me DoorDash you something to eat.” That’s gold, fam.
She said (in her book, quoting Rainer Maria Rilke), “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart.”
Unspoken truth: Sales/Leadership is emotional labor. Even when you’re great at it.
Some days, you’re hyped and hopeful. Others? You want to hide behind your CRM.
But that quote reminded me: You’re allowed to hold questions. You’re allowed to not know.
The sale you didn’t close? The manager who doubts you? The “Am I even good at this?” spirals? They don’t disqualify your brilliance. They’re just part of the journey.
The rest of that quote reads: “…and try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a foreign tongue.”
Patience, not pressure, is the sidekick to every ‘I don’t have it figured out yet, but I’m here.’
She said, “We create too many boxes and glass ceilings for ourselves.”
I mean, my girl did not come to play, people. Priyanka went on to say, “In life, we never have to be one thing. We need to take that pressure off our backs. You can choose to be on any journey at any time. We put too much pressure on ourselves to function because this is the only way it can be, and that’s how you’re successful… There’s no black or white in the world; everyone lives in grays.”
Let’s be honest: sometimes the pressure doesn’t even come from them, does it?!
The “I should be further along.”
Or “I have to prove myself again.”
And “I can’t launch until it’s perfect.” (Heyo.)
Glass ceilings don’t always come from outside. Sometimes we build them ourselves out of perfectionism, fear, or old beliefs.
You’re allowed to evolve. To pivot. Show up messy. To redefine your version of success.
She said, “My job doesn’t make me. My job is not my whole”
(Or as I like to hear it: “I make my job — not the other way around.”)
Slow clap.
Whether you’re carrying a quota, a business, or a dream that’s still in Google Docs, this one hits.
You are more than your number. I can’t count how many times I’ve stressed this during coaching sessions or conversations with colleagues. And yes, you are more than your LinkedIn headline, too.
If no one’s said it to you today: You can sell, lead, and get that bag without scrambling for a title, throwing others under the bus, or laughing at jokes that make you cringe just to fit in. Gossip Girl was a TV show, not a blueprint for real life. You don’t have to pick up bad habits just because they’re common in your workplace.
Instead, set a new standard. Be the salt that enhances, the light that cuts through the noise. The bold change you’re tired of waiting for, even if it feels a little uncomfortable at first.
So why am I writing this?
I’m writing this because it’s not just that Priyanka said smart things. It’s that she voiced what so many people in corporate environments and revenue-driving roles already know—but rarely get permission to say out loud. That’s the pulse of this message.
It matters when a woman outside the bubble with global reach reminds us that it’s not just about hustle. That confidence can be optional. That rest is strategy. And that, in my opinion, if ‘rules were meant to be broken’, then old rules were meant to be questioned and reevaluated.
So no, Priyanka probably hasn’t sold a cybersecurity platform to a skeptical Fortune 500 SecOps team. She’s likely never closed a deal just to have it later stripped from her territory. She might not have suffered the agonizing disappointment of a promised PO that fell through and cost you that President’s Club spot. But she unknowingly embodies the mindset, scrappiness, and lived truths of professionals navigating high-stakes environments.
And if she ever wants to join my next Femme Sales Edge™ cohort, she’s got front-row status.
Until then, I’ll keep quoting her like the unofficial sales sis we never knew we had — because sometimes validation comes from the places (and stars) we least expect.
A note from Erin: Thank you for being here! If these ideas or perspectives resonate with you, I’d love for you to subscribe or share them with someone you care about. If you want to make a change or when the time feels right, I’m here to help. Check out my NEW WEBSITE to explore how we can work together—or swing by my “CONTACT” page to say hello, ask a question, or start a conversation.
