Lauren Przybyl was born and raised in North Texas, and although she's traveled around the country for her journalism career, she always knew she wanted to come back.
She's currently an anchor for Fox 4 News' Good Day, but over the years she's held positions in Abilene, Albuquerque and Boston, where she stayed for 6 years.
“I decided I was done moving, unless I could return home and work for Good Day. Sure enough, I said that and then a month later my agent was like, ‘Hey, remember that one job you said you might be interested in? It’s available,’” Lauren said.
Since joining Fox 4 in 2009, Lauren has had to balance family life with her career.
She has two children, 8 and 4 years old, and in 2018 she almost lost her life to HELLP Syndrome, a life-threatening form of preeclampsia which forced her to deliver her son 34 weeks into her pregnancy.
Lauren Przybyl is the first person to acknowledge that sometimes you can't juggle everything. So she relies on advice from novelist Nora Roberts.
“She has this quote about juggling a bunch of balls, some glass and some plastic. Every morning you decide which is which, and you can let the plastic ones fall because you know they’ll bounce back. That’s the only way you can do it. Otherwise you’ll just drive yourself mad,” Lauren said.
Read on for Lauren Przybyl's advice about being a woman in business.
What advice do you have for women working in fast paced jobs?
Breathe.
Try to find a way to make sure you have me time. I have two sisters, and they’re both in very demanding jobs as well, and I think planning is key. Having something to look forward to always helps, so you know "Oh I have that trip coming up," or "I have that night out with friends."
What advice do you have for women in business?
Follow your heart. We’re seeing more and more women stepping up and doing what their hearts told them to do, listening to that voice in their head that says, "You can do this."
I had so many people tell me no. My mom was one of them. Now she’s probably my biggest fan, but she originally wanted me to take this advertising job because it paid better and had vacation from Thanksgiving to New Year's. Thankfully, I didn’t listen to her.
I had a mentor as well, and when I was interviewing for the job in Dallas, she contacted me and was like, "I just heard about this job that might be good for you," and it was at a small publication. I was like, "No, I’m actually looking at the job in Dallas right now." And she said, "Ugh so many people are looking at that job. You’re never going to get it."
Sometimes even the people you hold up high don’t hold you up high enough, so you have to believe in yourself.
What advice do you have for women just starting out their careers?
My mom always said, "Dress for the job you want. Not the job you have."
I remember when I was going in at the middle of the night as a producer at Texas Cable News, and everyone else was in their pajamas. I could hear my mother's voice in my head, and sure enough it helped me out.
There was one day when they needed a reporter and they didn’t have one, and I was dressed nice so they let me do something on air. You never know when that time is going to come.
What advice do you have for women who are unhappy in their current position?
I’m very lucky in that I have a job I enjoy, but you know what, sometimes a job is just a job. I think you have to find something that makes you happy in addition to it.
However even in my job, because I tell the news a lot of the time I feel down when the day is done. But I’ve been able to take my social media and post happy stories, stories you don’t always get to share on the news. I get to share a lot of stories about Texans helping Texans. My whole Instagram is based on great mommy moments (@greatmommymoments), so it’s a lot of stories that bring joy and that helps me change my outlook on life.
My kids really helped me learn to live in the moment. I was often the youngest person on air, so I was constantly just trying to move forward. My kids taught me to savor every day.
How can women in business drive change?
By putting their foot down. I think as women we try to fix things a lot, and we try to make everyone happy. I think a lot of times you just have to say, "No, we’re going to try this, and we’re going to see if it works."
So stop trying to please everybody, and don’t be afraid to try something else if things don’t work out.
