What you can do to support International Women’s Day

There are so many amazing and wonderful things that come out of celebrating women and our achievements. We are happier in our careers, we are trying to live more balanced lives, we’re no longer tolerating bullshit in our lives (equal pay, #metoo etc) and there are over 9 million women-run businesses in the United States alone (in 2016).

Feminine leadership, Goddess, Sisterhood, Soul-Centered Leadership…words entering popular vernacular and not some “crazy lady talk” anymore.

I myself am a female entrepreneur, having quit the corporate world 3 years ago, with zero seed money, no investors, nobody to fall back on and just sheer determination and a deep desire to make my business be a success. When I started my business in the online space back in 2012 there were barely any online entrepreneurs. When I say “barely any”, I mean compared to today. There was maybe a small handful of Facebook groups and coaches dedicated to helping women start up their own businesses (have you heard of Marie Forleo? Yeah, she was one of the women who started this movement). Now you can’t scroll through your feed without seeing at least one or ten ads for female businesses helping other women to start a new business. And this is RAD!

There are so many things women can do to celebrate this week. I myself went to a Goddess Flow yoga class last night where we embraced our inner beauty, and threw comparisonitis out the window, danced like we BELONGED and we spent time reflecting on women all over the world and their triumphs and struggles. I’m heading to Manhattan this weekend to spend some time business masterminding with amazing female business leaders and supporting an amazing cause, building homes for the women of the Padre Ramos cooperative in Jiquliio Nicaragua. 

You can volunteer, you can offer a woman start up some seed money (although I did it all on my own I would not have turned down an angel investor!!!), you can march, you can simply reach out to another woman and wish her well.

But I’m here to encourage you to do one more thing.

If you’re a woman reading this, I’m going to encourage you to step up to your full potential. I’m going to ask you to start taking better care of yourself. I’m going to ask you to start putting up some real, serious boundaries around people who are taking advantage of you, and to look at why you’re allowing that to happen. I’m going to ask you to look within and start practicing mindfulness and even meditation. I’m going to ask you to put self-care at the very top of your list, well below laundry, work, and way, way, way below TV and podcasts.

You see, I work with women every day who have spent their lives being someone they aren’t. They are stressed out, unhappy, overweight, exhausted, full of self-doubt, don’t know their true worth, and hardly ever put themselves first. And this is impacting their children, especially their daughters. But it’s also impacting their careers, their relationships, and most importantly – the female collective. These women are strong, female leaders on the outside, but inside still struggle.

When I see another woman shy away from shining because she doesn’t feel good in her body, or she’s self conscious, or she’s thinking that her stuff isn’t as good as the other person’s stuff it makes me want to cry. I myself was that woman, and I still have a long way to go, but I know the feeling of not feeling good enough.

Once a woman starts to see her worth, starts to put up boundaries and says NO more often, when she starts taking better care of herself, she starts to SHINE. That brilliance resonates throughout the world.

Everyone she meets, everyone she smiles at, everyone she influences, everyone who has the joy and pleasure of being in the company of a woman who shines from within has an even better day.

It’s CRITICAL for the health of this planet, for the movement women are in right now, for women to prioritize themselves INSIDE as well as do the other brave things like start new businesses, break the million or even billion dollar ceiling, become the first female CEO of her industry, give birth to a baby, or lead a march.

Our internal landscape is what counts. It’s what creates the energy force behind you when you show up for things. It’s what is going to help you weather the storm when things go sideways (and not fall into a bottle, a bed or a bagel). It’s what is going to really and truly change the world.

So, Who Run The World? GIRLS…but more specifically…internally strong and centered women – that’s who run the world.

Now go, be fearless.

P.S. – and if you are a man reading this…show this to a woman you know and encourage her!