Hello, my friends. This is Dr. Jeannie Barrow. I have a very personal topic today for the women in our community that I want to share with you.
And the topic is about women's self-advocacy, self-sufficiency, and the freedom to make choices for our families that is in the best interest of our children and our family members. I'm currently in the process of supporting my senior in high school, to go through his college applications and choose and discover what is the right destination for him for the next four years once he graduates from high school. And without getting into details of family dynamics, as you know, I am divorced, and I would expect that any parent who is in a position to support their child in getting the best education they can, that they would be willing to, especially if they can.
I am extremely grateful that the decisions I have made, the investments that I've made in myself, my education, my work, and my work ethic, allow me to do it. Despite the sacrifices I have to make, there is a possibility, and that my son doesn't have to worry about not being able to go to the school he wants to, that he has the grades to go to, that he has the desire and the effort to put into to thrive in because I can help him in making that dream come true. So as a woman, when you look at your career and you look at your career ambitions and where you want to go, know that it's not only going to impact and influence your life, it's also going to benefit your family. And that any effort, time, resources that you spend, finances that you invest in yourself is going to be rewarded by not only feeling empowered and knowing that you can do the work that you have the capabilities of doing, you also will be of service to your work and your family. And so the message is really about what are we doing to ensure that as women from the young age, since we graduate college, that we set ourselves up for success, to have the best fulfilling career we can have, and we can reach our earning potential so we can have choices and freedom throughout our lives.
It's going to take three key things for us to do. Three main things. The number one is to get clear on what is our target.
What is our vision for ourselves in our career? First of all, what do you love to do that you can do it all day long? What are you great at? What is your wheelhouse?
And how can you bring those two together? What you love and what you're great at so you can create a vocation that speaks to that and your values and that aligns with the person you are today. And that will evolve over time. So the first part is let's get clear on where we want to go. Because once you have that target, the next step is to gain the strategies.
How do I get there? What are the skills I need to acquire? What tools do I need to have in my toolkit? in my tool belt so that I can show up in my best.
If you happen to be a people leader, what are the skills I need to develop to be the best people leader I can be? And perhaps that's simply coaching skills, the ability to mentor your team, the ability to go even more in depth in your subject matter expertise, to become more strategic, to become more influential so you can have those conversations. with stakeholders across the company and be able to enroll them and enlist them in your idea and initiative because that's what's going to be best for the company.
Whatever that skill set may be, what is that for you that you need to develop? And the part that goes hand in hand with gaining the strategies is role modeling someone who's already done what you want to do. That will be your fast track to learning those skills. Similarly to what I've been doing when I began my business, I have been role modeling mentors who are teaching me the ropes of how to run a business, how to scale a business, and how to make a business successful.
If I had taken the traditional route of figuring it out by myself, I don't know where I would be today. And I don't know how. I would be able to say to my son, if you want to go to a four-year school, we will figure it out. And we will pool all of our creativity and resources to make it happen.
That's what's on the line today, no matter how old you are. And so if you have your target, if you have the strategies and you have someone to role model, the third piece that you must take care of today, starting today, not in 10 years, not in 20 years, But starting now so you can reap the most benefit is to remove the inner conflict, the mindset that we bring to every situation, the doubt, the lack of confidence, the imposter syndrome, any of the obstacles and limitations, the stories you tell yourself about yourself and others that keep holding you back from raising your hand, from going after the promotion. for seeing your potential. We must address all of those inner conflicts. And when you do these three things, get clear on your vision and target, identify the strategies, learn those strategies, gain the skills and leverage the expertise of someone else who's already doing it to accelerate and you remove the inner conflicts holding you back, you become an unstoppable woman.
You become someone who is empowering in your life for yourself and also for others. And you become someone who's unapologetic about serving your people, asking for what you need, raising your hand to claim that next leadership seat, building relationships with everyone around you, and ascending the elevator back down. for those who need your support.
And we do it with love, we do it with compassion, we do it with resilience and knowing that we are not alone. And if you feel alone, I want to say with love and compassion, get out of your shell. Get out of your shell because there's so many of us out here ready to support you if you are willing to receive the support.
So as you can see, this is a topic that I'm very passionate about. Because had I not done what I've been doing my entire career of over 33 years, I wouldn't be today in the position to hold my son's hand and say, we got this, no matter what is happening around us, no matter who is willing or unwilling to support us. And therefore, you are now in a position to take the reins of your life, to take the reins of your career, and from this point forward, create...
and design what you want to happen and surround yourself with allies that will engage in the vision that you have and support you and encourage you in the best way they can to make it a reality. And if you need support to do any of this, you can always reach out to me at callwithginny.com. Thank you for listening. Thank you for letting me share vulnerably what is happening with me and what is going through my heart right now. If you need support, we're here to provide it.
Live with purpose. Live with joy.