In honor of International Women’s Day (IWD) and Women’s History Month, we’re reminded that we all play a part in creating the vision of a world that celebrates diversity, equality, and inclusion. And while we have an entire day dedicated to honoring the achievements of women across the globe, their stories have the power to inspire us for a lifetime.
So today, we’re going to celebrate IWD and the Women Leaders who have forged the path towards increased visibility and growth.
I’ll be sharing my favorite inspirational woman leader and how she taught me where we can find incredible inspiration. I’m gifting these same lessons to you as a change agent ready to make an even greater impact on the world!
If you’re ready to light up, let’s get inspired!
Why is Female Leadership Important?
We’ll start with a little background on International Women’s Day. While the theme changes yearly, it usually centers around valuing our differences, supporting equality/equal rights, and breaking free from bias, gender stereotypes, and discrimination.
In acknowledging the stories of all generations of women, especially women in leadership (like these two First Ladies), we all contribute to a more empowered, global narrative.
These stories tell us how we continue to progress in gender equality, violence against women, human rights, unconscious bias, the future of young women, and so much more. Ultimately, it reminds us that we are all a part of the change we would love to see in the world.
We can find inspiration every day by surrounding ourselves with these stories as women leaders. Additionally, learning how to find inspiration and using it to nurture our hearts, minds, and souls, is a daily practice. But it is well worth the training.
For instance, by remembering how we have the power to be a success ourselves, we can silence the inner critic. Having examples of women who stand up for themselves and create healthy boundaries encourages us to do the same.
Examples of Women Leaders
“Fearlessness is not the absence of fear. It’s the mastery of fear. It’s about getting up one more time than we fall down.”
Sherly Sandberg – Chief Operating Officer at Facebook.
“So please ask yourself: What would I do if I weren’t afraid? And then go do it.”
Angela Merkel – The first female Chancellor of Germany.
“You could certainly say that I’ve never underestimated myself, there’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.”
Kamala Harris – Vice President of the United States.
“If you are fortunate to have opportunity, it is your duty to make sure other people have those opportunities as well.”
Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister of New Zealand.
“If you sit and wait to feel like you are the most confident person in the room, you are probably going to be left by yourself.”
Michelle Obama – Former First Lady of the United States and First African-American First Lady.
“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Known as Africa’s “Iron Lady”, she served as the first female President of Liberia.
“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”
Nancy Pelosi – Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
“You go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, you go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole-vault. If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in.”
Tsai Ing-Wen – First female President of Taiwan.
“The greatness of this country lies in how every single person can exercise their right to be [themselves].”
Damilola Odufuwa – Global Head of Product Communications at Binance and Co-Founder of the Feminist Coalition working to promote equality for women in Nigerian society.
“I am passionate about ensuring gender equality and female empowerment for women in Africa and all around the world. I strongly believe female empowerment, through giving girls access to education, finance, health and more, is one of the major keys to ending poverty.”
Odunayo Eweniyi – Co-Founder of FirstCheck Africa, a female-led, female-focused angel fund and investor community that creates more opportunities for women and diverse teams to raise capital and invest in tech.
“Continue to be yourself, and continue to go for what you want. Eventually the world will adjust.”
The list could go on forever. And the fact of the matter is, each one of their stories reminds us how important female leadership is on a global scale.
However, we can also create inspiration on a daily basis and on an intimate scale. The type of inspiration that carries us through every waking moment of our day and energizes us to do the work we would love to do.
So, as we honor and celebrate the extraordinary achievements of women leaders across the planet, let’s zoom in and explore how we can lead our own inspirational moments from right where we are.
How Can Women Inspire Other Women?
The first step in creating an impact on others is by starting within ourselves – from where we are, with what we have. It’s about opening a window of opportunity in our mind for inspiration as often as possible.
I’m about to give you three examples that have empowered me to not only grow as a change agent in my own life, but in the lives of others.
This story will supply you with the same tools I used to pave the path forward as a leader. And they come directly from the life of one of my greatest inspirations: my mother.
Mary Morrissey is not only my mom, but she’s also the Founder of the Brave Thinking Institute and one of the most incredible women leaders in the transformational space (you can watch her TEDx Talk here).
In the following teachings from her life, you’ll discover three surprising ways you can tune into major inspiration. Let’s get started!
1. Find Inspiration in Each New “Baby” Day
Before Brave Thinking Institute was founded, I traveled to the East Coast with my mother, who was giving a keynote speech. After three long days of pouring into people through her teachings and a busy weekend, most people would have woken up feeling tired and sluggish.
But I remember my mother waking up each morning full of inspiration. The simple fact that she was breathing energized her mind, body, and soul.
While that may seem too simple or silly for some, it taught me something profound…
Women leaders don’t take a single day for granted.
And she would often say, “Today is a brand-new baby day. A day that will never be lived again that is ours to cherish and to suck the marrow out of aliveness.”
In other words, each day is an opportunity. As long as we breathe, we will continue to create results in our life. But it’s our choice to create from design or by default.
Creating by “default” means relying on your current circumstances to dictate the results you’re allowed to have. Most people ask themselves “What’s realistic?” or “If this doesn’t happen, I’d be okay with just (fill in the blank with something they’d settle for).”
But when you create by “design”, you focus all your energy and attention on what you would love and tap into infinite possibilities!
The Quality of Your Life is Determined by the Quality of your Questions
Let’s take a closer look at how you can design your life simply by the questions you ask yourself.
Specifically, how women leaders use high-quality questions that encourage specific, solution-based thinking.
First of all, it’s best to avoid “why” based thinking. Those answers usually come from our internal programming (culture, childhood, school, media, etc.) and are limited to what we know up to that current moment.
