by Molly McKinley
I knew the WomanUP®! Annual Conference was going to be different this year, the very moment the dynamo emcee, Jennifer Berman, opened up with a three part mission.
Identify tools and strategies to make your business bold
Develop skills as professionals
To connect with one another and know that you are no longer alone
Let’s repeat that third statement. To connect with one another and know that you are no longer alone. Wow. I was absolutely blown away. The time has truly come for women business leaders to chart and embrace a new path in business, aligned with our highest purposes, and to do so together. The support, shared admiration and sense of collective purpose was so palpable, I thought the walls might actually begin to visually vibrate.
For years, it's been my experience that most women leaders feel a bit lonely at the top. Often many sacrifices have been made to break the ceiling and the battles hard won to get there. But we’re moving to a time in history where women don’t have to sacrifice their souls for business, but create businesses aligned with their souls. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a conference where I heard so many women use words such as sacred and divine to describe their business life. In the past it would have been replaced with words like sacrifice and drive.
Tara-Nicholl Nelson, business coach and spiritual strategist, led a group intention setting while creating a framework for discussion. I loved her definition of these three words:
Sacred-something special
Spiritual-connection to a higher power of your choice, does not need to be external, a re-connection to who you really are and why you do the work you do
Divine-shorthand for the infinite love and creative power that runs our universe
So often we come to the table with pre-baked experiences and perceptions that actually color the lens from which we see the world and each other. Taking a moment to create a common language and bringing clarity to these concepts was an important step toward shared understanding. Our language is often limiting and it's a wonderful way to ensure we are on the same page from the onset.
She also shared three simple words: You. Are. Good.
Many women leaders struggle with imposter syndrome so she created a safe space for everyone to feel at ease and reminded us that we were exactly where we needed to be. Each of us, in our own right, had already earned our seat at this table that we are creating together and our very nature is already:
Perfect.
Whole.
Complete.
This introduction to the idea of duality is an important lesson as this community links arms together to help push the rock of women’s equality and empowerment over the edge of the mountain. As we all step into our power, it's important to remember that we are both a masterpiece and a work in progress. When we see each other in this regard, we can embrace our individual strengths, soften to the areas that are still “under construction” and find our partners, collaborators and kindred spirits to:
Build
Solve
Grow
These three things are what most women entrepreneurs are so desperately looking for--a true intentional community, aligned with our highest values, working for the betterment of all.
It’s our time, ladies, to take turns pushing this rock. All together now:
>> 1
>> 2
>> 3
We’ve got this.
Serial entrepreneur, marketing maven, master yogini. Molly has a love for gardening, animals and getting back to basics in nature. She's a wife and mother to three teens, 11 chickens, 3 goats, 3 dogs, 1 duck and 1 cat where they are learning the art and science of homesteading on their family farmette in Apex, North Carolina. CEO of Intentionaliteas and host of the Afternoon Tea podcast. Named one of the top 100 most influential people in real estate by Inman News.