6 Ways to #PressForProgress
I love women. (C’mon… not in that way…) I love and honor women who have taken ahold of life and are squeezing every last drop out of it. Women who know they have something to say and are saying it with all their might. Women who are stepping into their power and harnessing the right to wield it. Women who are strong and loyal and confident (and sometimes bullheaded) and not ashamed of who they are.
Do you know any women like this? I do!
It’s a woman I strive to be. Every. Single. Day.
Not to be mistaken for International Female Ride Day, which is on May 5th this year, where women motorcyclists celebrate by riding together, today (March 8) is International Women’s Day (IWD). What began in 1909 as a labor movement in North America, where women were demanding improved pay, shorter days, and the right to vote, is now a worldwide movement celebrating women’s achievements and calling for gender equality.
Where we have recently rallied around #TimesUp and #MeToo, the organizers of IWD are calling us to #PressForProgress. Let’s celebrate that ‘we’ve come a long way, baby’ but understand we still have work to do… both individually and collectively.
6 Ways To Press for Progress
1. Boldly use your voice – Using your voice is more than self-expression, it’s about letting people know who you really are, sharing your story, and standing up for what you believe in. We need to have strength to vulnerably share the authenticity of who we are. You have a voice. Search for it. Find it. Boldly use it.
“A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman but the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” ~Melinda Gates
2. Believe in yourself. – You don’t need permission. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need a guarantee that it’ll work. You just need to believe in yourself. There are millions of people out there that can believe in you but none of it matters if you don’t believe in yourself.
“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ~ E.E. Cummings
3. Befriend her. – At some point in your life, you’re going to walk into a room of people and there will be one woman who intimidates the heck out of you. She’s wicked smart. She’s strikingly beautiful. She’s wildly successful. (And she’s probably the life of the party.) You’re tendency may be to envy her and compare yourself to her but my advice is to befriend her. First of all, everybody needs somebody like that in her life! Secondly, why wouldn’t you? You’re wicked smart, strikingly beautiful, and wildly successful too!
“I wanted to do something which was challenging, worthwhile, and fun – befriending has proved to be all three.” ~Anonymous
4. Queen B... Don't be one. – You may be highly competitive. You may consider yourself an ‘alpha female’. You may have ‘paid your dues’ but this does not give you the right to be the Queen B (and I don’t mean buzz, buzz). I know from experience what it’s like when women sabotage other women. Disaster and drama… it ain’t pretty. Queen Bs are women who lack respect for other women and whose self-confidence is so low the only way they can rise above is to pull other women down. Don’t be the Queen B... it's unbecoming. Collaborate, don’t compete.
“There is a special place in hell for women who don’t support other women.” ~ Madeline Albright
5. Blaze a trail. – You are where you are because another courageous woman has gone before you. We have been in space. We have traveled on a motorcycle coast-to-coast. We have made scientific discoveries. We have earned positions of CEO, President, and Supreme Court Judge. We have succeeded in male-dominated industries and competed in male-dominated sports.
Did we do this by thinking small and doing what we’re told? No! Women have accomplished amazing feats because they’ve been intent on going first with the goal to intentionally influence and redefine the world. They’re knowingly setting the standards for others to follow. Even though others have gone before you, what you’re experiencing may be a first for you and an opportunity to blaze a trail in your own life. It’s your responsibility to lead with generosity and help others along the way.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
6. Be badass. - You don’t need to ride a motorcycle, cuss like a sailor, and cover yourself in tattoos to be considered badass. Badass women choose to be defined by, and driven by, their passion. They are unapologetically courageous in their pursuit of the life they want to live instead of being confined by what others want for them. They intimidate close-minded people with their adventurous spirit and inspire those who dream of being bold and fearless.
“I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women.” ~ Nora Ephron
Let's sum this up with what Glinda, the Good Witch, reminded Dorothy as she prepared to click her ruby slippers to go back to Kansas, "You had the power all along my dear." It's your time to #PressForProgess and lean into what life has to offer for you and women all over the world. Do it for yourself and the young women who will come after you. Our daughters will thank you.
If you're ready to progress in your own life but you're unsure where to start, I can help. We'll work one-on-one to envision your destination and design a road map to get you where you want to go. I'll help you get out of your own way and make shift happen in your life. Sign up for a discovery call here.
