Our Top 9 Fave Wisdom Quotes from Emerging Women Live 2015 Power Talks

If you loved our Emerging Women Live 2015 keynote speakers, don’t miss the wisdom from our Emerging Short talks, too. These power talks let us hear from a diverse group of women who are positively using their feminine leadership to change the world. We’ve sifted through our notes and gathered our top nine favorite quotes.

Be sure to catch these brilliant women on the live stream archive, which will be available for replay until Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015.

 

  1. Vicki Saunders (Founder of SheEO)

“We (as women) have not been at the table for designing this world. We need to be there for VERSION 2.0. We all need to redesign this world desperately.” twitter

 

  1. Wokie Nwabueze(Founder of Women Prepared to Lead)

wokie-nwabueze

“When you can become enchanted by who you are, when you can forgive the part of you that betrayed you, then you will be seen and heard and nothing less than captivating.” twitter

 

  1. Promise Phelon (CEO of TapInfluence)

promisephelon

“Grit is the sand that is exfoliating the path of where you want to go.” twitter

 

  1. Anese Cavanaugh (Creator of IEP Method)

“People often think it is the doing that is going to impact, what actually is more powerful is our presence.” twitter

 

  1. Neha Sangwan, MD(Founder of Intuitive Intelligence and Author of TalkRx)

neha sangwan

“It’s impossible to prove something to others that you don’t believe yourself.” twitter

 

  1. Johanna Jackman (Senior Director at LinkedIn)

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“Vulnerability plus tenacity – they are the platform for being truly authentic.” twitter

 

  1. Natalia Oberti Noguera (Founder/CEO of Pipeline Angel Fellowship)

natalia-update

“Privilege is like oxygen, you don’t know it is there until it is gone.” twitter

 

  1. Guru Jagat (founder of the RA MA Institute)

guru-jagat

“It’s important for us to train our mind to consolidate our energy, so that we then can use that energy for a true revolution.” twitter

 

  1. Sahar Paz (Author, Speaker and Life Coach)

“Don’t let your shero cape, become a veil.” twitter

Special Gift for Early Birds: Tara Mohr’s “Playing Big”

“You know that woman. She’s a good friend or a colleague from work. She’s smart and insightful. She gets it: whatever the situation at her company, or in her community, or in the news, she has great ideas about what needs to happen. She’s high integrity too—no greed, no temptation to corruption, no big hunger for power. Sometimes, you listen to her talk and think: if only people like her were in charge…

So here’s the thing: the way that you look at that woman? Someone looks at you that way. In fact, many people do. To us, you are that talented woman who doesn’t see how talented she is. You are the woman who—it’s clear to us—could start an innovative company, improve the local schools or write a book that would change thousands of lives. You are that fabulous, we-wish-she-was-speaking-up-more woman.”

“Playing Big is about bridging the gap between what we see in you and what you know about yourself.”twitter

That’s a passage from Tara Mohr’s new book, Playing Big: Find Your Voice, Your Mission, Your Message. Slated for release by Gotham Books on October 14, Playing Big is about bridging the gap between what we see in you and what you know about yourself. It’s a practical guide to moving past self-doubt and creating what you most want to create—whether in your career, your community, or in a passion you pursue outside of work. It’s playing big according to what playing big truly means to you. And if you don’t know what playing big looks like for you yet, the ideas and tools here will help clear away the blocks so you can discover that.

Does Tara’s message of playing big with your calling resonate with you? It sparks a fire in us, and we want to share that fire with our community. That’s why when you sign up for Emerging Women Live ’14 before the Early Bird deadline, you’ll receive Playing Big as a special gift at the conference. Be among the first to get your hands on this powerful guide.

“I want women in touch with what they feel called to do at a soul level.”twitter

We agree with Tara when she says, “I want women in touch with what they feel called to do at a soul level and to help them play bigger with that.” We hope this special offering helps you take the leap into your next emergence as a woman ready to change the world with your work!

To register for EWlive14 and to reserve your BONUS copy of Playing Big, sign up HERE before July 31, 2014. Books will be hand-delivered at the conference.

Join us for an experience that will last far beyond the four days we spend together. Learn more here>>>

About Emerging Women Live 2014:

Emerging Women Live aims to support and propel the emerging movement of women who are stepping up and changing the world. #EWLive14 is a one of a kind conference that helps women to harness the power of the feminine, rock the business world, and create a new paradigm for success. Learn more HERE.

And tell us below, dear emerging women, where will you PLAY BIG?

EW Power Party Seattle, June 5, 2014

Emerging Women is hosting another fabulous Power Party on June 5th, this time in Seattle at Impact HUB. If you can’t make it in person you can still participate via Livestream by signing up below. Please note that all tickets must be purchased in advance.

About:

Power Parties are authentic networking events that aim to bring together brilliant women ready to influence real change in the world through “the how” of what we do. Power Party Seattle is designed to be a comprehensive event that will explore the dimensions of living the truth of who we are through feminine power. You will experience real connection, intentional circles, speakers, book signings, live performance and groove. The line-up for this event is awesomely inspirational – featuring Jennifer LoudenShasta NelsonJensine LarsonSara YaoStacey Sargent, and Camille Bloom — all successful visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are trailblazing a new way of influencing positive change in the world. Expect authentic sharing of what makes these women tick and how they were able to achieve uncompromising success by living the truth of who they are. 

Register for Emerging Women’s Power Party Seattle HERE

[ew-in-the-loop headline=”Sign up to stay in the loop for Livestreaming of our regional events!”]

Speakers:

Jennifer Louden

Jennifer Louden is both a personal coach and social commentator, who has taken the concept of “comfort” and self-care, and made these essential concepts irresistible and essential to women around the world. Jennifer is a cultural visionary, harnessing her extraordinary ability to recognize women’s comfort as both a fundamental need and an innate desire. Jennifer is an established media favorite, known for her humor, honesty, and ability to deliver tangible tips and heart-expanding insight with grace and passion. As a best-selling author of The Woman’s Comfort Book and 5 other titles, she draws on a wealth of stories and experience to regularly enliven blogs, radio, TV & magazines like Woman First, Self, Woman’s Day, Health, Yoga Journal, Whole Living, Good Housekeeping, Shape, and Ladies Home Journal. Jennifer’s media appearances have included Oprah, MSNBC, CNN, and close to a hundred news shows in most major markets. She’s hosted her own radio show on Sirius, been a monthly columnist for Body+Soul (now Whole Living), enjoyed numerous satellite radio and TV media tours, and has been a major presence on the web since 2000. She is a leading spokeswoman for finding your center and creating a healthy life in the midst of the busiest life, and then extending that healthy living to your world through social change. She believes: Self love+world love = wholeness for all. Learn More>>>


Shasta Nelson

Shasta Nelson, a female friendship expert, is the Founder and C.E.O. of GirlFriendCircles.com–the female friendship matching site in 35 cities across the U.S. and Canada where women of all ages go to make local friends, and is the author of Friendships Don’t Just Happen! The Guide to Creating a Meaningful Circle of GirlFriends. She is regularly appearing in the media offering her expertise on such subjects as creating new friends, learning how to to forgive our friends, social media’s impact on our friendships, and the characteristics of healthy friendships. A few of the TV shows she’s been on include The Today Show, Katie Couric’s Show, The Early Show, and Fox Business. She’s relied upon by writers and reporters from such magazines as Cosmopolitan, Essence, Parents, More, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, and Glamour, and for such newspapers as The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle. Her spirited and soulful voice can also be found at ShastasFriendshipBlog.com and in her Huffington Post column where she regularly contributes on relationship health. She also teaches, lectures, and hosts Friendship Accelerator events in her hometown of San Francisco and throughout the U.S. Learn More>>>


Jensine Larson

Jensine (Yen-See Nah) Larsen is an award-winning social media entrepreneur, international journalist, and speaker. At age 28 she founded World Pulse – a digital media network connecting women worldwide and bringing them a global voice – after working as a freelance journalist covering indigenous movements and ethnic cleansing in South America and Southeast Asia. Today World Pulse is powered by 60,000 women from 200 countries, many who are using internet cafes and cell phones from rural villages and conflict zones, collectively improving the lives of 2.2 million people. After successfully launching a print version of World Pulse magazine, in 2007 Larsen turned her eyes to the future of communications technology in the developing world. She pioneered an interactive global women’s newswire where women worldwide – including those using internet cafes and cell phones from rural villages and conflict zones– can speak for themselves to the world and solve global problems. Most recently, Larsen has launched a new program that is training women in digital empowerment and citizen journalism that is fostering a network of vocal women leaders from some of the most forgotten regions of the world. Today women from virtually every country in the world are connecting through World Pulse and producing a multiplier effect of change. Women previously unknown by the global public are having their stories picked up from World Pulse by the BBC, CNN, the UN, and the Huffington Post and beyond.  Learn More>>>


Sara Yao

Having coached and developed more than 3,500 leaders in six countries since 1998, Sara Harvey Yao specializes in the area of Executive Leadership and Ego. Sara’s clients refer to her as the “Ego Whisperer” and appreciate her precise ability to hone in on the root cause of leadership challenges and quickly resolve them.

Companies know any leader working with Sara will gain immense self-awareness, expand their influence and create a more consistent and compelling presence. In fact, Sara’s coaching skills are favored by countless executives from leading companies – among them Microsoft, T-Mobile and Outerwall (formerly Coinstar/Redbox).

Whether working one-on-one with clients, as a team facilitator or as an inspiring speaker, Sara is deeply committed to guiding clients to clarity about behaviors, ego tactics and communication styles that hamper conscious leadership.  Learn More>>>


Stacey Sargent

Stacey is an inspiring, energetic and authentic facilitator, coach, speaker and author – and the CEO of Connect Growth and Development.  She is an advocate of bringing humanity back into the workplace.  She has held positions over the last 20 years in evolutionary industries performing leadership, strategic and design vision roles in business, accounting and finance, consulting, client relations, software design and development. Stacey paired her degree in Business with a Masters in Applied Behavioral Science to create the “work love of her life”.

Her approach is about whole-person intelligence – partnering the logical with the creative, the rational with the emotional, our brain and our body. She helps people make the connection between their inner and outer selves so they can bring all their superpowers to any endeavor, in work and life.

Stacey is the author of Inner Critic, Inner Success: Claiming Your Own Success While Taming the Critic. She aspires to do more of the work she loves with more fantastic organizations, helping them discussWhat Really Matters.  Learn More>>>


Camille Bloom

Seattle-based, Gibson endorsed musician Camille Bloom has performed at premiere venues in nine different countries including Canada, the US., Germany,  Netherlands, England,  Denmark, Belgium and Ireland. Combining percussive guitar and a voice that can “purr and wail” (Victory Review), “Camille’s music can make even the rain dance.” (Mike Galaxy – Indy Hits promotion).  The powerhouse singer/songwriter  has been said to sound  ”like Ani Difranco dipped in maple syrup”. (Spokane Inlander).

In the last nine years, Camille has had songs licensed for use in twenty one shows on a variety of channels including MTV, E! and Oxygen. Additionally, she has completed over 30 national / international tours and has had her music played on over 400 major and college radio stations throughout the U.S. and Western Europe. She also charted on the European FAR (Freeform American Roots) Charts in 2009 with other music greats Bob Dylan, Steve Earle and Iron & Wine. She won the “Best Female Indie Artist” at the Ladylake Music Awards in 2010 – and was listed in the top 100 Indie Artists by Music Connection Magazine.

In addition to touring full time with club dates and festival appearances, Camille takes time out of her schedule to direct a Rock N Roll camp for kids in Seattle – and she also makes regular stops at youth centers – performing and talking to kids about using positive outlets such as music to cope with life’s struggles. Learn More>>>

 Reserve Your Spot at Emerging Women Power Party Seattle HERE!

