The Women’s Conference: Be Who You Are

I was lucky enough to attend the California Women’s Conference this past week in Long Beach. There were a variety of inspiring people there from Bono to Madeline Albright, many generations and types of people spoke. In a time like now when our economy is sinking before our eyes it is great to be able to listen to others success stories and learn that although they are on top of the world now, they too had to struggle to get where they are today. They have survived through economical hardships similar to the current one American is experiencing and survived and came out on top.

The first night was an event called night at the village where Rachael Ray and Valerie Bertinelli spoke and talked about their journey to get where they are today. Something I found interesting that Rachel said was, if you love what you are doing for work but have always wanted to pursue something else or try to develop an idea you have then go for it! What is the worst that will happen you fail and fall back on something you love. This is probably not the way we normally think about things, but it makes sense. If you don’t take the risk of pursuing that one thing that is always in the back of your mind you never know what you could create.

The main message of the conference was “Be Who You Are” it may seem like a silly request but it is always a challenge to dig deep find out who you really are, and feel completely confident in your skin. Maria Shriver is 52 years old and was saying that she is FINALLY starting to figure things out. Let this be a lesson to us at a much younger time in our life to take it all in and experiment, and stop trying to mold into something we just aren’t. Great accomplishments and achievements take time and experience.

The conference overall was very fulfilling and really made me re-evaluate my hopes and dreams. It was very encouraging witnessing all the successful people who took a chance on their ideas and turned them into thriving businesses. Women today compared to 50 years ago have so much more presence in the workplace and in the world in general and seeing 14,000 eager and powerful women in the same place just makes you feel excited for what the future holds.

To watch live webcasts of the speaker sessions and more stories from the conference go here