As women entrepreneurs we know the importance of feeling good about ourselves in order to succeed in business. Many of us spend too much energy concentrating on our flaws rather than our strengths. And, I am not referring to our obsession with being thin, but with our fixation on being all things to all people. We are not chameleons that can or should change with the environment just to keep safe. When we work as our "authentic self", as Oprah would call it, we utilize our God-given uniqueness.
Mahatma Gandhi said, "Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from indomitable will." This is so true for women entrepreneurs. Those that refuse to take no for an answer because they believe in themselves and their ability to achieve their goals, succeed because of indomitable will.
My visualization of you looking in the mirror at yourself requires you to see yourself as you truly are....strong at some things and weak in others. As a small business owner, when you know your weakness you can hire or outsource the vulnerability. It takes strength of character to admit you are unable to do it all.
Male entrepreneurs (and just about all men) seem to be born with the belief that they can and will win. From an early age, males have been nurtured to see the world as a place they can dominate. Even in 2011, there are countries in the world that still see the birth of a girl as detrimental. Sadly, the United States' progress with gender equality remains lacking..but that is another blog for another time.
The focus for women entrepreneurs must be to believe in ourselves and our dreams and our ability to win.
We must be able to look at ourselves and see who we really are and celebrate our true self. Our ideas, our energy, our enthusiasm, our strength of character, our desire to collaborate, our need to share, our natural intuition, our charitable approach and innate urge to serve others. Honor your assets and who you truly are as a woman, as an entrepreneur, and as a member of the human race. Believe in yourself and you win!