Check out an Emerging Women Power Party in action:

Like what you’re hearing? Dive deeper with us this October at Emerging Women Live 2014.

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Accessing Your Feminine Power with Claire Zammit

The article below is excerpted from the eye-opening keynote on Feminine Power Claire Zammit gave at Emerging Women Live 2013, and from my Grace & Fire podcast with her before the event. Claire is the co-creator of the Feminine Power training courses for women and co-leads a thriving learning community of hundreds of thousands of women throughout the world. She is a gifted and highly trained specialist in transformative education that gives her audience access to life-altering shifts, leading to embodied and lasting change. Read on to find out her definition of Feminine Power and why we all need it to make our destiny a reality.

 

“Masculine power is the power to create those things we can control and predict. Feminine power is the power to create those things that we can’t control.”twitter

 

CP: Six years ago, you made the decision to start trusting yourself and your abilities so that you could thrive in life. How did that decision come about?

CZ: I spent years of my life waiting to be “discovered.” I always felt like something was going to happen, or should happen, that was going to enable me to become all that I knew I could be. And I was very sad and confused when those opportunities never came.

And so late one night, by candlelight, I prayed for guidance. I knew I couldn’t just skip over this and continue on the course that I was on, and I didn’t know the answer, but I knew I needed to make a commitment to find out. And so, in the darkest hour of that dark night, I just surrendered, open, and I said, “Help, universe,” even though I doubted anybody was there listening.

And I had a very deep and powerful experience. It was almost like a mystical experience where I felt an inner voice say to me, “Claire, you have to have faith in yourself. And you have to believe that all of life is organizing around your success. Even though you don’t have any evidence for it, and even though you don’t know what to do, begin to make choices and take actions in your life aligned with a sense of faith.”

 

“You have to believe that all of life is organizing around your success.”twitter

 

So I went to sleep with that thought, and I woke up the next morning and I said, “Okay, what would I do if I really believed in myself and I believed that life was organizing around my success?” And immediately I had access to a very deep intuition that said, “Go and get an office space.”

It was kind of crazy because I’d just moved to LA from Australia, and I didn’t really know anyone, and I had given up my coaching practice 5 years earlier. But with my last $1,000, I went and I got an office space. And that’s how I met the woman who became a close colleague of mine, Katherine Woodward, and within a year we started teaching programs and creating courses together. And I met my husband and soulmate, Craig Hamilton, and the relationship that we share together is beyond anything I could have imagined.

I’m really so honored and grateful to say that having created a foundation of success in my own life, I began to fulfill on that dream of really standing for the global empowerment of women and girls. I wake up and I feel like I need to pinch myself because this outer life reflects the deeper possibilities that I always sensed, but I couldn’t quite see how to get there.

CP: Wow. So what happened?

CZ: I began to create my life from Feminine Power, and it really changed everything. And I know it can change everything for other women as well.

How many women in their clearest moments sense that they have gifts and talents that the world has never seen before and will never see again after they’re gone. And that even that they have a critical role to play in shaping the future of our world. And how many know exactly what that’s going to look like?

CP: There’s a big gap.

CZ: Yes, and this is significant. This yearning that’s waking up inside of us, it’s not just a desire to accomplish – to have a nice house, to have a nice car, to get married. What’s waking up inside of us is an impulse to actualize our higher creative potentials in service to something larger than ourselves.

 

“What’s waking up inside of us is an impulse to actualize our higher creative potentials in service to something larger than ourselves.”twitter

 

We don’t just want to have the relationship our parents had, we want to have the experience of intimacy that’s beyond that. We don’t just want to get a job, we want to express who we are and we want to develop our creativity and get it out of us in a way that impacts others.

We don’t just want to get more status or have more stuff. We want to become ourselves and create a life that reflects who we truly are. What we’re yearning for is our destiny: the greatest possibility of who we are in service to something bigger than ourselves. And the nature of destiny is that we don’t know what it looks like in advance, so it’s very hard to create a strategic plan to get there, or even put it on a vision board to be able to manifest.

So the system of power that we’ve been mastering as women over the last 50 years is actually a masculine system of power. It’s a power system that based on logical and linear thinking. So if you have a goal that’s predictable or controllable – you want to build a house, get a college degree – then the masculine power system is the way to go. The problem is, we’re no longer yearning to just accomplish goals. What we’re pregnant with are these higher possibilities.

We can’t get there with just a power system that’s based on analysis and logic. We need to have a power system that based on a much more intuitive, receptive, co-creative and feminine system. Masculine power is the power to create those things we can control and predict. Feminine power is the power to create those things that we can’t control.

 

“We need to have a power system that based on a much more intuitive, receptive, co-creative and feminine system.”twitter

 

CP:When you’re in a room with other women and see that maybe another woman is not living from a place of Feminine Power, do you reach forward and try and draw her out?

CZ: Well, that’s a great question. In our course, we have a whole new set of shared agreements that we teach about creating a culture of empowerment between women. And the point in which you can really partner to stand with someone and for someone is when they step forward in self-responsibility.

We can’t go into rescuing if that woman hasn’t yet said, “I’m committed to realizing the greatest possibility of who I am. And I’m standing to be responsible, to see myself as a source of my experience up until that point. And I am open to receiving support.” I think a woman has to step into that for the support to become really conscious and powerful and potent.

“I think a woman has to step into that for the support to become really conscious and powerful and potent.”twitter

I think generally speaking, we want to be finding ways to extend that invitation to women to actually step forth into that level of commitment, to stand for their own greatness. So I think rather than saying “Oh, I see you,” we want to mirror the possibilities. I think it’s, in many ways, so true. We want to mirror the possibilities. We want to reflect opportunities everywhere we go. We want to see and relate to the most powerful version of others.

And I think more than anything I want to encourage women to take that stand for themselves as a foundation for them being able to join other women in partnership, to be able to feed each other power. I think you can create a culture of empowerment between women when everyone’s stepping forward in self-responsibility as the price of admission for that.

“We want to mirror the possibilities. We want to reflect opportunities everywhere we go. We want to see and relate to the most powerful version of others.”twitter

To hear more from the amazing Claire Zammit, don’t miss her free webinar The Three Keys to Feminine Power on May 14th. Read more about what you will learn HERE. You can also see her in New York City, where we are so honored to have her back as a keynote speaker at Emerging Women Live 2014 in October.

About Emerging Women Live 2014:

Emerging Women Live aims to support and propel the emerging movement of women who are stepping up and changing the world. #EWLive14 is a one of a kind conference that helps women to harness the power of the feminine, rock the business world, and create a new paradigm for success. Join us in NYC for a truly extraordinary, one-of-a-kind event!

Join us for an experience that will last far beyond the four days we spend together. Learn more here>>>

Juicy Bites: Visionaries Re-imagine the World

“The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world.” ~Malcolm Gladwell

This week in Juicy Bites, discover:

  • CNN’s Top 10 Visionary Women
  • Artist Agnes Martin on looking within
  • WitW’s list of 2014 Women of Consequence
  • The artist behind “Stop Telling Women to Smile”
  • How Jane Goodall changed the way we think about humans

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. The CNN 10 – Visionary Women via CNN

From “Skill Shaper” to “Stigma Stopper,” CNN’s list of visionary women represent many fields of work. None are household names, and all are inspirational. The EW tribe might be specifically inspired by Ari Horie, “Startup Sister.” Dive in and see who speaks to you!

 

“We can find another option for success instead of … being a slave of the startup world. You can still be driven and successful while being collaborative and successful.” – Ari Horie

 

Continue Reading…

2. Agnes Martin on Art, Happiness, Pride, and Failure: A Rare Vintage Interview with the Reclusive Artist via Brain Pickings

Minimalist painter and notorious recluse Agnes Martin was not one for giving interviews. But when she did, she expressed beautiful thoughts “at once poetic and philosophical.” Find out how Agnes envisioned herself and her art in this review of her 1976 interview with critic John Gruen.

 

“We all have the same inner life. The difference lies in the recognition. The artist has to recognize what it is.” – Agnes Martin

 
Continue Reading…

3. The 2014 List of the World’s Women of Consequence via Women in the World

There was no shortage of visionary women at New York City’s Lincoln Center this weekend. Women in the World’s annual summit was filled to the brim with activists, artists, and all-around amazing women. Their “Women of Consequence” list is a slideshow of over one hundred women whose stories captivate and inspire. Who stands out in your mind?

 

“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” – Meryl Streep

 
Continue Reading…

 

4. The Artist Behind the “Stop Telling Women to Smile” Street Art Has Big Plans This Week via BitchMedia

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh is organizing an artistic experiment that she hopes will have a big impact on the way women are treated on the street. She’s designed large wheat-paste posters of strong women, but that’s not all. Beneath them are “words that countless women deeply feel and want to say when men they do not know sexually harass them in public spaces, but are not always safe to say aloud.” The posters and wheat-paste instructions are available for download to expand the project well beyond Tatyana’s Brooklyn neighborhoods.

 

“These responses show what the work is trying to do: be an advocate and voice for women, and to push men to consider these voices.” – Tatyana Fazlalizadeh

 

Continue Reading…

5. Jane Goodall: How she redefined mankind via BBC

Scientist Jane Goodall celebrated her 80th birthday this week! In this interview, she tells Henry Nicholls “the inside story on how she transformed our understanding of chimpanzees, what it means to be human, and the controversy and condescension she faced in her influential career.” Learn how she stayed strong and true to her vision in the face of criticism.

 

“My mother always taught us that if people don’t agree with you, the important thing is to listen to them. But if you’ve listened to them carefully and you still think that you’re right, then you must have the courage of your convictions.” – Jane Goodall

 

Continue Reading …

Tell us what you think makes a visionary woman. Join in the conversation with a comment below:

Like what you’re hearing? Dive deeper with us this October at Emerging Women Live 2014.

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Loving Change with Kristine Carlson: #PowerPartySanFran Keynote Speaker

As women lead the charge to change our world through the authentic expression of who we are, we will create a more integrated place to exist where the best of the masculine and the feminine work in harmony. Everyday, we see the momentum of this movement building and it is thrilling! But periods of change can be just as daunting as they are exciting and exhilarating. That’s why we feel so blessed to have the support of our sisters in the Emerging Women tribe, as we all take our own daring steps towards transformation.

On April 24th, we are lucky to have the wonderful Kristine Carlson, eloquent expert on change, transition and reinvention, as a keynote speaker at Power Party San Francisco. The NY Times best-selling author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff is following her life’s calling by helping emerging women remember that they have are brave, strong and fully capable of evolving. As Kristine says, “Here we don’t run from change – and we don’t just learn how to ‘deal’ with it. We learn how to love it. We learn how to laugh with it. We learn how to let it keep us awake and alive.” Check out more beautiful words of wisdom from Kristine below, and get excited about the authentic and down-to-earth sharing you can expect from her and others at Power Party San Francisco. Whether in-person or via livestream, we hope you can join us! Make sure you reserve your spot today: grab your ticket HERE.

 

Sign up below for access to the FREE livestream for the Power Party San Francisco, April 24th:



About Kristine:   Kristine Carlson is an international bestselling author and a leading expert on love, success, grief, happiness, and parenting. She’s the NY Times bestselling author and co-author of Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff, Heartbroken Openand An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love. Kristine has sold over 25 million copies of her books, and has been featured on national radio and television broadcasts, including The Today Show, Empowered Living Radio, The View, and The Oprah Winfrey Show Learn More>>>

 

Like what you’re hearing? Dive deeper with us this October at Emerging Women Live 2014

Power Practice #04: Crafting the Big Vision for Your Business

What does it look like when you’re earning money easily and effortlessly for doing what you love?

The answer may surprise you.Jennifer Lee, author of The Right-Brain Business Plan, shares with us “Crafting the Big Vision for Your Business,” a guided meditation that will help you form a stronger connection with the success and abundance of your future. 

