It's No Secret. The Time Has Come for Women

I found myself standing in the middle of a spectacular ballroom in Long Beach, Califo
ia. It was an astonishing scene. Trailblazers Billie Jean King and Gloria Steinem stepped forward. So did entertainment names like Rachael Ray and Jennifer Lopez. As did CNN media great Christiane Amanpour. The room overflowed with a palpable exhilaration. But it wasn’t just coming from the stage. It’s was a pulsating vibrancy brought to life by nearly 14,000 women who gathered for the Califo
ia Governor’s Conference on Women hosted by First Lady Maria Shriver. The message of the day: Be Who You Are!

It’s no secret. The time has come for women. Our strengths are urgently needed in our communities, in business and in the world. And, we are responding to the call. Like never before we are committed to advancing ourselves into positions of power. We are dedicating our creative brilliance and putting it to good use. We are innovating and designing. We are launching entrepreneurial ventures, bringing our insight to corporate America and beyond. We are igniting fresh possibilities. Most importantly, we are creating change.

As I stood in the ballroom in Long Beach, I was reminded over and over again of one simple fact: Real and lasting change begins within each of us. It is up to us to take the steps. It is up to us to change our mindset. It is up to each of us to believe our vision possible. It is up to us to be the amazing and powerful women that we are.

“You cannot wait until the fear goes away – it’s through the action that the fear disappears.” Maria Shriver shares stories of her own occasional doubts. It’s just one way of inspiring a greatest that she recognizes in every woman throughout the room. Billie Jean King reminds, “There is a leader in every one of us that expects to lead.” And then there are the words of CNN’S Christiane Amanpour, “When given half a chance, women can be real architects of change.”

But, where do we begin? How do we unleash our real power? How do we stand true to ourselves and embrace our place in the world? Where do we start to define and design success by our own standards? These are the exact questions I had asked myself nearly a decade ago. Since that time, my need to discover has taken me into the hearts and minds of women of influence, impact and inspiration … feminine leaders who are committed to living by their own unique definition. What did I learn? Plenty. Surely more tha
I can share in this article. But, there are six essentials that became my own beacon of focus and direction. Six essentials that opened my world to a new view of my feminine power and success.

THE SIX ESSENTIALS OF FEMININE POWER & SUCCESS

Be willing to grow beyond the defined.
Each moment you have the opportunity to be more of who you are. Make a solid commitment to deepen your relationship with yourself and align with your truest nature. Instead of defining yourself with a list of yesterday’s standards begin to reflect toward the empowered aspects of the woman you are now, what you value most and what you desire to create.

Master the dialogue of your life.
Know that every experience, every thought and every feeling is empowering you. Allow yourself to evolve. Commit with certainty that every action is pulling you towards the ultimate fulfillment of your life vision.

Ignite the power of possibilities.
Ignite the power from deep inside that's challenging you to lead a life by your own unique design. Know what you require. Then, say yes. Saying yes may take you in unexpected new directions and create empowered results beyond those you’ve yet to imagine.

Play with fresh curiosity.
Look towards every situation with fresh new eyes. Be inquisitive. Ask questions. And then listen deeply to hear the answers. New discovery can be sparked through the smallest of apertures – a chance meeting, by asking the right question at the right time or simply allowing ourselves to notice the unexpected.

Collaborate with sheer trust.
Real empowered success comes from a willingness to make an empowered choice. Say yes to new actions and allow yourself to experience new results. Find your way back to your creative, spontaneous self. Trust your intuition. It’s is never wrong.

Embrace your creative brilliance.
Forge a genuine relationship between what you do and what you love. Your greatest, most empowered success can only come from being true to yourself, true to others and true to the life you live.