Why is this called Powerful Ladies?
For four years I struggled with calling this company, this vision I so much believe in, Powerful Ladies. In fact my personal conflict over the name is a lot of what caused me to wait four years before expanding from the One Day of Giving charity event into what it’s become today. Can you believe that I waited to let this vision run free over the name?!?
I knew our name would be most people’s first introduction and I struggled over each individual word. Power…..is that to aggressive? Does it overshadow the compassion? Will it turn people away who don’t think they’re powerful? Will it make people think about dictators or slimy politicians?
Ladies...what about all the men that I think are awesome and have great stories? Is it too old fashion? Does it generate the idea of feminazis or on the other side of the scale visions of powerful housewives or needing to be demure? How can I use the word Lady when I barely know how to do my own hair let alone withhold an eye-roll or an f-bomb in a professional setting? Ahhhhhhh!
You can ask my friends. There have been many phone calls, coffees, and dinners over which I asked their opinion of the name, asked what other names might be better and tested alternatives. I never made any progress. Finally one day I said, “fuck it.” The time to go was now.
How’d I get to that moment? Here’s what I realized:
The women I believe in and want to spend time with are Powerful Ladies. They’re badasses. They’re multi-dimensional and amazing and the phrase “powerful ladies” is how I describe them ALL THE TIME. How about I take my own advice and go with what already works? Honestly, sometimes we are the worst at listening to ourselves. More on that in another post!
Do I believe in Powerful Men, too? Hell, yeah and who said we can’t invite men to be on the podcast or contribute as well? In fact, let’s take this as an opportunity to bridge a divide and bring all awesome people together in support of EQUALITY and everyone knowing their power. Imagine if just 1% of people in the world newly realized what they’re capable of? Hello, 77 million game changers! I don’t think I’m alone in believing we need every one of you to make this world awesome.
This platform and the podcast are a great opportunity to talk about what “powerful” and “ladies” mean to people. Together we can redefine and modernize these two beautiful words so that no one is in doubt of what they mean, especially when used together. Check out the opinions of our Powerful Ladies Podcast guests.
Whatever people thought about ‘powerful ladies’, it always opened up dialogue and unfortunately a lot of the people I’ve talked to have doubted their ability to hold the title of Powerful Lady. They’d list all the reason they’re not powerful or where in their life they have room to grow or how they haven’t made it yet. Similarly, they’d list all the reasons they’re not a lady. All of it is nonsense. Why? Because the fastest way to lose your power is to compare yourself to others, to expectation, to whatever bogus definition you’ve been using. I can’t wait for everyone to get that right now you can declare yourself a Powerful Lady.
Basically, how I came to accept this company’s beautiful name was remembering exactly why it was created. To me, Powerful Ladies is and are the awesome and the up-to-something who are here to make a difference. Together, you, me, and everyone else who joins this movement - we’re going to share everything we collectively know on how we’re actively pursuing being our best selves, what’s working, how to stay our best, and how to pay it forward. The circle of empowerment, baby! I’m so glad you’re a yes!