Awaken the Leader - and the Shining Star - Within!
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What does it mean to “Awaken the Leader”? I believe that leadership is a very hidden aspect for women. Leadership is a word that we aren’t used to having – even do not want – ascribed to us, because for many centuries it was a distinction reserved for men.
When I really thought about leadership, it made me want to go running to a nunnery. The funny thing is, they probably would have elected me Mother Superior and I wouldn’t even see it coming! Because what I didn’t realize is that I had been taking leadership roles for a very long time, and people looked to me to do so. Like so many women, I just couldn’t accept the title. My life completely changed for the better once I accepted who I am, the leader that was always inside, where I am supposed to ‘star’ in my business and personal life – and in the transformation I’m meant to bring to the world.
Do you call yourself a leader? Does it feel uncomfortable to do so? Perhaps, but I would bet that you are, in fact, taking important leadership roles every single day – which is exactly what a leader does!
As I have studied women leaders, I am always amazed by those who stepped into leadership reluctantly. They didn’t ask to be leaders, but the times they lived in called them to step up, step out, and lead.
The women who often come to mind for me are Edith Wilson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Malala Yousafzai, Ashley Judd, and Emma González. Each one took up the leadership mantel, sometimes quietly but no less powerfully:
1. Edith Wilson, the wife of President Woodrow Wilson, oversaw her husband’s affairs for 17 months while he recovered from exhaustion and a severe stroke in 1919. Edith said of her “stewardship,” “… I studied every paper, sent from the different Secretaries or senators, and tried to digest and present in tabloid form the things that, despite my vigilance, had to go to the President. I myself never made a single decision regarding the disposition of public affairs. The only decision that was mine was what was important and what was not, and the very important decision of when to present matters to my husband.” No one knew she was leading the country.
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