“My Younger Self Worked So Hard for the Life I Have Now” — Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the Bridge Summit in Abu Dhabi

At the BRIDGE Summit in Abu Dhabi today, Queen Bee Priyanka Chopra offered an unfiltered look at ambition, sacrifice and the privilege of finally being able to be selective with her time and work. She admitted that “being selective” was not how her journey began. “When I first started working, I was not selective at all. Whatever work I would get, I would do because it's a privilege to just get work… I would say yes to everything. I was really greedy in my 20s. I wanted to work every day.”

Quoting Beyoncé, she reflected on where that grind has brought her today: “Now Beyoncé said this, and I'm going to quote her. I feel like I'm on the other side of my sacrifice. I worked really hard. I missed birthdays. I missed when my father was in the hospital… I missed Christmases, I missed Diwali. I missed time with my family… That time, I needed to work that hard. And that 20-year-old me needed to make those sacrifices for this woman to have the life that I have now.”

She also underlined that doing less is indeed a luxury: “I do think it's a luxury… sometimes you've got to hustle. There's no other way around it… having a work ethic, having discipline, and going after it will get you to a point where you can pull back.” Looking back with gratitude, she said, “Now I can choose when I want to say yes, but I couldn't have done that if she hadn't worked so hard. So I thank her a lot sometimes. Thank your younger self.”