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Lessons from Summer Camp
Empowering Summer Reads
Summer is in full swing, and for me that usually means late nights with friends and family by the fire pit, sleeping in late, lazy morning in my pjs with loads of coffee and a good book. I typically get much more reading done over the summer, than during any other season so today I am sharing some of my favorite empowering books with you. I hope that you will take the time to read one (or all) of them this summer, curled up on your couch, laying on the beach, or on a plane headed home to see family and friends. Enjoy!
Lean In:Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
By Sheryl Sandberg
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg reignited the conversation around women in the workplace. Sandberg is chief operating officer of Facebook and coauthor of Option B with Adam Grant. In 2010, she gave an electrifying TED talk in which she described how women unintentionally hold themselves back in their careers. Her talk, which has been viewed more than six million times, encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and pursue their goals with gusto. Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what they can. Sandberg provides practical advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She describes specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and demonstrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.
By Brene Brown
A timely and important book that challenges everything we think we know about cultivating true belonging in our communities, organizations, and culture, from the #1 bestselling author of Rising Strong, Daring Greatly, and The Gifts of Imperfection
Playing Big: Practical Wisdom for Women Who Want To Speak Up, Create and Lead
By Tara Mohr
A groundbreaking women’s leadership expert and popular conference speaker gives women the practical skills to voice and implement the changes they want to see—in themselves and in the world. In her coaching and programs for women, Tara Mohr saw how women were "playing small" in their lives and careers, were frustrated by it, and wanted to "play bigger." She has devised a proven way for them to achieve their dreams by playing big from the inside out. Mohr’s work helping women play bigger has earned acclaim from the likes of Maria Shriver and Jillian Michaels, and has been featured on the Today show, CNN, and a host of other media outlets.
By Rachel Hollis
Do you ever suspect that everyone else has life figured out and you don’t have a clue? If so, Rachel Hollis has something to tell you: that’s a lie. As the founder of the lifestyle website TheChicSite.com and CEO of her own media company, Rachel Hollis developed an immense online community by sharing tips for better living while fearlessly revealing the messiness of her own life. Now, in this challenging and inspiring new book, Rachel exposes the twenty lies and misconceptions that too often hold us back from living joyfully and productively, lies we’ve told ourselves so often we don’t even hear them anymore.
By Michelle Obama
In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
You Are A Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
By Jen Sincero
In this refreshingly entertaining how-to guide, bestselling author and world-traveling success coach, Jen Sincero, serves up 27 bite-sized chapters full of hilariously inspiring stories, sage advice, easy exercises, and the occasional swear word, helping you to: Identify and change the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that stop you from getting what you want, Create a life you totally love. And create it NOW, Make some damn money already. The kind you've never made before. By the end of You Are a Badass, you'll understand why you are how you are, how to love what you can't change, how to change what you don't love, and how to use The Force to kick some serious ass.
By Glennon Doyle Melton
A memoir of betrayal and self-discovery by bestselling author Glennon Doyle, Love Warrior is a gorgeous and inspiring account of how we are all born to be warriors: strong, powerful, and brave; able to confront the pain and claim the love that exists for us all. This chronicle of a beautiful, brutal journey speaks to anyone who yearns for deeper, truer relationships and a more abundant, authentic life.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
By Brene Brown
From thought leader Brené Brown, a transformative new vision for the way we lead, love, work, parent, and educate that teaches us the power of vulnerability.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”—Theodore Roosevelt
Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. Based on twelve years of pioneering research, Brené Brown PhD, LMSW, dispels the cultural myth that vulnerability is weakness and argues that it is, in truth, our most accurate measure of courage.
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Build An Echo Chamber
Do you have people in your life that always seems to agree with you no matter what you say? It might be a friend that never disagrees with you about where to go for lunch or a colleague that always says that you are right when you go to them for advice; these people always tells you exactly what you want to hear. Don’t get me wrong, it is nice to have people tell you that you are right. That you made the right decision. That your opinion about the new girl down the hall is spot on. That your beliefs about politics, or religion, or gun control, or women’s rights are always correct. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with having friends or colleagues that agree with you, but it can be detrimental when you surround yourself ONLY with people who tell you everything you want to hear or believe exactly what you believe. This can create an echo chamber.
An echo chamber is a climate where we are surrounded only by people whose opinions and beliefs align with our own. When we are in an echo chamber our views are always reinforced and we never have to consider ideas that contradict what we believe. Now, more than ever, it is easy to allow yourself to stay in a completely polarized world. It isn’t hard to find thousands, if not millions, of like-minded individuals that share your same beliefs online. With a few clicks of a mouse you can find whole communities of people that will agree with everything you post. But that is not real life.
In our day to day lives we spend time with peers, colleagues, and yes, even friends and spouses that don’t believe exactly what we believe and who don’t always agree with the decisions we make. And that is a good thing! In fact, if we are thoughtful about whose opinions we value and who we go to when we need advice, seeking advice from others who might not share our same beliefs, who come from different backgrounds, or have different experiences might just be the wisest thing we could do. I am not one for getting input on every decision that I make, just ask my husband. He will tell you that I might make too many decisions independently. He has learned to love me both because of and in spite of my fierce independence. My point is, when it comes to big decisions I have learned to seek advice from people I trust and who don’t always share my same beliefs. The ones I know will shoot me straight and not just tell me what I want to hear.
In leadership, and quite frankly in my life in general, I don’t want to be surrounded by echo chambers, by “yes people”, or by people that only tell me the good stuff. Let’s face it, opinions are a dime a dozen, they are everywhere, and it certainly isn’t hard to find echo chambers. Experience has taught me that even when it is uncomfortable, and especially when it is hard to hear, the people in my life that are willing to share their true beliefs with me when I seek their advice are almost always the voices that guide me in the right direction.
Who are the people in your life that you go to when you have to make hard decisions? Are they willing to tell you how they truly feel or are they simply shaking their head in agreement with you because it is the easier thing to do? Find the people in your tribe, in your family, or in your industry that are willing to tell you the hard truths, even when they aren’t easy to hear. Those are the people that will guide you in the right direction. You can either build an echo chamber or you can build council, but you can’t have both.
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Grow Your Tribe
Even if your tribe isn’t together everyday, they are still your tribe. I had the best of friends in high school. We spent everyday together, sharing countless memories and a bond like no other. I knew these would be my forever friends, my tribe. But then change happened. We all went our separate ways to different universities and started new lives. I had it in my head that I could never find any other friends as great as them, and that I shouldn’t ever try to find anybody that could possibly replace them. This was a ridiculous thought. There are so many wonderful women out there, and not allowing yourself to be open to them is the opposite of empowerment. Yes, it can be very difficult to feel like you are letting go of friends or replacing them. But the beautiful reality is that you are just opening yourself to other tribes and finding a home in so many more wonderful friendships.
When I went to school close-minded, I was shutting the door on so many great relationships because I was afraid. This fear should not follow you when finding your group of girlfriends because within those relationships could be wonderful new opportunities and opportunities for even more empowerment. Therefore, finding the right tribe can be a hard task because you have to make sure it’s the right fit for you.
All women have something amazing to add to this world, and finding those that compliment you will add joy and fuel to your life. In the next chapter of your life, find women who make you feel secure and adventurous at the same time. Find women who can push you beyond your normal limits but keep you humble. Find women that can cheer you on during your greatest accomplishments and be a shoulder to cry on when life just isn’t going your way. Find women who push you to be your best self each and every day. These newly forged relationships will not replace your old ones, but only add to your tribe.