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Are you an influencer? Are you in media? Do you run a conference? A business? A podcast? Are you a mom in the PTA? Are you a teller at the local bank? Are you a volunteer for Sunday school at church? Are you a high school student? Are you a grandma of seven? Great! I need you. We need you! We need you to live into your purpose. We need you to create and inspire and build and dream. We need you to blaze a trail and then turn around and light the way with your magic so other women can follow behind you. We need you to believe in the idea that every kind of woman deserves a chance to be who she was meant to be, and she may never realize it if youβyes, youβdonβt speak that truth into her life. Youβll be able to do that if you first practice the idea of being made for more in your own life. After all, if you donβt see it, how do you know you can be it? If women in your community or your network marketing group or your Zumba class donβt ever see an example of a confident woman, how will they find the courage to be confident? If our daughters donβt see a daily practice of us feeling not only comfortable but truly fulfilled by the choice to be utterly ourselves, how will they learn that behavior? Pursuing your goals for yourself is so important, and Iβd argue that itβs an essential factor in living a happy and fulfilled existenceβbut itβs not enough simply to give you permission to make your dream manifest. I want to challenge you to love the pursuit and openly celebrate who you become along the journey. When your light shines brighter, others wonβt be harmed by the glare; theyβll be encouraged to become a more luminescent version of themselves. Thatβs what leadership looks like. Leaders are encouraging. Leaders share information. Leaders hold up a light to show you the way. Leaders hold your hand when it gets hard. True leaders are just as excited for your success as they are for their own, because they know that when one of us does well, all of us come up. When one of us succeeds, all of us succeed. Youβll be able to lead other women to that place if you truly believe that every woman is worthy and called to something sacred.
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Rachel Hollis (Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals (Girl, Wash Your Face))