Celebrate Diversity This Month
I recently listened to an audio class about the ascent of the planet Venus in the evening sky. Each month as Venus meets the new moon, she passes through another “gate” that corresponds to the chakras in the human body. As Venus ascends through each gate, we are given the opportunity and support to strengthen that area of our life. Venus recently passed through the first gate of her ascent so this month is about the Root Chakra, which is located at the base of your body.
The Root Chakra (or Energy Center) holds information about your survival in the physical world. Survival is THE primary objective of your brain and body. A sense of safety is essential to your feeling at ease and confident in the physical world.
Many women have suffered mistreatment, either overtly with physical or emotional abuse or covertly by being told they are wrong for being themselves – “You’re too much, you’re too sensitive, you’re too intuitive, you’re not analytical enough, you’re too loud, you’re not a boy or a man.”
I have found in my work, both personally and professionally, that support in strengthening our sense of safety is where we must begin so that we can express ourselves more fully and get our work out into the world.
As much change as we’ve witnessed in the past decades in women’s rights, it is still true that prejudice about gender, race, age, sexual preference, affluence, and religion exists. Perhaps it’s a human trait to mistrust and discount anyone who is not familiar and exactly like ourselves.
Acknowledging, valuing, and celebrating diversity is an essential quality to cultivate this month as we celebrate the birth and life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 19th.
I ask you to celebrate YOUR OWN DIVERSITY.
- How are you different?
- How is that a good thing?
- How have your experiences and your skills made you a unique contribution to life on this planet?
- If you could create a change in the world, what would it be?
My personal answer to that question is that I want to help women all over the world make more money so that they enjoy greater freedom and create a better world for us all to live in.
Recently I recognized the importance of celebrating my own diversity, focus, and passion.
I had coffee with a man who runs networking groups here locally. I asked to be a speaker at his group meetings. He’s a great guy, but didn’t get the value of what I have to offer. He controlled the conversation, and at first I was stunned. I rarely get this response to what I do.
Usually when I talk about getting better and more comfortable with sales and making more money, the other person’s eyes light up and they get it!
In this case, I didn’t get very far with my request. The best I got was a “Maybe” from him.
I thought about feeling bad about the conversation, then I decided that I would treat it as a learning experience.
What I learned is:
- I can work to be more articulate about what I offer and how it helps people in business.
- I can ask more questions and take some control of the conversation rather than letting the other person control it.
- I can ask this man if the people in his networking groups are entirely comfortable addressing objections and are successfully converting prospects into clients and customers. My guess is the answer is “No” for his audience.
- I can realize that some people get what I’m about and some don’t. It’s my job to get better at communicating with those who don’t get it so that they have more of a chance of getting it. And then I can let go and move on to the next opportunity.
My coach has asked me to get back in touch with this man to continue the conversation. I will do that, and maybe the answer will become a “Yes”.
In any event, I count this experience as a “Win” because I didn’t cave into feeling bad that I didn’t get the speaking gigs yet, I didn’t make him or myself wrong, and I realized how strongly I feel about what I do and offer. That’s progress and a celebration of my differentness!
How can you celebrate your uniqueness this month?