It is our time

I don’t know what your dream is, but I know what Oprah’s is. As I watched her speech and the Golden Globes last night, I couldn’t help but be touched at what an amazing moment that was. To see a woman who started with so little and has gone through so much in her life, to receive an honor that she was so inspired by many years before…it was a WOW moment.

I can’t help but feel that it is a new time for women. A time when we outnumber men in colleges, when the youngest female founder ever led her company to an IPO and a time when women no longer will remain silent about the ways women are being victimized in society.

The shift happening with women in society, it is almost as if it is a snowball that is gaining speed going downhill, and yet there is much work still to be done.

Now is the time to break the lies and outdated beliefs that we’ve been told and have been telling ourselves for generations. It’s not just about the solidarity of women speaking up through the  #metoo campaign, it’s about the changing of societies treatment of women…and it’s about women truly believing in and taking charge of their lives.

The reality is that many women have been raised, prepared with the notion that in our lifetime, we are likely to be victimized. Just look at the statistics and you can sadly see that it is still true. Whether it’s the form of abuse we’ve seen brought to light with the #metoo campaign or the more subtle discrimination that some women face every day in the workplace…or the bonds that we put on ourselves that stop us from really leading a full life.

I remember something a friend from college told me in my early twenties…she said she saw me more as a business woman than a mom.

That statement really struck my heart.

…it took me a long time to think about why she would think that about me…and then I realized it wasn’t about me so much as it was what she thought about women and what they could or could not do. Somewhere she was told the lie that you can’t have a amazing career and be a mom. YOU HAD TO CHOOSE which one would win out.

As a mom of three kids, they are my heart and my life’s work, but they AREN'T THE ONLY THING that I can, have or will contribute to this world.

Today, I still see so many women who struggle with the concept of how to balance being a mom with their ambitions. For years, I bought into the old story that you can’t have both a strong career and the involvement you want with your kids.

So, I accepted the lie that I would have to sacrifice…that is until I learned that I could have it all, I just had to be BRAVE ENOUGH to follow my own path.

The misperception that you have to choose whether you want to be a business woman or a mom is still a major problem in our society…and it holds us all back when we don’t stand up and fight for what we want and what we deserve.

Today, I ask for those of you who are tired of the old perceptions about how women should contribute in their work to the world to stand up with me in solidarity and say NO more.

Let us raise a generation of children who see that their mom can do just as much, if not more than their dads. That their potential should NEVER be limited by the fact that they want to be moms and contribute to the world in meaningful ways. That we can design lives that align with what we value.

If you had a dream that you held somewhere deep inside, that you told yourself wasn’t possible, that you gave up when you had kids or you got buried underneath the long hours and stress at your job, I challenge you today to be brave enough to follow your heart. To no longer let those outdated perceptions, fears or lack of clarity stop you from becoming who you are meant to be.

Your time is NOW.

If you are ready to stop living a life that is less than what you deserve & want to move past your fears, gain clarity & build a plan to transition to a career that aligns with your passions & values, let's chat: https://meetme.so/Blakeschofield