Although there shouldn’t be ordinary days, today was not the exception! The Heart of Florida United Way celebrated the Women’s Leadership Luncheon.  I have to say that this luncheon made this day and extra – extraordinary day!! Like my youngest kid would say, “…with a cherry on top!!”.  The speaker this year was TV Anchor, Journalist & Emmy Award Winner Deborah Norville.  A simple but exquisite message that should  be heard by every woman on earth!

Would love to share a few things she mentioned at luncheon, just because if each woman attending that luncheon would share her notes with 1 other woman out there and that one would go and share with another, perhaps a dominoes effect would trigger and then every woman on earth could possibly receive that message.  If this happens, I’m sure Deborah and many other woman advocates would be satisfied!

“Service is the Rent for Living” – Today was certainly not the first time I’ve heard this, but for sure the day that I stopped to really give this some thought.  Ever stopped to really ‘feel’ that funky feeling when you do something for someone else?  We don’t really have to think of it in big actions, small actions would definitely do that trick. It builds others and it builds you! Commit to doing something for someone else, start small and grow from there…soon it will become a habit and before you realize it, it will be a part of you.  And remember, no one has to know about it!

I actually loved this one: “According to a survey by Avon, 75% of women said the ‘balancing act was their biggest struggle” – I think this survey is very off! I would say 99.9% of women think & fell this way.  We are so focused on the ‘balancing act’ that we don’t focus on ‘me’!!! Think about this for a second, from the moment you get up in the morning you are thinking of either the kids that you have to wake up so they can start their day or the dog that you have to walk out or the meetings you have on your calendar for the morning.  During the entire day you are thinking of those things you have to take care of.  My question to you is: have you added yourself on your calendar?  Commit: Plug yourself on your own calendar, doing whatever it is that you ENJOY doing: that being reading, relaxing, running, etc.

She mentioned that “…only 25% of women think they can make good financial decisions…” – How sad is this?  Very I would say! This is because only a small percentage of women have the accessibility to learn about financial matters.  Oh and did I mention that when your finances are in order you feel more confident?

“Who am I? Statistically speaking 1 out of every table in this room  is depressed!” – Another astonishing statistic!!  This reminds me of a video I recently watched called “How to Stop Screwing Yourself”…and how appropriate it is to this topic.  We have a tendency to tell everyone that we are “ok”, when in reality we just don’t want to face the truth that we are not ok because then we have to make up an excuse to not do something about it! Wake up and smell the coffee!!! Let’s just start making those changes that will allow us to look at anyone in the eye and sincerely say “I’m fantastic!!”.

“If you don’t know who you are then that wagon wheel is going to fall apart” – A very awkward feeling…again: who am I??? where am I going? these are questions that always need an answer no matter what stage of your life you are in. When you know who you are and where you are going, that wagon wheel will remain strong.  But be aware, don’t loose your focus and forget to maintenance your wagon wheel! Focusing on who you are allows you to focus on your to do list…does your list need some updating?

Write 3 things you are grateful for everyday! it does wonders: puts you in a ‘happy space’ – such an easy task yet so complicated to comprehend and adapt as a new habit.  Commit to writing 3 things your are thankful for and you will see how you shift yourself to a better place!

And there you are…a few action items, perhaps simple…but we all started with tiny small steps before we could walk and run all over the place!!! Lets take those small steps, I will assure you: You will feel more confident!!!