I recently came across the Chinese proverb: ''Women hold up half the sky.'' It made me stop and think about what that means.
The first words that came to mind were:
Power.
Persistence.
Courage.
Truth.
I then thought about what the Dalai Lama said about women, he said that ''The World Will Be Saved By the Western Women.''
And the words that came to mind were;
Courage.
Inspiration.
Pride.
I am proud to be a woman.
I am proud that ancient china and the Dalai Lama believe that women are capable of greatness.
These statements are proof that we are worthy, that we are special, that we are capable, that we are powerful and that we can achieve greatness.
However.
The average woman-owned business with one employee makes $88,000 in sales, vs. $1.8 million for men, according to The Illusions of Entrepreneurship by Professor Scott A. Shane.
But wait, women are meant to be holding up half the sky?
And how will the world be saved by the western women if the western women is earning is earning 23% less then her male counterpart?
Something is missing right? The prophecy seems to be wrong, maybe the Dalai Lama was mistaken, maybe he was having an off day right?
Based on the above statistic the average women-owned business is not even considered rich.
Today I read an article in Yahoo Finance that said that talked about a survey that was done on Americans asking how much does someone have to earn to be considered rich? The median response was that a person would need to make at least $150,000 to be considered rich.
Hospitality starts at home and if we cannot first serve ourselves then how can we serve others in our businesses.
A lot has been talked about why we are here, and the most common thought is that we are here to be of service. However I think that this statement has been misunderstood. We must first be of service to ourselves before we can be of service to others.
And you may ask what does it mean to be of service to ourselves, well it means to OWN who you are. It means to stop being afraid of standing in your truth. It means to charge what you are worth. It means to take risks. It means to be ok with the fact that you may live in periods of uncertainty. It means that you don't overwork and put your clients before your state of mind and health. It means that you go after your dreams. It means that you listen first to your internal voice that is screaming at you daily to take notice. It means to value your worth.
Yes I know that we as women are taught to be carer's and nurtures to put others before ourselves. But this programming, this society perception should not be transferred into how you conduct business.
In society powerful woman, rich women are labeled masculine and ice queens. But these perceptions are inaccurate, these women are simply just trying to hold up half the sky, they are just trying to fulfill what the Dalia Lama prophesied.
What is interesting to note is that these women are making a difference, if you look into the activities of these women they are using their power and fortune to build schools in Africa like Oprah, to bring attention to poverty in countries like Haiti.
I am passionate about women becoming wealthy because of the possibilities not only for yourself, your family and the people around you but also for the world.
I urge you to be of service to yourself in 2012, I urge you to create lucrative revenue models, I urge you to stop undercharging and over delivering and I urge you to stop being a 2-dollar hooker in business.
Its time for you to step into your calling and hold up half the sky! But you must first be of service to yourself.