Tap into your intuition and let your subconscious guide you as you dream big for your business with the awesome Jennifer Lee.

Play the Power Practice:

Jennifer Lee, founder of Artizen Coaching, is the award-winning author of The Right-Brain Business Plan. Her bestselling book has helped thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide grow their businesses authentically and creatively. She has more than 50 licensed facilitators who lead Right-Brain Business Plan® workshops nationally and internationally.  After spending 10 years climbing the corporate ladder at companies including Accenture and Gap Inc., she took the leap in 2006 to pursue her passions. Jennifer has been featured on ABC7 TV, Whole Living, Entrepreneur, and Family Circle magazines, and numerous radio shows, plus she co-developed a Circa Notebook with Levenger.

She received her coaching certification and leadership training through the prestigious Coaches Training Institute and holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from UCLA and an M.A. in Communication Management from USC. Jennifer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and adorable beagle-mix. Jennifer was also a featured presenter at the 2013 Emerging Women Live Conference in Boulder, CO.

 

Want to hear more about the Right-Brain Business Plan? Listen to our Emerging Women podcast with Jennifer Lee now:

Juicy Bites: The Courage to Challenge Expectations

“Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.” ~ Margaret Sanger

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ~ Anais Nin

This week in Juicy Bites, we discover:

  • A woman challenges the pressure to start a family
  • The women Michelle Obama honored for their extraordinary courage
  • 10 ways we can lead with courage
  • How to challenge the way society describes successful women
  • A feminine approach to feminism
  • Bella Abzug, lifelong activist, leader and hero

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. Life Once Removed via Suzanne Heintz

Check out Suzanne Heintz’s answer to the annoying and limiting question “Why aren’t you married?” The Denver-based art director’s photos are truly worth a thousand words to challenge the outdated but frequently implied notion that a woman without a husband and kids is somehow suspect.

 

“Do we live our lives with a keen awareness of how it feels, or just how it looks?” – Suzanne Heintz

 

Continue Reading…

2. U.S. Honors Extraordinary International Women of Courage via Mashable

March 8th marked the 103rd anniversary of International Women’s Day. In celebration, Michelle Obama presented the 2014 Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award to 10 exceptional women, whose work and achievements, often in the face of personal risk, serve as an inspiration to women worldwide.

 

“While our circumstances may be different, in so many ways the solutions to our struggles are the same. So when we see these women raise their voices and move their feet and empower others to create change, we need to realize that each of us has that same power and that same obligation.” – Michelle Obama

 

Continue Reading …

3. Lead With Courage: 10 Lessons From Women At The Top On Closing The Gender Gap  via Forbes

Using specific examples from women she’s met in her own career path, Margie Warrell shares 10 inspirational insights on courageous feminine leadership, from “Don’t go it alone” to “Lift as you climb.”

 

“I firmly believe that only when we women born in the western world step up to the leadership plate, and refuse to cower in the face of fear or failure, can we hope to permanently close that gap and create a more equitable world for the millions of women who have none of the opportunity we so easily take for granted.”

 

Continue Reading…

4. How to Write About Female Politicians Without Being a Sexist Sh*thead via Jezebel

A few weeks ago, you emerging women started an awesome conversation about the power of words here. In the same spirit, with an added dose of humor, Lindy West challenges publications to be mindful of their language, and to dissolve the damaging double standards applied to news coverage of female politicians.

 

“Here, I made a template (just fill in the blanks and your article is done!): NEWS REPORT: [Female Politician] did [politics] today. [Describe politics.] THE END”

 

Continue Reading…

5. Ms. Opinionated: Am I a Bad Feminist if I Don’t Take a Stand on Every Issue? via bitchmagazine

In this advice column, Sydette Harry challenges the expectation that a feminist should have a decisive stand on every feminist issue. We appreciate this reminder to bring a feminine edge to feminism.

 

“Remember that you become a feminist to love people and support them and to challenge the systems that don’t. That’s the important thing: Not what someone call themselves, not whether they have all the correct opinions, but how they’re working to make a better life for women.”

 

Continue Reading…

6.  My MAKERS Hero: Bella Abzug via MAKERS

Suzanne Braun Levine, author and first editor of Ms. Magazine, tells Makers about her hero, Bella Abzug, “an activist and leader in every major social movement of her lifetime,” and a woman who truly, outspokenly, lived her truth every day.

 

“She didn’t knock lightly on the door. She didn’t even push it open or batter it down. She took it off the hinges forever. So that those of us who came after could walk through.” – Geraldine Ferraro

 

Continue Reading…

We are excited to start a conversation and learn more from YOU, dear emerging women. Please join in with a comment below:

Like what you’re hearing? Dive deeper with us this October at Emerging Women Live 2014. Register before July 31st to enjoy deep discounts.

Juicy Bites: Connecting with Your Authentic Self

It’s the alignment that creates the blossom, the alignment that creates the energy of emergence. Every moment you make a choice to align with the truth of who you are, you’re making tiny little emergences towards your authentic self. You know, in your life, when you’re aligned with your values and when you’re not. Let’s work on strengthening that knowledge and fueling that emergence together!

This week in Juicy Bites, we discover:

 

  • Why it’s important to be true to ourselves
  • How our 6th sense can help us align with our most authentic selves
  • Why Jane Fonda is switching to waterproof mascara
  • How daring to be different can lead to success
  • A call to put your true self out there NOW from Elizabeth Gilbert

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. How to be your authentic self via aQuarius

 
It can be confusing and disorienting to discover you’ve become out of alignment with your true self. But the important thing is to stay on the path, and know that there are others who are making the same powerful journey. This article highlights changes in self and society that occur as we turn our attention towards authenticity.

 

“It is OK to lose your equilibrium when others think your life should be smooth sailing. It is OK to question your life’s purpose. It’s OK to say, ‘I don’t know who I am.’ It is better to ask the questions and seek the answers than to live a numb life. Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find yourself. Some call this a mid-life crisis… I call it the Heroine’s Journey.” – Marcia Reynolds

 

Continue Reading …

2. Interview with Sonia Choquette: Raising Six Sensory Kids in a Five Sensory World via Mindful Parenting

 
Sonia Choquette, speaker at Power Party Chicago, April 10, 2014 is a transformational visionary guide, known for her delightful humor and skill in quickly shifting people out of difficulty and into flow. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on helping children (and grown-ups) listen to their truest selves, along with some practices to enhance our sixth sense, intuition.

 

“When you are connected to your Spirit and intuition, you don’t get caught up in the noise of the world. You’re able to differentiate between your authentic voice and everyone else’s.” – Sonia Choquette

 

Continue Reading…

3. CRYING via Jane Fonda

 
Many emotions wait for us on the road to authenticity. In her beautiful blog post, Jane Fonda talks about how she is touched by these emotions living closer and closer to the surface as she grows older.

 

“I’ve listed sad things but what startles me even more is how I get emotional about nice things… Maybe because I’m older my heart is wider open, like a net that wants to catch all the things that matter.” – Jane Fonda

 

Continue Reading…

4. ‘I Have Been Told That I’m Different’ via The New York Times

 
We’ve all wondered, as we work towards self-alignment, ‘what if what emerges is too freaky for people to accept?’ If you’ve ever felt that way, take inspiration from Alison Chung, who never compromised her authentic self to conform to society’s expectations and now runs an awesomely unique tech detective agency.

 

“I have been told that I’m different, that I’m wildly eccentric and I think some of that might be true. I am proud of that.” – Alison Chung

 

Continue Reading…

5.  Elizabeth Gilbert’s Advice to Women: Get Out of Your Own Way via The Shriver Report

 
After Emerging Women Live 2013, getting advice from Elizabeth Gilbert feels like getting advice from a most trusted friend. Here, she reiterates her belief that perfectionism never kept men from “putting it out there,” so women can’t let that stop them either. As we take those “Frankenstein steps” toward our authentic selves, it may not be pretty, but it is progress.

 

“Step forward out of your own lingering residual sense of smallness, take up every inch of life that is your blessed inheritance, and DO YOUR THING.” – Elizabeth Gilbert

 

Continue Reading…

We are excited to start a conversation and learn more from YOU, dear emerging women. Please join in with a comment below:

Like what you’re hearing? Dive deeper with us this October at Emerging Women Live 2014. Register now for Early Bird perks!

Power Party Chicago, April 10, 2014

Emerging Women is proud to announce the relaunch of our Regional Events. We are excited to kick-start our Power Parties season with Power Party Chicago on April 10th at Tech Nexus. If you can’t make it in person you can still participate via Livestream by signing up below.

 

About:

 

Power Parties are authentic networking events that aim to bring together brilliant women ready to influence real change in the world through “the how” of what we do.

Power Party Chicago is designed to be a comprehensive event that will explore the dimensions of living the truth of who we are through feminine power. You will experience real connection, intentional circles, speakers, book signings, live performance and groove. The line-up for this event is absolutely phenomenal – featuring  Christine AryloSonia ChoquetteSara Connell, Betsy SobiechJulie Murphy Casserly, and Dawn Bless, all successful visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are trailblazing a new way of influencing positive change in the world.

Expect authentic sharing of what makes these women tick and how they were able to achieve uncompromising success by living the truth of who they are. 

 

Register for Emerging Women’s Power Party Chicago HERE.

 

[ew-in-the-loop headline=”Sign up to stay in the loop for Livestreaming of our regional events!”]
 

Speakers:

 

Sonia Choquette

 

Sonia Choquette is a globally celebrated and dynamic spiritual teacher, six-sensory consultant, enchanting storyteller, and transformational visionary guide, known for her delightful humor and skill in quickly shifting people out of difficulty and into flow. She is the author of 19 international bestselling books on intuitive awakening, personal growth, creativity, and transformational leadership, including the New York Times bestseller “The Answer is Simple.”

Sonia is inspiring a global consciousness movement around the truth that “We, as humans, are Divine Beings endowed with SIX senses to guide us through life,” and insists that we must activate and rely on our innate sixth sense in order to make the most authentic, well-informed, healthy, and soul satisfying decisions possible.

Her work has been published in over 40 countries and in 37 languages, making her one of the most widely read authors and experts in her field in the world. Learn More>>>

 


Christine Arylo

 

Christine Arylo is a transformational teacher, internationally recognized speaker and best-selling author of the official self-love guidebook, Madly in Love with ME, the Daring Adventure to Becoming Your Own Best Friend. After earning her MBA from Kellogg and climbing the corporate ladder for fifteen years, she chose to devote her life to creating a new reality for women and girls, one based on self-love, freedom and feminine power instead of the relentless pursuit of having to do, be and have it all.

Christine’s opinions have been featured on CBS, ABC, FOX, WGN, E!, in the Huffington Post, and on radio shows, spas, conferences and stages around the world, including TEDx. She is also the author of the go-to book on love and relationships, Choosing ME before WE, the co-founder of a virtual school for women, Inner Mean Girl Reform School, and a spiritual mentor and catalyst for other achievement junkies.   Learn More>>>

 


Sara Connell

 

Sara Connell is an author, speaker and life coach with a private practice specializing in women’s health & empowerment in Chicago. She has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The View, Rickie Lake, FOX Chicago, NPR, and Katie Couric. Sara has also worked with companies and organizations such as: Avon, Origins-Estee Lauder, GE, The Leo Burnett Company, Unilever, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Prentice Hospital for Women.

Her writing has appeared in: The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Parenting, BabyTalk, Mindful Metropolis, Psychobabble and Evolving Your Spirit. Her first book Bringing In Finn was nominated for ELLE magazine 2012 Book of the Year and is in bookstores now. Learn More>>>

 


Betsy Sobiech

Betsy Sobiech is part of the global team that launched Tiara International LLC, a company that is redefining women’s leadership to include all women. As the Chief Operating Officer, her mission is to make the power and peace of true leadership accessible to everyone. She considers herself a practical philosopher and has a gift for simplifying the complex. Tiara’s integrated approach reminds us that leadership comes from within, from a unique sense of inspiration. The Tiara Model for True Leadership helps us continuously accept what is, clarify what’s next and stay connected to what’s most important. Betsy embodies this model, practicing every day, in every area of her life.

