As you know, if you regularly read this blog, I love movies! I couldn't wait to see Reese Witherspoon in WILD and she did not disappoint. The powerful takeaway for women in business is believing that you CAN accomplish anything.

At one point in the movie, someone says to Cheryl (Reese), "You must be a feminist?" The comment caught me by surprise even though the time frame of the movie is 1995. Why is it that a female trekking 1100 miles and looking to find what she is made of must be labeled when all the men in the movie are just extreme hikers? The definition of feminist is 'one who supports feminism'. The definition of feminism is 'the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men'. Stay with me here because Cheryl has decided to take this solo journey because she is looking to find a way to recover from a recent tragedy. Why is it when women choose to go out on their own they are immediately labeled as having a political, social or economic agenda?

Women in business, whether working for themselves as entrepreneurs or in corporations, are often labeled with words like feminist or women libbers in order to ascertain that they are out to 'get' men. All of this is, of course, silly word play and far from the truth. Women who seek to succeed in business are no different than the men who choose to climb to the top. They know that life and business is a journey where tests are delivered daily. It doesn't really matter if you pass or fail a test because another test follows again and again and again.

Several times during the movie Cheryl thinks to herself about quitting. However, she realizes she really can't quit as each step of her journey takes her further and further to finding whatever it is she is looking for. This is so true for women in business who know that no matter how difficult the work is quitting is not an option as it leads to the next challenge anyway.

Of course, this does not mean that a woman (or man for that matter) can never leave her place of work or exit her startup. What it means is that leaving or quitting leads to the next challenge and that test can only be accomplished if there are lessons learned.

At one other time in the movie, Cheryl is asked if she is lonely on her journey. Her answer so perfectly typifies so many women in business I know and have coached. She says, "To be honest I think I am lonelier at home than I am out here by myself." When women put themselves on the line and risk it all to challenge themselves to what they believe is their limit they don't feel lonely. What they do feel is isolated. Unfortunately, that isolation comes more from society's belief that women who reach too high don't deserve support than from the reality that other women share it.

If you are a woman in business and you feel isolated you must reach out, particularly to other women in business. Look to women's business groups, chambers of commerces, trade groups and national women's organizations. We are all on a journey and although it requires you to believe in yourself first it helps to surround yourself with others who believe in you too.

There is nothing more powerful for any of us than to put ourselves to the test. It is up to each of us to design the test we want to challenge ourselves with and then to pursue it with all the strength and courage we have. Life's greatest moments are when we reach beyond what we believe we can achieve and feel the freedom of being alive.

Go see WILD - you won't be disappointed.