TRACY IS TALKING

YOU ARE ENOUGH. GIRLS ROCK!

BY NICOLE HEROUX WILLIAMS I PHOTOS BY NSP STUDIO BY TRACY SIMONE I PHOTOS BY SAL PORTERFIELD, MIKE PANZARINO, OTHERS

Girls rock! They also play in bands, jump out of planes, drive sports cars and motorcycles and just about anything else they set their minds to. That is, if they give themselves permission to pursue their desires and do not listen to those who would be negative and try to derail them.

The most important thing is for women to know that if they believe it, they can achieve it. Too often, some of us fail to believe in ourselves enough to give ourselves permission to succeed. How many of us know women who are completely skilled in an area but lack the confidence to follow through on their desires? Even people with good intentions can fall short of their dreams because they just do not see themselves in the proper light.

Some of us are raised to be demure and to not be too bold or harsh as we move through life. Afterall, a lady should be soft and not too assertive in the eyes of others, right? Well, we can do what we want to do and still be feminine. To be successful does not necessarily mean to shy away from non-traditional pursuits.It does not have to mean that we must be quiet or even pretend that we are something that we are not.

Many women want to step out there and try something but are afraid of how they will be viewed. Maybe their family members or teachers, bosses, neighbors or someone else would frown upon them. Well, the truth is that what other people think of us is not really our business. Women (and all people for that matter) need to step out there and claim what is theirs for the taking. The only true mistake one can make is to not at least try. We should not have regrets when we get to the end of our journey.

It is easy to be distracted by work, relatives, taking care of our homes or other responsibilities. However, if we do these things at the expense of our own desires, we miss opportunities. Sure, we will have our ‘required’ tasks completed, but our souls will not have been fed. We need to make the time to pursue something that we always wanted to. If we happen to be doing it already, then we need to step it up a notch. We spend entirely too much of our energy worrying about pleasing others. What happens if we do not include ourselves on the list of people who need us? We will never truly be at peace. There is something that will always gnaw away internally because even though we may have the job that pays the bills and contributes to the home, family, etc. we have still not taken care of that inner need. So then, what do we have really? We have a lot of time spent advancing everyone else’s agenda and ignoring ourselves. This is not healthy, and it is counterproductive.

How much happier we would all be if we found a way to take care of the things on our ‘list’ AND did some of what we wanted? Often, many of us find ourselves really wanting to be or do something that may not actually allow us to support ourselves. That still should not stop us. No matter what, we should always be working towards our goals. Maybe we are not able to pay our bills with creative pursuits. If that is the case, then maybe we need to find a way to do our desired thing on the side. Maybe it will just take us a bit longer than we had hoped to be able to support ourselves with it. Maybe we never will make money at the thing that we love. It is still ok to follow that inner voice and go after the goals that we want or to step

“Whatever it is, take steps towards it. You can do it! How do I know? Girls rock!”

the goals that we want or to step up our game and get better at the ones we are pursuing. The tragedy would be to talk ourselves out of doing something and then have to live with that fact later in life. That little voice will never stop speaking to you. It will repeatedly say, “I wonder what would have happened if I had only……(fill in the blank)”. to visualize yourself doing that thing that you have always wanted. Maybe you remember someone telling you that you should not do it, or maybe that you cannot. Maybe the naysayer had something to lose if you were busy doing what you wanted to be doing. People sometimes have different motivations when they give us advice Many times, the people who tell us no are the people who are afraid to jump out there themselves. TODAY is the day that you should decide to take the reins and go for it! Go get that certification or learn an instrument or write a book, etc. Whatever it is, take steps towards it. You can do it!

How do I know? Girls rock!