With a B.A. in Philosophy from Truman State and an M.S. in Organization Development from Loyola University, she specializes in human behavior, group process, solution design, systems thinking and change management. She has worked with companies like Hewitt Associates, Nicor Gas, Exxon Mobile, PepsiCo, AT Kearney, Mesirow Financial and The Advisor Group. She lives in Chicago with her hilarious Lab-hua-nese Daisy (otherwise known as a rescued mutt). Learn More>>>

 


Julie Murphy Casserly

 

Julie Murphy Casserly is a 17-year veteran of the financial services industry and has often been referred to as a financial healer and visionary. She is turning the personal finance industry upside down by de-bunking standard financial planning processes and educating people about a new way of finding financial success… and it all starts from within.

As seen on CNBC-TV, Lifetime TV, Oprah & Friends Radio, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and more, Julie is author of the award-winning book, “The Emotion Behind Money: Building Wealth from the Inside Out,” founder of JMC Wealth Management in Chicago, motivational speaker and media expert on the topic of emotions and money.  She also works with more than 2,500 clients worldwide on all aspects of their financial portfolios including investment asset allocation and risk management, insurance needs, retirement planning, business planning, college planning and estate planning. Learn More>>>

 


 Dawn Bless

 

While singing and visual arts were her earliest blooming talents, Dawn has continued to develop into an experienced Spoken Word Artist, Actress, and Playwright. Acting credits include: I Am Who I Am: The Teddy Pendergrass Story, Seussical the Musical, Don’t Make Me Over: A Tribute to Dionne Warwick, At Last: A Tribute to Etta James and many more.

She is currently writing a stage play about the gospel group The Clark Sisters, as well as songwriting for a project with Grammy nominated singer Vashawn Mitchell. Learn more>>

 

Reserve Your Spot at EW Power Party Chicago HERE: emerging-women-powerparty-chicago.eventbrite.com

 

Check out the Emerging Women Power Party in action:

 

 

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Juicy Bites: The Power of Choosing Your Words Wisely

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” ~ Lao-Tze

 

This week in Juicy Bites, we discover:

 

  • The case for getting creative when meeting women and girls
  • A writer who won’t change her words for the patriarchy
  • 3 language habits that take power away from our words, according to Tara Sophia Mohr
  • The importance of bringing awareness to self-talk
  • A visual aid to make sure your body language backs up the power of your words

 
At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:


 

1. How to Talk to a Woman Without Saying, “Great Boots”: A Guide for Women via Slate

 

When meeting women or girls for the first time, what are you likely to ask them? The easy go-to is often a compliment about their appearance. We women have great style, it’s true, but there’s a lot more substance to us than our spectacular shoes. This article invites us to get creative when striking up conversations with our fellow females, and outlines why it’s so important to make the effort.
 

[‘Great boots!’] is a scourge not just because of what it says to girls about what we value about them, but also because girls absorb this mode of interaction and use it for the rest of their lives.”

 
Continue Reading …


2. I Am, I Am, I Am: Writing While Black and Female via The Toast

 
Has anyone ever suggested that you water down your words in order to appear more marketable or to appeal to a larger (younger, whiter, etc.) audience? Writer Vanessa Willoughby takes inspiration from bell hooks and refuses to write small.

 

“Why should I back down? Why should I be made to feel ashamed for pursuing a writer’s life that speaks to my experiences?”

 

Continue Reading…
 


3. Communication mistakes with big impact via Tara Sophia Mohr

 
Tara Sophia Mohr, expert on women’s leadership and well-being, identifies common communication mistakes that keep women from “playing big.” She also offers insight into the motivations behind these mistakes and suggests new, stronger language habits we can form instead.

“Our words are our opportunity. That opportunity is bigger than ever before because women are more literate than ever before and have access to technology — from laptops to email — that amplify our communication.”

Continue Reading…


4.  From Stupid to Silly with Self-Love via Huff Post Women

 
It’s not only the words we say that have power, but also the words we think. Self-love advocate Dayelle Deanna Schwartz addresses the problem of negative self-talk and the power of a simple word substitution to shift our self-perception.

 

“While this incident didn’t stop my habit of immediately berating myself for a mistake, it did raise my consciousness to begin a new habit — using gentler words when I did something I didn’t like.”

 

Continue Reading…


5. 10 Body Language Tips Every Speaker Must Know (Infographic) via Entrepreneur.com

 
We’ve touched on the language of our speech, writing, and thoughts, but what about the language of our bodies? If actions speak louder than words, we might all want to take a look at this infographic to make sure we’re sending the signals we’re intending.

 

“Your words may give the audience one message while your body sends quite another.”

 

Continue Reading…

 

We are excited to start a conversation and learn more from YOU, dear emerging women. Please join in with a comment below:

Juicy Bites: Navigating the Elusive Work/Life Balance

This week in Juicy Bites, discover:

  • Inspiring interviews with moms working in the advertising industry
  • Top reads for women looking to improve their work/life balance skills
  • How parents sharing work/life responsibilities benefit the entire family
  • Why work/life issues are relevant for everyone, not just moms
  • Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s funny takes on being working moms

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. How Moms in Advertising Do the Balancing Act via Digiday

In an effort to empower, inspire, and advance women in the advertising industry, standout working mothers are honored each year by the Advertising Women of New York (AWNY) organization. In this article, Digiday interviews a few of the winners.

“By default, I am helping other women in my company redefine a new normal. Now there’s a whole group of young females who see a female exec making this choice, and now they know it’s OK to say they need to go home to their families too and that there isn’t a negative repercussion.” – Joy Schwartz

Continue Reading …

2. Finding More Moments of Balance in 2014 via Huff Post Women

While researching her own book on choices modern women face and how those choices impact society, Tanya Selvaratnam read many books by female authors who “boldly tackled work/life issues from different angles.” Here, she lists a few of her favorites.

“How do we reject the expectations foisted on us to excel at everything in work and in life, to drive ourselves to the limit, while we try to be happy, healthy human beings?” – Tanya Selvaratnam

Continue Reading…

3. The Work-Life Balance and ‘Getting to 50/50’: Forum via KQED Public Media

When two parents have demanding careers, striking the balance between work and family can be a challenge. But when those parents share work and parenting duties equally, the whole family benefits, according to Silicon Valley executives Sharon Meers and Joanna Strober.

“The fact is that the majority of mothers work, no matter what their income is. And so we need to have solutions that work because most women in America need to work.” – Joanna Strober

Continue Reading…

4.  Single Professionals Need Work-Life Balance Too via Huff Post Women

“A full life doesn’t require a spouse and/or children,” says single, childless professional Whitney Caudill. “All lives require balance and respect.” In this article, Caudill outlines reasons why it’s harmful to center the work/life balance dialogue around only working mothers.

“Work-life balance issues apply to everyone; these issues are not limited, as it often seems, to parents. These issues are relevant for women and men, the married and single, and those that are parents and childless. It is universal.” – Whitney Caudill

Continue Reading…

5.  Gospel of Parenthood, According to Tina and Amy via Huff Post Parents

Finally, because a sense of humor is crucial to the work/life balancing act, here are 16 quotes about parenting from career comedians Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

“It is less dangerous to draw a cartoon of Allah French-kissing Uncle Sam — which, let me make it very clear, I have not done — than it is to speak honestly about [working moms].” – Tina Fey

Continue Reading…

We are excited to start a conversation and learn more from YOU, dear emerging women. Please join in with a comment below:

20 Powerful Women of 2013

This has been an exciting year for women. We are finally working together to shift women’s roles in society not by compromising our femininity, but by using our true qualities to make real changes in the workplace, in our communities and in the world. It’s been especially gratifying knowing that we, Emerging Women, participated in generating change. I am so inspired by all the women that passionately and courageously are creating a new life for themselves, one that is fully expressed and supported by the truth of who we are.

Change for women today is palpable. It is so important that we take meaningful action when called to participate in this movement. We are more ambitious, more daring, more unified and more determined to create impact by following our true calling, by speaking up, by crossing barriers, by unlearning habits, by being vulnerable, by welcoming failure as part of success and by expressing our true feminine power. And even though there is a lot more to accomplish and fight for, we want to celebrate the women who inspire and motivate us. You’ll find below a list of 20 trailblazers from different industries and different parts of the world who are creating change in the world.

And don’t forget, if you are committed to expressing your unique gifts to the world, you’ll find a community of like-minded women ready to help you succeed at Emerging Women Live. Also, we are curious to know who inspired you this year, so please leave a comment below and share with us the women that motivate you to create real change in the world.


1. Malala Yousafzai ― Activist, Writer

 

Malala Yousafzai, a 16 year old Pakistani girl, who a year ago was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman, fearlessly continues to fight for the right of girls to go to school. Her courage and determination has ignited a global movement of girls who are standing up to speak for themselves. In October 2013 she published a bestseller, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, a formidable story of courage and the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world.

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.”― Malala Yousafzai

2. Sheryl Sandberg ― COO, Facebook

 
Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, is best known for her best-selling book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Published in March 2013, the book opens a new, refreshing conversation on feminism in the workplace. The “Lean In” phenomenon focuses on encouraging women to pursue their ambitions, and shifts the conversation from what we can’t do to what we can do.

“We can each define ambition and progress for ourselves. The goal is to work toward a world where expectations are not set by the stereotypes that hold us back, but by our personal passion, talents and interest.” ― Sheryl Sandberg

3. Shonda Rhimes ―  Screenwriter, Director, Producer

 
Shonda Rhimes is best known as the creator, head writer, and executive producer of the medical drama television series Grey’s Anatomy, but she is also the creator of the TV-series, Scandal, which made her one of the most influential women in Hollywood. Olivia Pope, the main, non-stereotypical character in Scandal, is one of the strongest females in prime time TV.

“Most of the women I saw on TV didn’t seem like people I actually knew. They felt like ideas of what women are.” ― Shonda Rhimes

4. Jill Abramson ― Executive Editor, New York Times Co.

 
Appointed in 2011, Jill Abramson become the first female executive editor in the paper’s 160-year history. Joining the New York Times in 1997 as the Washington bureau chief and managing editor, she now sets the editorial agenda at the nation’s newspaper of record. Abramson was also named as one of the 500 most powerful people in the world by Foreign Policy Magazine.

“In one’s relationship with dogs and with a newsroom, a generous amount of praise and encouragement goes much better than criticism.” — Jill Abramson

5. Park Geun-hye ― President of South Korea

 
Park Geun-hye became South Korea’s first female president this year, making her the first woman head of state in modern history of Northeast Asia. She was elected with the nation’s highest turnout rate in 15 years. Park presides over the world’s 15th largest GDP at $1.15 trillion.

“Different times need different types of leadership.” ― Park Geun-hye

6. Virginia Rometty ― Chairwoman and CEO of IBM

Virginia Rometty proves that the IT world is not a boys-only club. She heads up IBM, the biggest computer company by revenue ― bigger even than Google, Tencent or Yahoo.

“I learned to always take on things I’d never done before.” ―Virginia Rometty

7. Diana Balmori ― Landscape and Urban Designer, Principal at Balmori Associates

 
Diana Balmori  is redefining how natural and built environments interact by creating smarter and more responsive city parks. Diana was named one of the most creative people of 2013 by Fast Company.

