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To celebrate International Women's Day, we asked our mentors these questions:
How do you empower yourself and the women around you?
What makes you a strong woman?
And here are their answers:
1. Diane Clemons, Co-Founder.
How do you inspire yourself and other women?
"First by realizing that who I am is good enough and understanding that my ability is greater than my inability! I know without a shadow of a doubt that my purpose does not depend on my status. Every morning I ask God to allow me to be a blessing to someone throughout the day. I love sharing with young women that wisdom is different from intellect, that you don’t need a degree to be successful. Letting them know that before you can understand your insignificance you must understand your significance. We are all more than enough and we must give ourselves the right to be wrong, and the space to grow through our hardships."
What makes you a strong woman?
Being comfortable enough to show my flaws and motivated enough to fix them! Knowing that I stand on the shoulders of the best mother and grandmother in the world, two of the most inspiring women I know. They would tell me all I needed to get through the day is “Left foot, right foot, breath and repeat”. They taught me the ability to listen to others with the intent to hear them and not judge but to give thoughtful feedback. I believe I have the capacity to help other women to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams. Most importantly I believe I have the ability to love recklessly without expecting anything in return.
Being a strong woman is not about being perfect but being perfectly you!"
2. Tori Radford, The Whiteboard Collective.
How do you empower yourself and the women around you?
"I have found incredible power in recognizing and being confident in my strengths and not shying away from help in the areas I need. Often when women wear many hats, like being a daughter, a partner, a mother, a friend, and a colleague, we create an overwhelming pressure to show up for everyone. Letting go of the expectations I’ve made in my mind has been life-changing!
I try to bring that energy to the women around me by recognizing others’ strengths and ensuring they know it! Plus, laughing. We all need to laugh more."
What makes you a strong woman?
"My twin boys! I assumed that becoming a mom would be rewarding and I would love them fiercely, but raising my kids has changed my outlook on everything, including how I view myself as a woman. They continually throw new challenges at me, forcing me to ask hard questions and step up. I’m grateful for how they have shaped me!"
3. Kim Miller, The Whiteboard Collective
How do you empower yourself and the women around you?
"As a woman, it is important for me to have a village, a sisterhood, it really does take a tribe. I empower myself by surrounding myself with women who are encouraging, positive, spiritual, kind, caring and resilient. I support these women with loyalty trust, honesty, no judgment and unconditional love. We are our sister’s keepers."
What makes you a strong woman?
"A strong woman to me is a woman that rises above all obstacles, no matter what is thrown at her she may fall down but she gets back up. A strong woman sees light in the darkness she may bend but she is not broken.
A strong woman fails but she uses that failure to fuel her success. A strong woman is vulnerable, capable, passionate, unapologetic, caring, tenacious, witty, bold, loud, and proud, she is every woman."
3. Sherri Sanjurjo, One Voice One Team.
How do you empower yourself and the women around you?
"I have a motto that I live by and teach the young women I mentor, "love yourself first, fierce and for real" & "make sure your cup is full, what's in the cup is for you the overflow is for you to freely give to others."
It allows me to always remember to fill my cup with the things that bring me joy, peace, passion, fun and excitement and allow me to remember how important it is for me to experience life (and have others experience) as my most authentic self unapologetically.
I've realized embracing my gifts and sharing them with others is contagious. When I let my light shine, it unconsciously gives others permission to do the same. I believe women around me are empowered because they are inspired that I am empowered to use my gifts without hesitation to serve others and they begin to see themselves doing just that.
Using their gifts with confidence to serve others, it is then they discover their greatness."
What makes you a strong woman?
"The fact that I know I'm not strong lol. I lean heavily in my weak moments on my relationship with God and my inner circle. I also pay attention to life lessons so I don't have to repeat cycles. This may come across like I'm strong when in fact I'm just humbly learning as I go like everyone else."