Are You Leaning In?

This book has been part of a very interesting conversation, and I am encouraging you to enter into the dialogue. The book was written by Sheryl Sandberg, the CEO of Facebook.

I believe that so many people, especially women end up living lives filled with attainable, but unactualized dreams. The big question is why? I remember the stress of becoming a mother and wanting to have a job that paid me based on what I was worth while still giving me the flexibility of taking a more active role in my daughter’s life. When I spoke to people, I was shocked at some of the things I heard when it came to options, and opportunities. It just didn’t seem to make sense to me.

Our roles and responsibilities seem to exceed our male counterparts even when we are young. From the time, we are young we find ourselves having to process and deal with things like looking after our brothers and sisters and making sure the house is in order, or some piece of this. In the classroom, something happens to make young girls think that they aren’t able as capable as their male counterparts in areas like science and math, so we often end up underrepresented in the science, math, and technology fields.

Not to mention, the gender wage gap were in 2012, 82.2% of women were paid less than their male counterparts. Something has to change! Sheryl did something I am sure many people questioned or at the very least didn’t understand. She went in a direction that was right for her and her family, even if it meant going to work for a 23 year-old. Her conversations on the book promotion tour brought up some valid questions that need to be discussed and things we need to take a long hard look at to see where they go. We all are afraid of something, as a matter of a fact, many things. We have to decide what kind of choices we need to make, and then we have to make them, no matter how difficult or scary they seem to be. I encourage you to take a look at the book, allow it to stretch you and move you, and then make some choices, some scary choices and see what happens next!

“Fear is at the root of so many of the barriers that women face. Fear of not being liked. Fear of making the wrong decision. Fear of drawing negative attention. Fear of overreaching. Fear of being judged. Fear of failure. And for those who want to have children, the fear that we can’t be both good employees and good mothers.

But it does help to tell ourselves to fight our fears at every stage of our lives. In school, don’t be afraid to raise your hand. When you are attending a meeting, don’t be afraid to sit at the table. Don’t be afraid to offer your opinion. Don’t be afraid of waiting to find a life partner who will support you in achieving your dreams. And don’t be afraid to be fully engaged in your career, even as you plan to have a family. By fighting these fears, women can pursue professional success and personal fulfillment–and freely choose one or the other…or both.” – Sheryl Sandberg

Read more: Sheryl Sandberg Success Secrets – Lean In Book Excerpt – Cosmopolitan

Grab the book today….I’ll be reading it, I would love to hear more about what you think…