“Landscape architecture is an agile tool kit for dealing with the complexity of the city.” ~ Diana Balmori

8. Angelina Jolie ― Actress, Philanthropist

 
This year Angelina Jolie sparked controversy by bravely opening up to the world about her choice to undergo a voluntary double mastectomy because of her high risk for breast cancer. Her Op Ed piece in The New York Times made Jolie not only one of the most powerful women in Hollywood, but also in the world. Also she received  an honorary Oscar reserved for those ”whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”

“Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.”―Angelina Jolie

9. Wendy Davis ― Lawyer, Politician

On June 25, 2013, Wendy Davis held an eleven-hour-long filibuster to block Senate Bill 5, legislation that would create new abortion regulations in Texas. The filibuster  inspired men and women across the country to rally for women’s reproductive rights. Davis is running for governor of Texas in 2014.

“My story, my personal story, is my story. I have the ability to make choices and I had opportunities that I was able to take advantage of in my life. Other women of course should be able to define their own destinies and this idea that the heavy hand of government should somehow come in and tell her how to do that is deeply resented in [a] state like Texas.” ― Wendy Davis

10. AM Homes ―Writer

AM Homes won the prestigious 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her for her sixth novel, May We Be Forgiven. The Women’s Prize for Fiction was set up in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction written by women throughout the world.

“For years everyone kept saying, ‘Who is AM Homes? Is AM Homes a man or a woman? Or is she trying to hide?’ Clearly I’m out, I’m a woman and I’m thrilled to win this prize.”― AM Homes

11. Eve Ensler ― Activist, Writer

Eve Ensler is the creator of V-Day, a global activist movement to stop violence against women and girls. Earlier this year she incited a global flashmob in which every country in the world participated. Ensler’s latest book, In the Body of the World, is a brave and beautiful examination of an illness, unlike anything ever written about cancer. Ensler was also a keynote speaker at our national event, Emerging Women Live 2013.

“So much of life, it seems to me, is the framing and naming of things. I had been so busy creating a future of love that I never identified the life I was living as the life of love, because up until then I had never felt entitled enough or free enough or, honestly, brave enough to embrace my own narrative.” ― Eve Ensler

12. Hillary Clinton ―Politician, Philanthropist

Hillary Clinton is one of the most powerful women on the planet and a strong supporter of women’s rights. Her crusade for women continues with “No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project,”  which aims to put equality for women in the global civil rights spotlight.

“The great unfinished business of the 21st century is helping women and girls break through these ceilings and participate fully in every aspect of life once and for all.” ― Hillary Clinton

13. Elizabeth Gilbert ― Writer

Elizabeth Gilbert is unquestionably one of her generation’s most beloved memoirists. Her new book, published this year, The Signature of All Things, was praised by O Magazine as “The novel of a lifetime…”

“To be very clear: Creativity can ONLY coexist alongside Fear.  I have always lived a creative life, and I know that you can’t be creative without being vulnerable. And you can’t be vulnerable without experiencing fear.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert

14. Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu ― Entrepreneur

Ethiopian entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is one of Africa’s most successful women. She built SoleRebels, a shoe company that pays fair wages to its employees and uses locally sourced materials such as organic, hand-spun cotton. She was able to turn SoleRebels it into an internationally recognized brand: the shoes have been carried in Urban Outfitters and Whole Foods, and this year, Alemu will open stand-alone boutiques in Germany and Sweden. SoleRebels has become a hugely successful, sustainable, truly world-class enterprise.

“I am always challenging myself ‘how do I continue to make soleRebels not simply the best footwear brand but the best company to work at, a place of transformative opportunity for our staff ?” — Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

15. Oprah Winfrey ―Entrepreneur, Personality

America’s only African-American billionaire is finally celebrating  the success of once-struggling network, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, launched three years ago. Other highlights include Oprah’s co-starring role in The Butler (which is already generating Oscar buzz) and her memorable commencement speech at Harvard University.

“From time to time you may stumble, fall, you will for sure, count on this, no doubt, you will have questions and you will have doubts about your path. But I know this, if you’re willing to listen to, be guided by, that still small voice that is the G.P.S. within yourself, to find out what makes you come alive, you will be more than okay. You will be happy, you will be successful, and you will make a difference in the world.” ― Oprah Winfrey

16. Marina Abramovic ― Artist

 
Marina Abramovic, celebrated performance artist, embarked this year on an ambitious project to build a 33,000-square-foot center for arts called the Marina Abramovic Institute. The institute is is dedicated to the presentation and preservation of long durational work: performance art, dance, theater, film, music, opera, and other art forms whose performance exceeds six hours. The project was supported by a successful kickstarter campaign which raised $661,452. Among the supporters of  Marina Abramovic Institute are high profile pop culture icons like Jay-Z and Lady Gaga. Abramovic wants the new Institute to be a cultural laboratory. She explains:

“What you get is the opening of your mind. I’m not preaching any new religion; I’m ritualizing everyday activities. You drink the water. You count the rice. You sit in Crystal Cave. You lie in Levitation Chamber. You push yourself to a new level.” ―Marina Abramovic

17. Arianna Huffington―Editor-In-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group, AOL

 
Arianna Huffington has created a separate niche for herself on the personal and spiritual well-being circuit. The initiative The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money and Power focuses on a more sustainable definition of success, one that includes well-being, wisdom, and our ability to wonder and to give back.

“I love talking about my failures more than my successes because I feel that’s the most important thing I can teach—failure is an essential part of success, because these days no one has succeeded who hasn’t failed along the way.”― Arianna Huffington

18.  Reshma Saujani ―Political Entrepreneur

 
In 2010, Reshma Saujani became the first Indian-American woman (and the first South Asian American woman) to run for Congress. She founded Girls Who Code, a non-profit which aims to provide computer science education and exposure to 1 million young women by 2020. Their vision is to reach gender parity in computing fields.  Reshma is also the author of a new book entitled, Women Who Don’t Wait in Line which advocates for a new model of female leadership focused on risk-taking, competition and mentorship.

“It used to be that there was only one seat at the table for women and we would have to fight one another for it. Now, there’s no limit to how many women can make it to the top.”―Reshma Saujani

19. Angela Merkel — Chancellor, Germany

 
Angela Merkel who was just sworn in by the German Parliament to serve a third term as chancellor, ranked  #1 in Forbes’ Top Power Women and #5 in the top Powerful People in the World. She has served as ­Chancellor of Germany since 2005; the first woman in the position.

“When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make compromises.” — Angela Merkel

20. Sarah Hofstetter — CEO of  360i US

 
Sarah Hofstetter, a modern MadWoman, is the CEO of 360i US, a digital advertising agency selected as the Ad Age’s 2013 Digital Agency of the Year. She helped set up one of the first social-media practices at any agency, which now serves as a hub for social community management at 360i. Hofstetter was named Ad Age’s 2013 “40 Under 40” and was honored as a “Social Media All-Star” by the Social Media Society.

“We encourage brands to think about social media as a mindset instead of a marketing channel. Brands talk to consumers all day; whether it’s customer care, PR, advertising, event marketing or even human resources, it’s just a matter of translating that communication into conversations, and aligning those conversations with brand objectives.”

We are curious to know who inspired you this year, so please leave a comment below and share with us the women that motivate you to create change in the world.

Are you feeling a rising power inside of you that you feel must be expressed? Join us at Emerging Women Live 2014 in New York City and help us to spread the movement that is creating real change in the world.

 

Interview with Claire Zammit on Feminine Power

This is a transcript of my conversation with the powerhouse Claire Zammit. Claire is the co-creator of the Feminine Power training courses for women and co-leads a thriving learning community of hundreds of thousands of women throughout the world. She is a gifted and highly trained specialist in transformative education that gives her audience access to life-altering shifts, leading to embodied and lasting change. She is also a co-founder of Evolving Wisdom, a transformative education company listed as number 83 in Inc. Magazine’s 2013 list of top 500 fastest-growing, privately held companies in the nation.

Chantal Pierrat: Welcome, Claire.

Claire Zammit: Hi, Chantal. Great to be with you.

CP: I’m excited to be talking to you because I know that every time we get on the phone together, we end up talking about my favorite topic, which is feminine power.

CZ: Yes, absolutely.

CP: Well, maybe we should just jump in, and I know that’s the title of your upcoming book, and it’s the title of your work. 

CZ: We’ve been teaching a seven-week course on feminine power for the last four years, and we’ve had about seven thousand women participate in that, and hundreds of thousands more with our free events. It’s something that I’m really seeing as speaking to women’s experience at a very deep level. I think that’s what we connect with when we have our conversations. So I’m excited to be able to dive into it today, together.

CP: “Feminine” and “power.” They’re two very different energies, but together they totally make sense. And I’m just curious to see if you can start with defining what you mean by “feminine power.”

CZ: Well, I might just start, if I can, with a bit of a story that creates a little context for it. My teaching partner Katherine Woodward Thomas and the women that we were serving in the community, we had started in Los Angeles—we had a center for transformation, and we were coaching women and working with women.

And both of us were accomplished, successful women, as were the women we were serving. And we really noticed, in spite of having so much “power” in our lives, we both felt this very painful and confusing gap between the deeper potentials that we sensed for who we were as women, for the creative contribution, for the intimacy and connection of our relationships, and just for our overall experience of life. We couldn’t quite put our finger on what it was, and we found that women everywhere were having the same experience as us.

At the same time, we noticed that there was a yearning towards the feminine that was happening. We said, “This is really interesting. So why don’t we do a class so we can begin to explore what the feminine is?” And the first night of class, we listed these feminine qualities up on the board, and these masculine qualities up on the board—just common assumptions about the feminine: flowing, intuitive, receptive, surrendered, nurturing. And typical masculine qualities like logical, linear, hard, angular, penetrating.

And we looked at these different energies and these different qualities, and what we noticed was that we were hungry, as a group, as women, to experience these more feminine qualities. We were very drawn, but there was a collective fear that if we allowed ourselves to be scented in these qualities, that there would be a loss of power. So there was this idea that we were drawn to power, we’re drawn to this feminine, but it occurs like somehow there’s not power available to us.

We looked up the word “power” in the dictionary, and it said, “To do, to act, to accomplish, political force, might.” And it was like, “Gee, this sounds very much like the masculine qualities that we have up on the board.” And we realized—it was kind of a big awakening—that we as women, in the power system that we’ve been mastering over the last 50 years, have been in  more of a masculine version of power.

And so we just went, “Wow, I wonder what a feminine version of power would look like,” so that we could begin to create and source our lives from these feminine qualities. We made it our mission to find out how to access the more feminine version of power. And the interesting thing we found was that it speaks to a shift that’s happening, I think, for women where we have accomplished a lot—and certainly there’s a long way to go globally and in the United States. But there have been huge strides made over the last 50 years through feminism that the opportunity, the access to power and to freedom is so enormous.

“We made it our mission to find out how to access the more feminine version of power.”twitter

It’s a different kind of yearning that’s waking up inside of us where we don’t necessarily want to just achieve success, or we don’t want to necessarily just have power for power’s sake. What we see—and this was my experience, it was Katherine’s experience, it was the experience of the women in our community—is that what we’re yearning for is to actually create our lives as an expression of who we truly are and an expression of our deepest gifts. We want to realize our higher spiritual potentials, our potentials for our relationships, our larger creative contribution.

“What we’re yearning for is to actually create our lives as an expression of who we truly are and an expression of our deepest gifts.”twitter

And what we recognized and realized was that because that has to do with the flourishing of these higher potentials, you actually can’t create that kind of success in your life just with the masculine system of power. For that, we need to awaken this new system of power, which is more of the feminine system, and that’s really what we’ve been going into in all of our work.

So the masculine system of power is anything that’s predictable or controllable, and that you can create with a step-by-step plan—like building a house. You have a plan, you have a certain number of bricks, you have an infrastructure, you know how many people you need, and you can just execute the plan and be able to make it happen. So the masculine system is a wonderful system to use for anything that you can create in that way. If you want to get a rocket ship to the moon, the masculine system has been amazing. The miracles of science, the marvels of industry are incredible gifts of the masculine. It’s not that it’s wrong and bad, it’s just insufficient to create the things that we’re now most yearning for.

