Is it just ME

Is it just ME… or do you often wonder how people end up doing what it is they do?

OK, I get that nurses went to nursing school.  I actually hold professions like nursing and teaching in high esteem.  They are “callings”.   They choose you; you don’t choose them – and I’ve spoken with countless healthcare pros and educators who agree.

Then there are those situations where one is in a position that is not even remotely connected to their educational background or familial tendency – which also includes nursing and teaching.  I’ve heard some declare, somewhat casually, “I was in the right place at the right time” (RPRT) Ah; location, location, location.  Yes, I see.

Believe it, or not, I have also spoken with a few (one is too many!) who seem quite successful, by some definition of success, who really can’t explain what it is they do.  I actually was in a conversation on this topic when the person with whom I was speaking needed to get her job description to answer the question!  WOW; she earns a living (?) not knowing what it is she is actually doing. 

Oh, wait… isn’t there a lot of that going on of late?

Well, I’ve been asked what it is I do and why?  How did I get into my position?  How?  Why?  Where was my RPRT?

I’ve done an assortment of things in my life.  I did corporate America, started, built and sold 3 businesses, consulted, went back to fulltime (you know the 60 hour a week deal!) then found myself starting on a whole new journey.

My career track hit-on an assortment – and unassociated – industries.  I found that I did not always apply my specific education, either. I just used my head and followed my heart.  I saw a vision, I wrote the mission (not so I could read it in case someone ever asked me about it, but to make it real) then planned a course, set a goal, and got to work.

Here’s what I learned through it all.  Passion was my driving force.  I think most women feel the same.  I saw a need – and it was women; those women.

When the vision bringing women from around the world together to serve and be served by individual and collective passions, it burned itself in my mind.  It was another call to action.  The result: The International Women’s Leadership Association (TheIWLA) with Co-Founder, Keitha Rocco, who, like me, not only saw the vision but understood it and believed it.

Women needed a culturally diverse and dynamic platform from which their voices could be heard and where there were others waiting to listen: women – other women.  A place where they could freely express, exchange, engage, and embrace.  A forum for women, by women, and about women. 

Don’t misunderstand; TheIWLA is not a safe house for the meek.  It is a safe net for the courageous.   It is not a place to come and hide.  It is a place to come and be exposed beyond the limits of any individual.  It is not for those who set their dreams on simmer.  It is place for those who grow their dreams to white hot.

So, why do I do what it is I do?  I do what I do because I have never let anyone tell me that I can’t.  My Dad made me believe there was nothing I couldn’t do if I made the decision to do it.  My Mom told me I was worthy.  So are you.

There is an intuitive leader born in every woman.  God got it right.  Women don’t need chairs pulled back for them or car doors opened.  We just deserve it; not because we feel “entitled” but because we are “empowered”.

SO…IS it just me, or do you, too often wonder why people end up doing what it is they do?

Tell me – no, really…tell me:  what are you doing?  Why?  How?

Then tell me… what is your passion, your vision, your goal?