“Well Behaved Women Rarely Make History”-Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
March is Women’s History Month. This week started with International Women’s Day.
Having a month to celebrate a group of people is interesting to me…especially large portions of the population or types of people, like women.
Of course, we have history, of course, we have made history. We have been here as long as men. I guess the point of the month is recognition: for us to recognize that women have made history.
Let’s take a look at a few of these women who have made history…
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving a new one.”
–Dolly Parton
Hopefully, everyone knows the name. You might not have known some things about Dolly. Fun fact: she turned down Elvis Presley’s offer to cover the song “I Will Always Love You” when his manager demanded she hands over half the publishing rights. This type of behavior, turning down Elvis, was evidently unheard of, but it paved the way for more young female artists to have a say in their work. Oh yes, and she has her own theme park!
“I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want, and if that makes me a bitch, okay.”
–Madonna
Another name I am sure you know. You see, we do not need to go far back in history to find women who have made and are currently making history. Madonna is widely considered to be one of the most influential musicians of all time. Her industry achievements include best-selling female recording artist of all time and most top 10 singles from 2008 to 2020 when she was overtaken by Drake. She is considered the most successful female solo artist of all time and the greatest number of image re-inventions.
“You have got to go out and kick ass.”
– Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou was my favorite! A writer, activist, filmmaker, actor, and lecturer well into her eighties.The first African-American cable car conductor in San Francisco as a teenager.
A mother at age 16, she married her first husband several years later. She published her first written work in 1960 and later went on to write 36 books, earning the honors of being on the banned book list and holding the record for the longest-running nonfiction book on the New York Times Bestseller List. She was the first female poet to compose and recite a poem for a presidential inauguration.
Do any of these quotes resonate with you?
Do you need to pave a new path?
Are you worried about being called a bitch or seeming bitchy?
Do you kick ass, when necessary?
What holds you back? Is it fear, fear of failure, fear of success?
According to Stephen Pressfield, fear is an indicator. It tells us what we need to do. He says, “The more scared you are of a work or calling, the more sure you can be that you have to do it.”
Whew! If you are like me, when I am scared, I start making excuses for all the reasons I should not do it. Once I realize that I am doing it, I know what I have to do.
Do the thing.
For example, I am afraid of heights. Once I figured out that I didn’t climb ladders because I was afraid, I knew I had to fix it. I went trapeze swinging—yeah, you heard me… circus-style, high-in-the-air trapeze! I had to climb a VERY tall ladder, and I was so scared. I did it four times. I even let go of the trapeze and had a professional trapeze guy catch me! It was exhilarating. Don’t get me wrong, I still think about it when I climb a ladder, but I do it because the feeling is different now.
I faced my fears, and I conquered them.
What is holding you back from developing your multiple streams of income? What keeps you from giving yourself options in your life? What is keeping you tied to your rat race job if you hate it?
I know that you are breaking barriers. I know that you have dreams that sometimes seem so far away and hard to reach. There is much to do.
We are all making history. We are all leaving a legacy of some kind. Leave the legacy that you want. Live on purpose.
You are strong and powerful, and I would love to walk with you, learn what you want to do and how I can help.
Schedule a call. Let’s talk. I love making connections. The saying is true… we are much closer to the people we need to meet than we think. Let’s see what we can do together!