And feminine power is really the power to create those things that can’t be controlled: true love, intimacy, higher creativity, the realization of your spiritual potential, your creative gifts, being able to impact others. All of these things we need to be able to access with more of a feminine system of power that we’ve found is based upon the feminine principle of relatedness. So I would say there is a difference—I could go into this all day, but I hope that’s a helpful starting point in terms of the context around the two.

“Feminine power is really the power to create those things that can’t be controlled: true love, intimacy, higher creativity, the realization of your spiritual potential, your creative gifts, being able to impact others.”twitter

CP: Yes! Creating a life where we’re really living our truth, and the outer world becomes a reflection of our inner alignment.

I love the idea that feminine power becomes expressed through relationship and our greater contribution. After you realize the truth of who you are, you can go in a million different directions. But when people with a strong feminine lead realize the truth of who they are, they want to express it in terms of relationship. This means a great contribution to the world and how we can make the world a better place.

CZ: Yes. And this is where it really is a paradigm shift.   Many of us are looking at what we’ve been lined up with. Many of us have been lined up with goals of success—going to college and getting a good job. I know I certainly grew up where these were the markers of success. And I experienced them. I was a high achiever early on in life, and I was able to accomplish a lot of goals.

By the time I was in my late twenties, I was the head of an organization, I had a team of 50 women. Everything looked great on the outside. I had accomplished all of the things that I was supposed to do, and yet I was painfully depressed. I would go to sleep with a kind of agony. I would wake up with it. And it was really the beginning of a dark night of the soul. And it was very confusing because I felt like there was a deeper purpose, a deeper reason why I was here. I could feel this contribution inside of me; I could sense it, but I couldn’t see it.

“I felt like there was a deeper purpose, a deeper reason why I was here. I could feel this contribution inside of me; I could sense it, but I couldn’t see it.”twitter

And I think this is the challenge that we have, where we need to create with a different system of power. Because the yearning that’s awakening in us, it’s not just to achieve these external markers of success, as wonderful as they are. A deeper yearning is awakening in us to discover who we are and why we’re here, and really participate in the life process in a way that’s bigger than ourselves. And that has to do with becoming the fullness of who we are in service to the evolution and flourishing of life.

“A deeper yearning is awakening in us to discover who we are and why we’re here, and really participate in the life process in a way that’s bigger than ourselves.”twitter

That’s really the deeper context each one of us—you, me, all of us—in our clearest moments sense that we have gifts and talents inside of us that the world has never seen and may never see again after we’re gone. Perhaps even in our most courageous moments we sense that we have a role to play in shaping the future of our world. And the thing I’ve really discovered is we’re right, but we can’t necessarily see what that looks like or how to get there. And the power that we’ve been cultivating— to do, to accomplish, to make things happen— is not necessarily the power that’s going to give us access to unleashing the fullness of who we are in this larger context.

“We have gifts and talents inside of us that the world has never seen and may never see again after we’re gone.”twitter

CP: Right. I think that’s what excites me the most about the rising feminine. And as we can teach our society, both men and women, to accept that energy, both as a lead and also as something to be integrated with the masculine, that it will bring that component of, “Yes, we want to realize who we are, but that’s not the end of the story. That’s not the end of the game right there. That’s just a stepping stone so we can be more effective in connecting with the rest of the world in a real way.”

CZ: Right! Absolutely. Through becoming ourselves, we can access the power to transform and evolve the world.

“Through becoming ourselves, we can access the power to transform and evolve the world.”twitter

CP: Right. So juicy. And I love your work also because you are teaching women. And again, the feminine is more subtle, there are subtler energies rather than, “OK, step one, step two, step three.” And there’s a lot of skills-based trainings out there for women who want to build businesses, who want to lead, but this vision piece, this perspective, the deep inner transformation that’s required—I really feel like that’s where the real work is.

CZ: Yes. Right. Absolutely. How do we begin to source power from relatedness? What’s the process of creating something from the inside out? In our work, we teach that there are three primary sources of feminine power, and the first is our relationship with ourselves, getting into an empowered relationship with our feelings and emotions so that we can transform and embody the deeper truth of who we are. I love that in your tagline, I think that’s the foundation. We need to actually step in and become the women that we came here to be.

“We need to actually step in and become the women that we came here to be.”twitter-logo-ew

Secondly, to be able to step into this rich co-creative relationship with the energy and intelligence of life and access our own inner guidance and the intelligence and creativity of the life process. And finally, in our relationships with each other. I think we’re so deeply entrenched in a paradigm of competition and autonomy. We feel like there’s something insufficient in us if we need help or partnership or support. But we’ve really found that the truth is we can’t become ourselves by ourselves, and we actually need to learn how to open up and receive and generate support at an unprecedented level to be able to create in this way.

“The truth is we can’t become ourselves by ourselves, and we actually need to learn how to open up and receive and generate support.”twitter

These ways of knowing and being and creating are a critical piece of development that we need to take on to be able to be successful at all of these other things—exactly what you’re pointing to. We don’t want to just have the tools to be able to make things happen. We want to be able to self-express, self-evolve, co-create, and for that we absolutely need to engage.

“We don’t want to just have the tools to be able to make things happen. We want to be able to self-express, self-evolve, co-create, and for that we absolutely need to engage.”twitter

I found it was critical in me—if I can share something from my own experience—to try to make that more tangible, more concrete. So the first thing, “becoming who you are,” I think we all sense this deeper possibility of who we are, and for many of us, we don’t have an experience of being mirrored by others in our lives, personally or professionally, in ways that reflect who we truly are.

That was my experience. I had this chronic experience of invisibility. I would go to different events, different places, and I would feel like I wouldn’t ever get any opportunities. And it would be very confusing because I knew I had wisdom to contribute, but I felt like there was a way, both personally in my relationships, where I felt very unseen and invisible, and professionally, where it was constantly my experience, where other people were not extending support or offering me opportunities or inviting me to participate in things. And I was very, very confused.

And I realized that I had a chronic way of being where I was constantly disappearing myself without even realizing it. So I was actually disconnected from my own feelings and emotions, and this is very common in women’s development in our culture. To access power in the masculine, we’ve had to become very hyper-rational, hyper-in-our-heads, to make it happen. That’s the kind of system. We don’t necessarily know how to relate to what we’re feeling. We kind of disappear our own inner selves.

And so I was so disconnected from myself that it was generating this experience of other people not being able to feel connected to me either. I was kind of waiting to be discovered [laughs]. I was confused because I had such an ability to see into other people and their experience—that’s often one of the gifts of this pattern of invisibility.

But through the principles we teach in Feminine Power—this is where we start, our first power base—I was able to get connected to myself, and I was able to get connected to what I was feeling, what I was seeing, what I was sensing. And I developed an ability to make that visible, make myself visible. So it was a shift from waiting to be discovered to actually taking responsibility to present myself into the world.

“It was a shift from waiting to be discovered to actually taking responsibility to present myself into the world.”twitter

This is what it looks like when we say, “Become the woman, become your true self.” There’s a gap in terms of who we are and who we’re being and how we’re showing up and how we’re relating. And when I began to show up and I was presenting myself, I can’t begin to tell you how radically things began to change for me in a very short period of time.

To be continued… You can listen to the recorded version of this interview HERE

Juicy Bites: Worldwide Equality for Women

In this edition of Juicy Bites we discover:

  • Hillary Clinton’s new project for women’s full and equal participation in our future
  • How developing countries are hurt by women’s economic inequality
  • What we can do to fix gender inequality in the workplace
  • The opening of one country’s first women’s-only bank
  • An elegant speech from Angelina Jolie on being of use to others

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. Full Equality For Women: Hillary Clinton’s Crusade Continues via Forbes

Hilary Clinton is beginning work on a project to “measure women’s progress in the world and create a roadmap to a future of full and equal participation” for women. “No Ceilings: The Full Participation Project” aims to put equality for women in the global civil rights spotlight.

“The great unfinished business of the 21st century is helping women and girls break through these ceilings and participate fully in every aspect of life once and for all.”– Hillary Clinton

Continue Reading …

2. Gender and finance: Discrimination abounds via The Economist

The World Bank has recently reported that more than 1.3 billion women are “largely outside the formal financial system.” Whether due to gender norms or legal restrictions, many of the world’s women can neither borrow money to advance themselves, nor save enough to protect themselves.

“Gender-based financial exclusion means that the developing world operates at massive under-capacity.”

Continue Reading…

3. This 20-Something Is Writing A New Script For Women In India via Forbes

According to Geeta Ramakrishnan, fixing gender inequality in the workplace is not only “smart economics,” as UN Women’s Executive Director Michelle Bachelet has said, but is also a “critical requirement for societal progress.”

“Women need to realize that current circumstances may be tough to overcome, but if they don’t stand up for their dreams they will be doing a great disservice not just to themselves but also to the future generations.”– Geeta Ramakrishnan

Continue Reading…

4. India Inaugurates First Women’s-Only Bank via Wall Street Journal

India’s first bank aimed at providing loans and financial services geared specifically to women opened this week. The hope is that the new bank will increase the low percentage of women (26%) who have their own bank accounts. The bank is overseen by an all-women board.

“Access to finance and banking not only helps empower women but also broadens the social base of development, thus fostering equitable growth.” –Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Continue Reading…

5. Angelina Jolie Pays Tribute To Late Mother In Governors Award Speech via Huffington Post

Angelina Jolie receives an honorary Oscar reserved for those “whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.” In her moving acceptance speech, Jolie remembers her mother’s influence on her sense of responsibility to those in need.

“Above all, she [my mother] was very clear that nothing would mean anything if I didn’t live a life of use to others.” — Angelina Jolie

Watch Angelina’s speech here:

Continue Reading…

Join the conversation!  We love hearing from our ever-emerging tribe. Leave a comment below:

Emerging Women Live — Speaker Highlights Part 3

This is part three of a series of posts that we hope will inspire and keep you engaged with what you learned at Emerging Women Live.

We are so grateful for being able to bring together these phenomenal women who shared their unique power stories, who gave us the gifts of wisdom and joy, who inspired and motivated us to take our work to the next level. We encourage you to share your favorite Emerging Women Live moments, so please leave a comment below and tell us what inspired YOU the most at #EWLive13.

1. Tami Simon – We Are Always Emerging

In 1985, at the age of 22, Tami Simon founded Sounds True, a multimedia publishing company dedicated to disseminating spiritual wisdom. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Sounds True has published more than 800 audio, video, music, and book titles along with online courses and events. A two-time winner of the Inc 500 award as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in America, Sounds True is widely recognized as a pioneer in providing life-changing, practical tools that accelerate spiritual awakening and personal transformation. In addition to being the publisher and CEO of Sounds True, Tami hosts a free weekly podcast series called Insights at the Edge in which she interviews Sounds True authors about the growing edge of their life and work.

“It’s true, we are each a complete, unprecedented, never before cosmic event.”~ Tami Simontwitter
“We can’t inherit a recipe to be our unprecedented self and to live the truth of who we are.” ~ Tami Simontwitter
“I ask you, what kind of evolutionary agent are you? What part of the world calls you? What do you want to see reinvented?” ~ Tami Simontwitter
 “I actually do believe that the truth of who we are flows out in such a way to be a medicine for others.” ~ Tami Simontwitter

2. Sera Beak – Soul Fire: It’s Time to Burn, Baby, Burn

Sera Beak is a Harvard-trained scholar of comparative world religions who spent years traveling the world studying spirituality with Sufi dervishes, Tibetan monks, Croatian mystics, shamans, and more. She is the author of The Red Book: A Deliciously Unorthodox Approach to Igniting Your Divine Spark and Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic’s Love Story, has appeared in The New York Times, People, and Publisher’s Weekly, and on NPR, The Dr. Oz Show, and Oprah and Friends.

