The Essential Feminine Company - Empowering Women to Create Successful Businesses and Lives

Last year despite the economic crisis we were experiencing the 5^th annual Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society was held in Deauville, France in October.  They called it Women’s Forum – Think again, think ahead! It is time for action, change and hope.  In December 2009, a review by * Julia Harrison, Managing Partner of FD Blueprint (FD Blueprint is a leading EU public affairs company) and Member Founding Committee of Women’s Forum (Belgium).came out in the European Business Review which you may have missed. 

The contents of her article and the Forum are worth noting.  While the economic crisis of last year threatened holding the conference, a factor in favor of holding forum, according to Ms. Harrison, was “…the recognition that women’s role in all aspects of society and the economy is now more relevant than ever.”  She goes on to state, “Although recent studies have not been able to show categorically that companies perform better if women are present in substantial numbers at board level, they do show that the quality and soundness of decision making improves dramatically in diverse senior teams and that many aspects of performance improve.”

In conclusion her article stated, “What clearly emerged from the Women’s Forum in 2009 is the insight that with global economic crisis come global issues that are so complex and intertwined, no one party can hand off responsibility to another.  Business, professionals, academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, governments and public bodies alike have to care and have to take up these challenges practically. We need to find different models for social and economic progress or face repercussions and continued cyclical economic time bombs.  The Women’s Forum put women at the centre of this challenge and the heart of the solution. Time well spent.”

In order for us to meet this challenge, we women must understand and rely on our feminine attributes; attributes that include: collaboration, relationship building, verbal agility and intuition.  These are the gifts we have that will discover the “different models for social and economic progress” that are so needed in today’s world and in the world of the future.  Notice in your life when you are using these gifts and when you could rely on them even more.  Cultivate them and let them blossom.  As they grow, your life and business will grow.  You will be empowering your relationships and empowering your success.  You will truly become women influencing now.

1.Take yourself seriously.   Take an inventory of your assets and strengths, claim them, share them, and live proudly with them.

2. Surround yourself with great mentors and teachers that can allow you to both grow and learn. Notice the ways that you are most inspired, notice the times that you feel most in need of greater knowledge.

3. Read, ask questions and read. Stay current on topics that interest you most, notice trends break downs, and areas where you can make a contribution.

4. Do more of what you love. Surround yourself with work and play that is both satisfying and enriching. Use your heart, soul, and voice in equal measure.

5. Go within and listen for what is right to you. Integrate these things ideas and feelings follow them, speak about them.

Life is fast and full for most of us! We go through the days like ships at sea without a compass, seemingly at the mercy of everything around us. That is when it is important to make a conscious decision to pause and realize that we are the ones responsible for our lives. We can take charge. We can find our compass, our direction, and make a difference in the world. Three steps we can take to achieve our direction are to quiet the mind, connect with the body, and evaluate whether or not we are expressing our gifts fully in the world. All three of these practical expressions can make a major difference in the quality of our lives!

The first step: Quieting The Mind

 • Set aside time in silence at least 3 days a week for 20 minutes where you can begin to get to know yourself, your needs, your desires and aspirations. Learn to identify and trust your intuition and inner voice. We all have an inner voice that guides and directs us. We just need to listen.

• Question: Can you think of one way this week that you could actually create a period of calm and stillness for yourself?

The second step: Connecting With The Body

• Learn to become more aware of your body’s needs.

• Listen more closely to the signs that your body gives you, i.e. where are there aches, sensations and areas of tightness? Is your body sending you a message? What might the message be?

• Explore these sensations through yoga or other movement you enjoy. Your body holds great information about its own healing needs and emotional state of being.

• Question: What 2 things would you need to do differently to begin to honor and care for your body in a new way?

By taking these two steps, you start to walk on a path of self-exploration. You begin to get a sense of who you are and how your life fits into the scheme of things. Each of us is unique and each of us has a unique contribution to make in the world. The world today needs the contributions that are born from the qualities and gifts embodied in women. We as women need to discover these gifts and bring them forth.

Several years ago in a blog entitled “Are Women In The US Really Leading?”, I commented on a global survey ranking women in the area of gender equality that was compiled by “The White House Project”.  The survey stated that “The United States ranks 22nd out of 115 countries.”  The report utilized 4 measurement standards: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.  We came in first for Health and Survival, and third for Economic Opportunity.  But, we received our lowest score for Political Empowerment, coming in 66th. 

I wondered about our progress since that time and went looking for an updated report.  I discovered a thought provoking and heart touching blog written by Mary C. Wilson for “The White House Project Blog”, entitled A False Divide Between Head and Heart: What I Learned From Robert McNamara.  It is well worth reading in its entirety.

As for the report, she states in her blog, “Women are still vastly underrepresented in the halls of power. As the soon-to-be-released “White House Project Report: Benchmarking Women’s Leadership” has found, women are far from parity in every sector, from business and politics to sports and religion. Projections show that it will take decades to reach even a critical mass in many of these arenas; and the women who do make it into positions of power often do so at great sacrifice.”

 Do we have decades?

 Becoming leaders takes courage and determination and most of all a willingness to step forward.  It can not and will not be done for us.  Though, each of us must take that step for ourselves, we need not do it alone.

 

 

“An aim in life is the only fortune worth finding; and it is not to be found in a foreign land, but in the heart itself.” Robert Louis Stevenson I guess I’ve always been pretty clear about why I’m here. My journey began years back at seventeen years of age when I chose to study human services and community organization. My heart has always been with people. My dream has always been to be a part of maximizing human potential in every possible way. I have dedicated my life to this aim. However, each day and each year of my life sure as to what the best way for me to achieve this aim would be. But I always kept the question alive. I am convinced that the answer does lie in our heart, not in a foreign land, and it’s our personal responsibility to embark upon that exploration. As I’ve written many times, I believe each of us is here for a very specific purpose that no one else could fulfill. Some days the clarity of that purpose feels very far away, but we owe it to ourselves to stay conscious and inquisitive. You are a very special part of a whole. Without you, things would be very different. “What is your aim?” “Can you look in your heart and trust that the answer is to be found there?”

Maureen Simon

Maureen@maureensimon.com

www.maureensimon.com

www.theessentialfeminine.com