I remember the transitions from adolescent into teenager, from teen to young adult, from young adult to woman, and finally a professional entrepreneur. I remember the confusion and uncertainty from having to figure out every step of my life through a whirlwind of mistakes, risks, challenges, ambition, and sheer gut instinct. It would've have been nice back then to have someone and somewhere to go that provided support, guidance, and belief in all my possibilities. You know that saying, "If I knew then what I know now..."? Well, what would our experiences have been like knowing then what we do now? Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for my life and am very happy with who I've become. My passion and commitment for being of service to others is limitless. Yet, there is a small part of me that can't help but think about how my entire adult life had been about trying to figure out "who" I am and meant to be. What would it have been like to have a community, a tribe, and a mentor who nurtured and believed in my greatest possible future? What would it be like today for me to believe in the possible futures of young girls and pass on my wisdom and support to them?
This leads me to a recent experience where I went to a nonprofit grand opening who supports skateboarding for youth. I also saw a basketball team hang with the Boys & Girls Club to support basketball/sports for youth. These both provided mentorship, community, and support for the "youth". I applaud these organizations for their committment to providing safe, nurturing environments that build confidence, team work, and friendships. However, what I noticed in these instances were that the "youth" were mainly young boys. Even though these groups are in support of our "youth"; surfing, skateboarding, and basketball are going to attract primarily young boys.
So this really got my brain going and wondered...what mediums are there that can provide mentorship and support for young girls? Dance? Art? Music? Dating & relationships? Cooking? Fashion? Public speaking? Scrapbooking? Crafts? Politics? Business? Leadership? Boys have sports; surf/skate/b-ball... What do young girls have? Surely there's more than just shopping and texting that our young girls are being socialized to experience? If I want to create a mentorship program for young girls, what would attract them with things they like? What kind of environment could be created that our female youth can go to for community and friends that nurtures self-confidence, self-expression, and community leadership for the women of tomorrow? Think back and ask yourself what and who would have been helpful for you to have access to going through your transitions of figuring out life?
I believe there is a strong relationship between self-confidence, success, and emotional breakthroughs in maturity through community, support, networking, and friendships. I am organizing a Professional Women's Alliance whose mission is to mentor young women by "showing them the ropes" as they move through their life transitions. Would love to hear your feedback on what I've written. Who's in??
Lana Sumati,
www.energizedlivingsolutions.com
Are you the type of person who wishes things were "better"? I believe things can change. In everything I do, I believe in challenging "I can't". I believe in thinking differently in that anything is possible. The way I challenge this is simply by getting clear on the what and how, realigning behaviors with goals, and staying accountable. I just happen to break through the obstacles & blocks getting in the way of your goals and get great results. My dream is for everyone to live a life of fun, freedom, and fulfillment.
Lana helps business leaders whose stress and overwhelm results in being disorganized and losing focus and momentum in their business. Lana helps to transform that stress and overwhelm into solutions and positive action that get them what they want. Clients learn how to overcome challenges and barriers that have been holding them back and gets them quickly moving forward to thriving business success. Lana serves the Santa Cruz area and offers complimentary phone consultations for new clients.