“If we allow the false to fall away, if we allow what’s been covering our truth to burn to the ground we come to know who we really are – a divine soul; and we begin to live as this truth.”~ Sera Beaktwitter
“I know in every cell of my female body that finding my soul is my true success.”~ Sera Beaktwitter/a>
“I need to be vigilant and responsible with how I transmit the feminine.”~ Sera Beaktwitter

3. Sil Reynolds – Emerging Crone: Gaining Value As We Age

Sil Reynolds, RN, is an author, nurse practitioner, therapist and workshop leader. For more than 30 years she has worked with women of all ages, helping them create balanced and meaningful lives.  Reynolds completed Marion Woodman’s BodySoul Rhythms® Leadership training and she a graduate of Brown University, where she majored in Women’s Studies. She has been an ongoing advisor to the Omega Institute’s Women and Power Conference since its inception. For over a decade, Reynolds led Geneen Roth’s Breaking Free From Emotional Eating workshops across the country. In 2005, Sil coordinated the Love Your Tree project for V-Day in NYC, in conjunction with Eve Ensler’s Broadway play The Good Body.

“Ladies, as we age, we are emerging as queens of wisdom.” ~ Sil Reynoldstwitter
“So when it’s your time ladies, boldly step into your third act of life, and know that it is bound to be your best act.” ~ Sil Reynoldstwitter
“Transform your suffering and your worrying into consciousness, ground in your body and wisdom and take the crown that is your rightful inheritance.”~ Sil Reynoldstwitter

4. Eliza Reynolds – The Whole Girl: A New Model for Growing Up Imperfectly

Eliza Reynolds is a 22-year-old workshop leader, author, speaker, and “professional big sister.” She is a certified teen mediator, SOS trained counselor by Planned Parenthood, and an affiliate of Adventure Game Theater. Eliza leads Mothering & Daughtering workshops for mothers and their preteen and teen daughters with her mom, Sil Reynolds. Her book, Mothering & Daughtering: Keeping the Bond Strong Through the Teen Years, co-authored with her mom and inspired by their workshops together. Eliza is also the co-founder and co-director with Josh Smith of Teen Rising.

“Our relationship with our bodies is a battleground for wholeness against the culture of perfectionism.” ~ Eliza Reynoldstwitter
“For me soul is our felt experience of our most true self, our authentic self.” ~ Eliza Reynoldstwitter
“Emerging girls need emerging whole women.” ~ Eliza Reynoldstwitter

5. Nancy Levin – Rock Your Own Foundation, Before It Rocks You

Nancy Levin, author of Writing For My Life, received her MFA in Poetics from Naropa University. Since 2002, Nancy has been the Event Director at Hay House, Inc., producing innovative events and experiential conferences focusing on self-empowerment, health and spirituality while weaving in her own story and poems to connect with audiences around the world during keynotes, workshops and seminars. Nancy is a certified LifeForce Coach and co-presenter for the Deborah King Center LifeForce Coaching Program, and she is currently completing her certification in the Breakthrough Shad Coaching Training Program with The Ford Institute.

“It’s very interesting how the most absolute devastating experience of my life, going through my divorce, is what catapulted me into this next phase of my life.”~Nancy Levintwitter
“I did the inner-work that I needed to understand that all of the validation that I’ve been seeking externally, I needed to resolve internally.” ~Nancy Levintwitter
“I now know heartbreaking one is a pain unable to be healed by the other. We can only heal ourselves.”~Nancy Levintwitter

 

Check out EWLive13 Speaker Highlights part I and part II featuring Eve Ensler, Brené Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert and many more. Please leave a comment below and tell us what inspired YOU the most at #EWLive13.

Juicy Bites: Fostering Change through Feminine Leadership

This week we find out:

  • Traits people associate with great leaders
  • How supporting women leaders can change the world
  • Lessons for empowered female leaders
  • How one woman leads by being true to herself
  • How Tara Mohr connects spirituality with business

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. Great Leadership: 7 Traits of True Leaders via Inc. Magazine

What makes a great leader?  New studies are showing that worldwide, people want more feminine traits in the individuals steering them towards a better future.

“The ideal leader, then, should be like the earth itself: positioned between Mars and Venus. But in an environment of uncertainty and shifting power structures, Venus is rising.” –Leigh Buchanan

Continue Reading …

2. Accelerate Women Now: Building a 50/50 Global Economy via Forbes

Women entrepreneurship is a phenomenal force that  is truly reshaping the world. Approximately 37% of enterprises globally are women-owned. These women reinvest, create jobs, and innovate. Also, recent research showed that entrepreneurs tend to be more successful because of their trusted status in the community.

“Change business, change the way business operates and defines success, and you change the world.” –Ashoka

Continue Reading…

3. Dianne Bevelander: My Three Key Lessons for Female Empowerment via The Next Woman

Dianne Bevelander, a “true female hero who campaigns tirelessly for female empowerment and equality,” brings her business acumen and international expertise to bear on the topics of feminine leadership, risk-taking, choice and bias.

“…increased diversity of opinion and approach… should come from women in leadership positions rather than the demand that they merely adopt the approach of men.” –Dianne Bevelander

Continue Reading…

4. ‘I Don’t Play Games’ & Other Secrets From One of the Country’s Top Philanthropists via The Huffington Post

One of the country’s most effective philanthropists leads with openness, generosity, accountability and intuition. In this interview, Wallis Annenberg talks about how she found her voice in her father’s foundation, and how she wants to use it to benefit the community.

“So I’d say today what’s happened is that my insides match my outsides, and I like myself!” –Wallis Annenberg

Continue Reading…

5. Interview with Tara Mohr on Playing Big, Part I: Weaving Spirituality Practice and Business via Rise & Actualize

Women’s leadership expert Tara Mohr talks about her mother’s influence on her spiritually driven business sense.

“I grew up with this access to inner life and to spiritual concepts that I think children are ready for and can understand, but we often underestimate how much and how early they can understand it.”

Continue Reading…

Join the conversation!  We love hearing from the ever-emerging in our tribe. Leave a comment below:

Tara Mohr: Weaving Spirituality into Business

This is a transcript from my conversation, “Playing Big,” with the wonderful and talented Tara Mohr.

Tara is an expert on women’s leadership and well-being. Her work helps women play bigger in their work and in their lives. With an MBA from Stanford University and an undergraduate degree in English Literature from Yale, Tara takes a unique approach that blends inner work with practical skills training, and weaves together both intellectual and intuitive wisdom. Tara has also been a speaker and workshop leader at multiple Emerging Women Live Conferences. 

Tara Mohr at Emerging Women Live 2013

Chantal Pierrat: I’m so excited to have you today—half an hour or 45 minutes all to myself. I think I discovered you about a year ago or a year and a half ago. I’ve been getting your blogs and I read your poetry. And the thing that struck me the most was here was a woman who was diving into business, clearly very, very articulate and wise in the business world, but who was overtly—and I’m putting some emphasis on that because it’s unusual—spiritual. And I’m just so excited because it’s such a rare combination, and I would love to dig in a little bit more about your background and how that came to be and how you came to combine these two worlds that seemingly are very separate. So maybe we could just jump in there.

Tara Mohr: Yes. I’d love to begin there. That’s certainly been a big part of my journey. I was raised in a fairly unique way, hopefully a way that’s becoming less unique.

My mom was very much a spiritual seeker, and had a huge passion for psychology. So our house was full of books from all different religious traditions, from the mystical side of all different religious traditions, and she was always busy reading them. She was up at 5 a.m. writing about spiritual topics, really just for her own journey. She raised me, every morning, at the breakfast table, asking me what did I dream the night before, and having me diagram my dreams out, the Jungian interpretation, on a yellow pad while I was having my oatmeal or my Cheerios or whatever it was at the time.

And truly, I can remember incidents like being teased on the playground in kindergarten and coming home, getting into the car, my mom picking me up and saying, “Mom, so-and-so teased me, and I really hate him.” And she would always say one of two things in that scenario. She would say, “Well, what do you think is going on for that person at home that would make them tease another kid?” Or she would say, “How do you think God looks at that person?”

So this was the milieu I was raised in, and it was particularly remarkable because it wasn’t attached to any organized religion. I grew up with this access to inner life and to spiritual concepts that I think children are ready for and can understand, but we often underestimate how much and how early they can understand it. So I would say that was one track that I was on from very early in life.

“I grew up with access to inner life and to spiritual concepts that I think children are ready for and can understand, but we often underestimate how much and how early they can understand it.”

And yet, at the same time, my parents were middle class, professional, Jewish family who really valued education, and they were saying to me, “You’re bright and you have a lot of potential and we expect you to work hard in school and do well in school.” And school was a world that felt like the opposite of all that stuff I was just talking about. Because, of course, at school, nobody was asking what God thought about any of the other kids. [Laughs] Nobody was thinking about what dreams meant.

School felt very hierarchical. I was always aware of, “Oh, you can get a good grade or a bad grade.” And yet, my mom was saying every child was divine and special. So those things were at odds. In school, we would learn about, “This war happened because this country disagreed with this guy,” and no one was looking at the inner side of anything.

So for much of my life, I would say these two different domains felt very distinct, and I felt, often, like an outsider in both. In one I felt too sensitive and too spiritual, and in one I felt like I was sometimes saying, “Come on guys, let’s do a reality check,” or “Let’s bring a little more intellectual rigor to this.” And it’s really only in my adult life that I have begun to find a way to advocate for the message that these worlds do not have to be separate. And it’s where I can have the joy of people like you saying, “Hey, this is actually something special about you and wonderful that you combine these two things,” instead of them feeling like two different languages, where I was often trying to interpret or translate but that that was really hard.

CP: Yes, that’s why I put the emphasis on “overt,” because I was surprised to see how much you really do—that’s part of your work, that you’re combining both. And it seems like you have a lot of receptivity in the audience that you work with to this particular mix.

TM:Yes. And one thing I’ve found—and I know you have a lot of entrepreneurs listening, so this might be particularly interesting to them from the angle of their entrepreneur hat as well—is that what we tend to think of these different audiences—the spiritual audience, the secular audience, the creative, the corporate people. I even came into my business with some of that, and sometimes I would get caught up in, “Well, who am I talking to? Am I talking to the woman who has a holistic massage therapy business? Or am I talking to the woman who is a professor? Am I talking to the woman who works in the corporation?” And I had assumptions for each of those groups and how “spiritual” I could get with the content.

And what I have found is that those are total stereotypes. Every time I talk to my customers—I do a lot of just getting on the phone and doing one-on-one customer interviews on an ongoing basis because I like to stay in touch with who’s really listening. And every time I do that, and every time I read a bio of someone participating in my program, I find that there’s no stereotype that they match up with. There’s no demographic segment or psychographic segment we could even make up that they match up with. Most women are something we couldn’t predict. I just think about, in the past few weeks, talking to a woman is in my Playing Big program who is an emergency paramedic on an ambulance in a rural area, and wants to play bigger in sharing some of what she’s learned from that. That’s not someone I could ever predict that would be in my programs.

“There’s no demographic segment or psychographic segment we could even make up that they match up with. Most women are something we couldn’t predict.”

Or someone who said, on one of our first calls, “It’s my last day in the military, and tomorrow I’m going to be a civilian. Here’s what I want to play big with as I become a civilian and that’s why I’m here.” All the way from that to the life coaches and the holistic healers and the corporate people and the tech entrepreneurs.

And so many women, especially in our time, are embracing this hybrid where, “I’m a transportation engineer, but I do Native American art every weekend and that’s my passion.” Or, “I’m a college professor and physicist and I do angel card readings and I’d really like to do more of that.” I see so much of that. So I think, unfortunately, in the business world and the publishing world, there’s been an oversimplification of the audience that’s just not true to women today.

“I think, unfortunately, in the business world and the publishing world, there’s been an oversimplification of the audience that’s just not true to women today.”

