BECOMING A WOMAN OF INFLUENCE

“Just don’t give up, trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong” – Ella Fitzgerald.

Becoming a woman of influence is a journey to fulfilling the purpose for which you were created. All women are born to be influencers and to make a difference. You owe it to yourself and the generation you represent to position yourself to be one of the forerunners of this definite revolution. Women, ladies and girls all over the world are taking the bulls by the horn. I implore you not to limit yourself to the current circumstances you find yourself and be expended. Influence goes way beyond wealth and material and ethereal possessions.

Advancing your influences makes you a beacon of greatness, a mediocrity non-conformist, always to be remembered, a foot print in the sand of time and most importantly, lives you changed will forever be indebted to you. It takes Hardwork, determination, purpose discovery, focus, courage to EXPENDING YOU. Lazy and indolent individuals get no place because they refuse to leave their comfort zone. 

MY SUPER HEROINES

Let us get to meet some women of influence, both past and present that have prospered and created a name for themselves in their chosen areas of endeavour. They cut across all fields, from female right activists to entertainers, to technology gurus to religious mentors to intellectual scholars to business tycoons.

·         We all know Mother Theresa and her devotion to the poor and needy. You know, even though she is long gone, her selfless service to others will not be forgotten in a hurry.

·         What about Rosa Parks? Who was a civil rights activist.

·         Margaret Thatcher? Who haven’t heard of her? This woman will always be known for being the first female prime minister of great Britain who govern for over ten years against all odds

·         Have you ever heard of Oprah Winfrey? An American show host. Her shows are very influential on issues facing American women.

·         Malala Yousafzai is another great lady that can never be forgotten. She stood firmly and spoke up for the girl child education in Pakistan. She was shot by the Taliban for defying their threats in refusing to stop the campaign for the girl’s right to education.

·         Sheryl Sandberg is an American technology executive, an activist, and an author. She is currently the chief operating officer of Facebook. She was instrumental in making Facebook as profitable as it is now ever since she joined in 2007. She is the author of the bestselling book “Lean in: women, work and the will to lead”. She is also one of the board members of the Walt Disney Company. I started reading her book ‘lean in’ and I can emphatically say I had always been feeling like a super woman.

·         Serena Williams? Hilary Clinton? Whoopi Goldberg? Maya Angelou? Any of these names sound familiar to you? I think I told you these women span all fields you can think of.

Hmmm! Let’s get down to Nigerian Women because many are already saying “I am not Nigerians Na”.

·         Mosunmola Abudu, popularly known as Mo Abudu. She is a talk show host, media personality, a human resource management consultant, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Forbes described her as “Africa’s most successful woman” (Wikipedia, 2015). Not to forget Mo also lunched ebony life television in 2013, which by all indications and standard is doing well.

·         Dora Akunyili - She was strategic in being used as an instrument to save Nigeria from the dungeons of fake drugs being produced and sold in the market as at then. 

·         Folorunsho Alakija is the second richest woman in Africa, the third in the world. Amazing right? And she is a Nigerian. Who thought any good thing could come out of ‘Nazareth’.

There is something that marvels me; all the above ladies are seriously diligent and not lazy. Why did we stop influencing? I will tell you why we stopped influencing.

WHY WE STOPPED INFLUENCING

You would think that the world would and should have grown beyond the crude practices of our founding fathers, but it will shock you to know that it’s a case of three steps forward and four backward. I tell you what; the cultural challenges obstructing women influencers today are the reasons women stopped influencing. Countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan still deny women simple basic civil rights. That’s why the decision of the Nigerian senate to reject the gender and equal opportunity bill was met with a lot of public outrage. I wasn’t the least surprised about the decision, why Nigerians were, is beyond me.

It’s has been estimated that 114 - 130 million women undergo the female genital mutilation. In Cameroon, Angola, Benin young girl have their breast pressed with hot iron in order to make them unattractive in their budding stage (breast ironing) just so their girls will be kept “pure and untainted. Sex slaves, women trafficking among others are part of the challenges.

From the time of birth a girl’s life has been planned by her parents to give birth, to carry on the husband’s lineage. Women are being plagued by lack of self-confidence, because of their background, the abuse they suffered, the rejection and abandonment they have experienced. No wonder you see women selling themselves short, women who have inferiority complex as well as superiority complex, insecurity, women refusing to leave toxic and abusive relationship. The list is endless really. God can heal the root of our under confidence and replace every fear in our lives with his courage.

CAN WOMEN REALLY BE INFLUENCERS?

Women are born to be influencers and shapers of destiny only if they can make themselves available and useable. So how can I be a woman of influence? The art of influencing transcends job description or a particular occupation. You don’t necessarily have to be in a great big place before you can begin to influence. Now this is where the God factor comes in. A woman of influence is a woman that is available to be led and directed by God. It is God who opens your eyes, opens your ears, he directs you to the needs in the community or wherever it is you find yourself that needs to be addressed.

It is important that you first identify where your passion lies - that one thing you like doing and you do not mind devoting every working time of your life to see yourself grow and develop in it.

To be a woman of influence, it is imperative you discover yourself and find purpose. You are not a stray bullet. There is a purpose you are on earth to fulfil and until you find it, influence will always be a mirage to you. influence comes easy for people who are bending their backs into what they are doing, they have something to be excited about, something to believe in. These are the essence of influencers, believe it or not.

After identifying your passion, you deliberately carve out a niche for yourself. Whatever it is you are doing, you must do it with excellence. Nothing wishy-washy. Nobody likes or settles for average when they can get the best out there. Let your products and services bear the label of high quality. Be focused and determined. Be courageous to try new things. Be open minded and be willing to learn and unlearn.

Be a woman of capacity, yes, develop character, the right attitude to people and circumstances. Allow yourself go through the process of developing character - influential character. You are not easily shaken by the whims and changing demands of the society. You are a woman of your own, you have your own beliefs and you can defend them whenever the occasion arises, you are not easily intimidated, you are not ashamed of your background because it doesn’t define the person you are now. Most importantly when the attention begins to come in, you never lose yourself. You never lose the woman you have grown to be. You change for the better every day, yes, but not because you want to satisfy people or because you desire acceptance from people. You know just how to handle the opinion of people, which to take seriously and which one to discard.

Women of influence read a lot. Yes, you cannot hope to be great and not stand on the shoulders of other great people.

As a woman in the process of influencing, there will be obstacles on the way. If you do well by overcoming the internal barriers, you have only the external to deal with. But if you can confront these obstacles, I assure you victory will be yours. Women of influence never quit. They just don’t know how to. They keep trying and trying until things begin to change.

I wish I could say more, but I trust the little i have said will effectively be used for your benefit.

Remember women of influence help other women grow and flourish. This is a call for all women to lean in. women who stay together, lead together.

With continuing love

Vicky Sage.

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