- Why is this happening?
- Or… Why isn’t my hard work paying off yet?
- And… Why do I feel tired all the time?
We also want to avoid “when” questions like:
- When will I find the inspiration to start?
- Or… When will luck finally come my way?
- And… When will I get the right opportunity?
These “When” questions place your circumstances, situations, and conditions as the authority in your life instead of you!
Instead, I encourage you to design your questions around “what” and “who”:
- What can I think, say, or do, that will move me in the direction of my dream?
- What baby step can I take today?
- Who do I need to be in order to be in harmony with the life I would love?
These high-quality questions will move you past the distractions and fears holding you back from focusing on your vision.
And remember, with each brand-new baby day, it’s all about doing something from where you’re at, with what you have.
2. Be Open to Extraordinary Inspiration in the Most Ordinary Places
As we moved along our day, something fabulous happened.
After we got to the airport and checked in our luggage, we started walking to our gate. Just as we were about to step onto an escalator, we noticed a huge banner that read, “America was Built on Brave Thinking.”
I will always remember how my mom’s eye lit up when she said:
“That’s it! That’s exactly what created this incredible, innovative nation, and it’s going to be the name of our new branded institute: Brave Thinking Institute. Because nothing gets created through common hour thinking or limiting thinking. But it’s through brave thinking, bold action-taking, and brilliant dream building that we can bring our dreams to life.”
That ordinary moment created the extraordinary foundation for everything we do at Brave Thinking Institute. For instance, let’s break down common hour thinking vs. Brave Thinking™, bold action, and brilliant achievements.
Transformational Process for Women Leaders
Brave thinkers find the greater good in whatever circumstance, situation, or condition they face. They see every challenge as an opportunity to grow and lean into a mindset that holds more power, freedom, and authority over their current life experiences.
This is the process behind the type of leadership we teach at Brave Thinking Institute: Transformational Leadership!
The difference is that this mindset creates real, extraordinary results as a heart-centered, transformational leader. Here’s how you can tap into the same transformational power:
Common hour thinking is the default way we think. It’s contractive and brings the negative aspects of your current reality forward. It often leads us to think within our current challenges and perceived limitations.
Brave Thinking™, on the other hand, is expansive. It centers on infinite possibility, focuses on what you would love, and thinks beyond circumstances, situations, and conditions. It’s the energy behind every leap of faith and consistent baby steps.
If you want to practice getting into a Brave Thinking™ mindset, trend your thoughts towards positivity, optimism, and encouragement. This is the frequency of thinking that aligns with the Law of Attraction.
For example, instead of saying “I will eventually launch my own business and create an impact”, you could replace it with “I AM a proud business owner creating impact in my own unique way!”
Once you have a solid affirmation, the next step is to visualize the specific results you desire. For instance, how would running your own business and doing the work you love to do impact your:
Health & Well-being
Relationships
Vocation
Time & Money Freedom
For example, Lauren Brollier, one of the women leaders who graduated out of our Life Mastery Consulting program, was working as a school division reading specialist getting paid $45,000 a year. She knew she was doing important work in the world, but she had the nagging feeling like she wasn’t living out her soul’s purpose.
She was unhappy in all four quadrants in her life. Stressed, unhealthy, in an unhappy relationship, and underpaid, she joined us at DreamBuilder LIVE and built a vision for a life she would love.
She made the brave choice to go beyond the vision of a better paying job and instead built her dream of falling in love again, being a speaker who helped other women. After the event, she enrolled in our Life Mastery program, graduated, and now works as a full-time speaker and coach and employs three people in her business.
So as you create your own vision, I encourage you to charge that vision up with the emotional, physical, and spiritual experience you would feel as if it was already a part of your reality.
Together, the vision and the vibration will encourage you to take bold action in the direction of your dream!
And once you break through the paradigms trying to hold you back (like dissuasion, distraction, and delay), you’ll accomplish your dreams brilliantly!
To sum up, by using brave language, visualizing your specific desires, and taking action, you’ll be empowered to think bravely, act boldly, and accomplish brilliantly as a transformational leader!
3. Inspire Others by Being a Person of Increase
Once we got through the escalator and waited in line, my mom handed our ticket over to a staff member and started a conversation that inspired me.
She asked, “How are you? How is your day? What’s something wonderful going on in your day today?”
What could have been a meaningless interaction becomes a meaningful connection. As a person of increase, she makes a conscious effort to add joy – laughter – or compassion – to someone else’s life.
Women leaders uplift and inspire. And they notice opportunities to contribute to a more positive, radiant world in small, meaningful ways.
Think Bravely, Act Boldly, and Accomplish Brilliantly!
As we celebrate Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day, I hope these three surprising ways to find inspiration nurtures you as a woman leader.
After all, inspiration is an invigorating energy that infuses so much drive and confidence in what we do. When we allow ourselves to create in that frequency of creativity and love, we’re able to make the best version of ourselves possible and inspire others to do the same.
Remember to speak with love (Brave Thinking™), do what you can from where you are, with what you have (act boldly), and create the results you would love in your life (accomplish brilliantly)!
And if you would love to share your gifts with the world, but don’t feel ready or confident enough to step out and lead your dream into reality, I have a wonderful gift for you.
>> Download a FREE copy of my Confidence Kit!
Inside, you’ll receive a guided meditation that will energize your body, increase your fun, and rejuvenate your soul so that you can speak your truth more boldly and express your gifts more freely in the world.
Your life – your story – and your dream – is meant to inspire! Let’s bring your message to the world and change lives together as women leaders!
Think bravely and act boldly,
Jennifer Joy Jiménez
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