Last night was my first presentation of my book. My friend and colleague invited me to speak at her local National Association of Professional Women (NAWP) chapter at their monthly meeting. I was very unsure about what I was going to discuss, until a single word was identified by my mom.
The NAWP's mission statement is, "...to provide the most advanced forum for members to connect with like-minded professional women to develop innovative business and social relationships. We continuously offer our members the resources and benefits necessary to foster professional and personal success." Their M.O. is empowerment. Empowering professional women through relationship building and networking. It is a great group of women. If it wasn't for the $500+ annual membership fee, I would join...
Thus, night before my presentation, my mom called me (as usual) and asked what I was planning on discussing. I started by saying that I believed it really began for me in 1997 with the Publishing Course I had taken at the University of Colorado. During that course of study we worked on Tuesdays with Morrie, and ....
Mom said, "No." And I am glad she did. She asked who the group was and I explained their concept was empowerment, yada, yada, yada. "That is what you should talk about. Your book is designed to empower women with knowledge about marriage law and their rights within their union."
Eureka!
She was right (as usual)! Sometimes, when you are so entrenched in a project, you forget the essential element that got you to where you are. The whole point of this project is to empower women and to provide them with the necessary tools to make the right decisions for themselves. I was too focused on the non-emotional part. The reality was that the component of empowerment was right before me - EMPOWERMENT.
So, my discussion began there and the rest went very smoothly. I hope the audience enjoyed me brief talk. It felt good too to really let the spotlight shine. In our day-in-and-out lives, we lose sight on our need for attention. And, damnit! It felt great to be the center of it for once. I am so fortunate to have been invited to speak and I really cherish my friendship with my friend. What a great opportunity she provided for me :))) I also got some great contacts for design help and outreaching to local professors - I feel like I might be on my way here...
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