CP: I so appreciate that, and I love how you’re really taking a stand and are unapologetic in an area like business that can be considered risky. I’m also curious if you’ve ever had people that said, “Well, I just want your Playing Big”—and we’re going to get into that—“I just want the business side of Playing Big. This other stuff makes me uncomfortable.”

TM: It may be that some of those people just click away from my site, and that is probably happening more than—I don’t hear about it too much. And I think people know, if they come to my site, that they’re not going to get pure secular business tactics.

For me, I don’t get excited about helping women develop those because I feel if we’re just helping people to play more effectively within a patriarchical system, that’s certainly not serving the mission I care about. I want women in touch with what they feel called to do at a soul level and to help them play bigger with that. That’s what’s going to change the world for the better. So I feel like there’s plenty of other experts out there who just help women skill up with a very neutral point of view about whatever their skills [are being used for, and] that’s fine. But I’m coming from a different place.

“I want women in touch with what they feel called to do at a soul level and to help them play bigger with that.”

CP: Tell us more about Playing Big and the essence of the work.

TM: Well, I’ll begin my sharing just how I started to use that term, “playing big,” in my work. I used to do a lot of one-on-one coaching with women. Now I do more large group programs, but when I was starting out and I was doing one-on-one, I was seeing a pattern again and again in the women that were showing up in my practice.

I always think about one of my first clients who worked in the social sector and was pretty young, early in her career, and had such incredible ideas about what needed to happen in her organization and her industry. She was on top of every journal and cutting edge conversation in the field. She was constantly reading and linking and thinking about interesting things. And nobody in her organization knew it, and nobody in her field knew it because she just couldn’t act on and speak for her ideas.

And I was so pained by seeing that, and then I started seeing the same thing in client after client. So many of the women I was seeing, in one way or another, had such brilliance to share, had something really important to share, and they didn’t see themselves as ready to share it. They didn’t see themselves as ready to take on a major leadership role. They didn’t think they were expert enough, they were being held back by their inner critic. And of course, part of the reason I was attracting that particular theme and noticing that theme was because I had certainly grappled with all of those issues myself and was still grappling with them.

Tara at Emerging Women Live 2013

So that kind of became a focus of my work. And as I mentioned, I’m always trying to be in touch with my customers. And at a certain point a few years ago, I was doing a survey of my blog readers, and in the survey I asked my readers “What is the biggest challenge you’re facing in your life?” That’s such a good market research question—you want to know what people are grappling with. It was a multiple choice question and I listed all the things that we typically think of as so hard in women’s lives: work/life balance, not enough time, stress, I don’t know what I want, financial constraints, unsupportive people—all this stuff. And I threw in, just on a whim, “I’m playing small” as one of the choices. And when the responses came back, that was the most popular choice.

CP: Oh my. Wow.

TM: [Laughs] And I was fascinated because it was so stunning to me that that was so widespread, but more so that people knew, all these women were walking around with the same feeling I was having, like, “I’m not even sure what I mean by that, but I know I’m playing small.”

CP: Right.

TM: So out of that, I knew that I would then package the work I had already been doing with women on these issues under the term “playing big.” And what the work of that is, for me, the approach that I take, it begins with understanding what you feel called to do in your life right now. Because again, what we want to play big with is not our ego’s ambitions or the world’s ideas of success, but our true calling. So there’s a process of identifying what you’re called to now and accepting that, and then learning a variety of new ways of being that each allow you to stop holding back your voice.

“What we want to play big with is not our ego’s ambitions or the world’s ideas of success, but our true calling.”

So we do a lot of work around mastering our awareness of self-doubt and the inner critic, and beginning to separate that from the other voices within, and connect more strongly with what I call the inner mentor, which is your older, wiser self. We look at unhooking from praise and criticism, so becoming less sensitive to what other people think. And a number of other tools like that, all of which support women in playing bigger.

And then there’s a little bit of tactical work—where I bring back that left brain side and my MBA side—where after we have that foundation of inner work, there’s some training in things like negotiation and communication and pitching your work to the media. Because those things are great. It’s just that if we only get that tactical training, and we don’t change the inner dynamics of our playing small, we can’t even use the skills we learned because our fears will get in the way.

Liking what you see? Give your ears a treat. Listen to the recorded version of this interview HERE.

Emerging Women Live Speaker Highlights Part One

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We are so grateful for each and everyone of you who participated in Emerging Women Live 2013. Check out our favorite Highlights in the video above.

We are still in awe with the level of engagement and the fantastic support we received from you. We are so looking forward to new projects and events, but for now we are still buzzing with excitement and joy about our first edition of Emerging Women Live. Please leave a comment below and tell us what inspired YOU the most at #EWLive13.

1. Brené Brown on The Power of Vulnerability

Brené dispeled the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argued that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.  She explained how vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief and disappointment and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation and creativity.

 

2. Elizabeth Gilbert on Big Magic: Thoughts on Creative Living

Elizabeth Gilbert at Emerging Women Live 2013

The first and scariest step is this: believing there is magic in our lives. Elizabeth Gilbert explored how we can overcome our preconceptions to embrace the irrational but beautiful notions of kismet, synchronicity, and hidden messages that lead us on our true path.

 3.  Alanis Morissette Q&A with Tami Simon

Image by 11:11 Productions

Alanis Morissette and Tami Simon talked about the emergence of the divine feminine, about balancing the Yin/Yang, the masculine and feminine essence, about Alanis’s creative process, the effect of fame, self-knowledge and much more. If you missed this formidable, intimate interview you can still access it via on-demand streaming edition, available for a limited time only. See HERE

4. Eve Ensler’s In the Body of the World

Eve Ensler, a fearless champion of women spoke about themes from her most recent memoir, a meditation on separation and connection—to the body, the self, and the world. Eve has devoted her life to the female body—how to talk about it, how to protect and value it.

5.  Ani DiFranco’s Incredible Performance

Soulful and wonderful Ani DiFranco had a breathtaking performance at Emerging Women Live 2013. Her voice, her words and her presence moved us profoundly.

We are so grateful to everyone who helped make Emerging Women Live 2013 an amazing and transformative time together. Thank you!

Please leave a comment below and tell us what inspired YOU the most at #EWLive13.

With gratitude and big love,
Chantal

Gratitude for Emerging Women Live 2013

Just how much love and connection can one let in over a 4-day period? Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, somehow my heart opened wider to let in even more joy.

I am not sure exactly what the secret ingredient was that led to the BIG MAGIC that was present throughout the event, but it seems that we all brought our wands with us to Emerging Women Live, and I am still floating as a result.

I thought I would reach out while we are all in this power state of emergence, and let you know how very blessed I feel to have had the chance to share this experience with you all, whether you attended the event or joined us via livestream.

Thank you for holding the space for me to step into my being in the face of uncertainty that comes when one is emerging. I was living the truth of who I was and you all made that possible for me – aaaaahhhhhh that felt great.

I have so much gratitude for the level of presence and authenticity that you each brought to the experience. From the beginning, there seemed to be an environment of trust and openness that set the stage for the entire event, and now this has become the foundation of our tribe.

There is much I could say, and yet I have little brain power for words.  I am wanting to sit in the feeling of it all. I want to dive deep into my heart and my body to relish this vibration a bit longer before inviting my mind back in.

And so with this I leave you with a bow of appreciation, and a request to help me build Emerging Women into the movement it is destined to become.

With gratitude and big love,

Chantal

The FREE recorded version of Emerging Women Live 2013 is available for a limited time only. Watch #EWLive13 HERE.

Juicy Bites: Women Heroines in Literature and Film

This week we find out:

  • Literature’s most beloved women heroines
  • Who is the first female Saudi Arabian filmmaker
  • What are 3 communication mistakes that you can easily avoid
  • The real meaning of self-compassion and how it differs from self-esteem
  • Messy or tidy — which is better for creativity?

 

At the end of this post, we encourage you to join us for a conversation. This week’s Juicy Bites question for you, dear emerging women, is:

1. Well-Read Women: Gorgeous Watercolor Portraits of Literature’s Most Beloved Heroines via Brain Pickings

 

The New-York-based painter and fashion illustrator Samantha Hahn is celebrating women in fiction. This book is a fascinating collection of expressive watercolor depictions paired with a memorable quote, of such literary icons as Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, Holly Golightly, and Clarissa Dalloway.

JANE EYRE 'Jane Eyre' by Charlotte Brontë
JANE EYRE ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë

Continue Reading…

2. Meet Haifaa Al Mansour, the first female Saudi Arabian filmmaker via Interview Magazine

 

This is quite impressive. Al Mansour’s first feature film called Wadjda, is the first movie to be filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia, and Al Mansour is the first female Saudi Arabian filmmaker.

“There are opportunities for women now, and you have to be able to stand up for yourself, for what you believe in. And the culture is opening up and there are pockets, windows for women. But a lot of women are shy to take them because the culture will not accept women working in a mixed environment; they don’t want women to travel alone and study abroad. It may compromise women getting married quickly. It is very much like America in the 1940s, but it is more [conservative]; women have to be completely covered.” — Haifaa Al Mansour

Continue Reading…

 

3. Three communication mistakes with big impact via Tara Sophia Mohr-Wise Living

 

Tara shares with us a super easy way we can play big this year. Learn how to avoid 3 common communication mistakes, and how to build your voice to be  strong, determined,  non-apologetic.

“Our words are our opportunity. That opportunity is bigger than ever before because women are more literate than ever before and have access to technology — from laptops to email — that amplify our communication.”

*Tara Sophia Mohr will be a featured presenter at the 2013 Emerging Women Live Conference, October 10th-13th in Boulder, CO.

Continue Reading…

 

4. Kristin Neff — The Real Meaning of Self-Compassion via Grace & Fire Podcast

 

This episode’s guest is the inspiring Kristin Neff. Kristin is a professor of human development and culture at the University of Texas, Austin, and she has practiced Buddhist Meditation since 1997. In addition to authoring numerous academic articles on self-compassion, she has written a new book titled “Self-Compassion,” released by William Morrow in 2011.

In this episode, Kristin Neff and the host of Grace & Fire, Chantal Pierrat spoke about:

 

  • The real meaning of Self-Compassion and how it differs from Self-Esteem,
  • The masculine and feminine aspects of mindfulness and self-compassion,
  • The researched results of self-compassion and what the findings mean for leaders, and women leaders in particular,
  • How self-compassion takes us from recognition, to action, and the power creating a practice of self care and love,
  • And finally, Kristen offers sage advice for those women on the precipice of their own emergence.

 

Kristin Neff will be a featured presenter at the 2013 Emerging Women Live Conference, October 10th-13th in Boulder, CO.

Listen here…

 

5. It’s Not ‘Mess.’ It’s Creativity. via New York Times

 

Olimpia Zagnoli
Olimpia Zagnoli

MESSY or tidy — which is better?

Historically, the evidence has favored the tidy spaces. But then the obvious question surfaces: “If messiness is so bad, why do so many people tolerate, and even embrace, it?”

Kathleen D. Vohs, from Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, with two of her colleagues, conducted an interesting experiment and came to the conclusion that physical order produces healthy choices, generosity, and conventionality, whereas disorder produces creativity.
Here are a few of their predictions that led to their experiment:

“Since tidiness has been associated with upholding societal standards, we predicted that just being around tidiness would elicit a desire for convention. We also predicted the opposite: that being around messiness would lead people away from convention, in favor of new directions.” — Kathleen D. Vohs

Continue Reading…


We are excited to start a conversation and learn more from YOU, dear emerging women. Leave a comment below:


Emerging Women Live is for women entrepreneurs and creatives who share a vision to change the world by living the truth of who they are. These are women who are burning with desire to to fully express themselves through the work they do, while promoting a new paradigm of success that leverages the incredible power of the feminine: collaboration, community, intuition, receptivity, sensuality and heart. Join us!