Step into your purpose

My heart was beating out of my chest. I felt my body begin to sweat. The speaker’s voice faded to a low murmur. The chatter at my table became background noise. As I looked around the room, I saw the faces of hundreds of successful, powerful women in every seat at every table. I shrunk in my chair as if to become invisible. “What am I doing here? I’m not as accomplished as that attorney, as powerful as that CEO, as successful as that Founder. Look at them. They exude confidence. They are so put together. I’ll never be like them. I WANT to be like them, but I’m too easily distracted, too honest, too blunt, too ME to rise to that level.”

 These were my thoughts as I attended the first day of my first ever women’s leadership conference. I had a moment where I let my imposter syndrome get the better of me. I had worked for over 25 years in consumer finance and earned the right to be here. I had to remind myself that I too am a successful executive and I deserved to be in this room.

 What I would learn during my 3 days at this conference absolutely changed my life FOREVER! It was the one thing I didn’t even know I needed. The thing that ended up lifting that heavy unbearable weight I didn’t even know I was carrying. It set my heart free. It is this….

 Every woman in that room told the same story over those 3 days of how they thought the same thing and felt the same way as they sat in their chairs that first day of the conference when they looked around the vast room full of hundreds of powerful women. They spoke of that same pit in their stomach. That same moment of feeling like they weren’t good enough. Even those high-powered women in suits and pointy stilettos carrying designer handbags with perfectly done hair and makeup. 

 Through all of the workshops and exercises during this conference, I met and learned about so many women. And guess what? They were all JUST LIKE ME. In some way or another I could see myself in all of them. We had more in common that I could have ever imagined. We all had our own unique stories of how we got here. All of our roads were paved with potholes and puddles, but we all made it. It wasn’t easy, but we did it.

 I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I had found my people. My tribe. My support system. Hundreds of women who had been through what I had been through and could understand my challenges and help me navigate the corporate boy’s club. I made so many true connections that week. I had been to hundreds of conferences in my career, but never one like this. One where it wasn’t about the work, the software, or the products and services. It was about the people, the women, the survivors. I will never forget that conference. It was the week that changed my life. I knew from that moment on that even though I loved my work, it was time for me to step into my purpose. My whole career had prepared me for this moment. I now had a new passion – making sure that every corporate woman knows that “their people” are out there and that they have a safe place to go for support throughout their career from women just like them.

What is your purpose? I challenge you to step into your purpose. The world needs you.