Girls compete with each other. Women empower each other.
I’m feeling the spring vibes and I am loving that its Womens History Month! I’m ready to celebrate all things WOMEN! For the entire month of March, I’m going to be celebrating women, doing shout outs to the incredible women in my life, sharing all the women I love to support from entrepreneurs to chefs to authors and more.
There is true power in coming together and supporting one anothers dreams and ambitions – in personal life and in our professional life. The “boys club” has been around long enough, it’s time we form a “women’s club” and show them men how it’s really done, am I right?
Joking aside, the truth is that raising each other up and celebrating the power of coming together is so much more impactful than we can imagine. I have heard so many men say well if we have too many women involved they start competing with each other... and this makes me sick to know women could and can be viewed like this. Society tells us that women should compete with each other, that there is no place for women to support other women – I'm here to tell you that is wrong!!!
I would start by asking yourself to take an inventory of how you support other women. Be aware of the books you share, the companies you support, the brands you endorse. We have to be aware of the women CEOs, authors, brands, companies that we can choose to get behind if we ever want to see a change in how women and men are viewed. Here are some tangible things you can do to support women that are in your circle of influence.
How you can influence your circle and rise up other women:
· Pass the mic! You an empower yourself by bringing someone else into the spotlight! Is there someone else that knows about this more than me? Sit back and get ready to learn and grow from an expert!
· Stop competing with other women. It doesn’t matter who is doing more or who is doing what. Simply cheer them on and get inspired! People can get so caught up in shaming others about doing the “right thing”. You don’t know everyone’s back story!
· Support other women's work! If your friend has started a beauty blog – share it on your social media. Did a great online yoga session? You can donate to the studio or shout it out online. Leave great reviews for the small business in your town. Anything!
· Call attention to other women’s suffering, even if you’re not among them! I couldn’t be more for this point! Select a movement that fights the inequality of women – could be shedding light on the cruel world of sex trafficking, domestic violence, single moms or whatever lights your fire.
· Prioritize the less privileged! Provide space for diversity, always bring diversity into your line of work, your reading, your watching, your buying. Have those challenging conversations, become comfortable with advocating for those who need to be highlighted or supported! It's up to us to create equality and liberation for ALL women in our circles.
Lately, I have been wanting to highlight how we can propel women into their dreams. I recently did a podcast with Lizz Choi and her belief is that we can change the world if we activate the circle of influence, we are in. We can help our friends go next level and Lizz has done just that for me! When ‘the balanced girl’ (my podcast) was just a dream on my dream board, and I had no idea how or where to start, I simply shared my hesitation in a conversation with a friend, expecting nothing but a friendly ear. Within 24hrs of sharing this with Lizz, she had a long list of incredible people that fit the brand of what I wanted ‘the balanced girl’ to be, that I could reach out to and invite onto the podcast. Lizz basically breathed life into me to launch it. I honestly don’t think I would have run with such intensity if it wasn’t for her! We all need that someone that is shouting GO! I love that Lizz is a connector. She loves meeting new people and sharing relationships she’s invested in, to grow friends' businesses, to grow their circles.
Your circle of friends reflects who you are as a person, as the saying goes: friends are the family we choose. So, you have chosen to keep this person in your life, they have chosen you, there is such beauty in that. Don’t take your role in others life lightly, you can be the driving force for them, a support to help them grow. You can be an influence on the friends who are in it to win it!! You can be the change in their life for the good, whatever that looks like. It can be sharing your passion for whatever! My passion is to stop sex trafficking. I love when my circle of influence gets behind me because it expands my reach. The ripple in the pond effect. But it can be a micro-change, but you can make a big impact – when you are changing a thing in your friends life – you are basically changing the world for them.
When you are the change for the people around you, you change the world. What I want you to take away from reading this, is that you can be intentional in how you spread your change. I want you to ask yourself WHO is in your circle and what are their dreams. Can you connect, offer help or build upon how they get started. It may be as simple as sharing their dream on your social, maybe it is connecting them to someone you know, or just believing them that they can achieve this dream. Imagine if we all backed each other how we could change the world.
For more ways to support women in your circle check out this weeks episode of ‘the balanced girl.’ You can listen and learn how to amplify your voice, your story and your INFLUENCE on other women around you.