Four Powerful Women & What We Can Learn From Them
Have you ever noticed that lists of powerful women are called “influential”?
You can find lists about powerful men and a few lists of powerful women, but the word that comes up more frequently is “influential” when it comes to women. I’ve seen Top 50 Influential Women, Influential People, but I’ve never come across a list titled Influential Men.
Power is not a word that society often associates with women, instead choosing other more tame words such as “influential” or, as you may have observed with many female politicians in this country, negative words such as “aggressive,” “harpy,” etc.
Owning your power as a woman is a…powerful thing. And when we step into that power it can feel uncomfortable for some. That discomfort is real, but it is also not your problem.
Fortunately, there are so many women who celebrate their power that I look to for inspiration. Here, I’m narrowing the list down to powerful women in the media and lifestyle sector who we can all learn from.
Oprah
Oprah’s Lesson: "If I lost control of the business, I'd lose myself--or at least the ability to be myself. Owning myself is a way to be myself."
A list of powerful women would be remiss if it didn’t include the one and only Oprah Winfrey. We know that Oprah overcame all kinds of adversity to be where she is today. She was born to a single teenage mother, suffered from abuse during her childhood, and famously was demoted from co-anchor in one of her first broadcasting jobs. (I bet that person has NEVER lived down underestimating Oprah)
Oprah kept going and eventually her journey led to The Oprah Winfrey Show.
That’s where the lesson from Oprah lies today. She is confident in herself and connected to who she is; she owns who she is. She’s not afraid to put her name and picture on the projects that she works on and believes in.
The Oprah Winfrey Show, O Magazine, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), are all examples that show Oprah is aware of the power of her name and presence, and she owns it.
Read this to see why I also admire Oprah for her listening skills.
Joanna Gaines
Joanna’s Lesson: "Go and find what it is that inspires you, go and find what it is that you love, and go do that until it hurts."
If you don’t know Joanna Gaines, she is a designer and television personality as well as the co-owner and co-founder of Magnolia, a New York Times bestselling author, Editor in Chief of Magnolia Journal, and mother of five. The Magnolia empire started out as a small store offering slightly damaged and last chance home items at a discount.
Joanna Gaines embodies passion. She doesn’t have a formal education in design - she majored in communications - but always felt inspired to create spaces in her home that were comfortable and lived-in.
She loved updating old pieces and homes and making them new. There were likely naysayers and obstacles when she began her design career but she knew what she wanted to do, and she did it.
In one of her books, Joanna Gaines shared something her father said. He told her, “every hard thing we choose to do makes us braver for the next time” which resembles something my dad told me when I was a junior in high school. I wanted to run for student body president, and unfortunately my best friend was also running. She asked me to run for vice president instead. At first, I gave in, but when my father found out I was dropping out of the race he was extremely disappointed. He asked me if I was going to give up on something I wanted just because it was hard.
I knew I had to run for president. And it was hard. I lost a close friendship. But I got through it and gained invaluable skills about leadership and listening along the way.
It was an important concept for me to understand and one we can also glean from Joanna Gaines.
Boldly follow your passions, even if it's hard.
Ree Drummond
Ree’s Lesson: “You should never assume that where you are in life or what you're doing is going to remain exactly as it is forever.”
Anne Marie (Ree) Drummond is best known for her lifestyle blog “The Pioneer Woman” and its subsequent cookbooks, TV shows, etc. She lives with her family on a working ranch in rural Oklahoma and shares country living stories and recipes with her audience. This is quite a departure from where she thought she would be, according to her.
Ree grew up overlooking a country club. She attended the University of Southern California (my alma mater!) where she studied journalism and then gerontology. After college, she thought about pursuing law school. She married Lee Drummond and they decided to leave Los Angeles to live and work at his family’s cattle ranch in Oklahoma.
In 2006, she started her blog, “Confessions of a Pioneer Woman” sharing stories about her family and ranch life. A year later, she posted her first recipe and her blog took off.
The blog changed the trajectory of her career. She was able to explore her passion for cooking, food photography, and writing. She created tastykitchen.com, a space for people to share their favorite recipes and try and rate others.
She has written multiple cookbooks, a memoir, and children's books. Ree also became a restaurateur and shop-owner with her companies P-Town Pizza and Charlie's Sweets Shop.
Ree’s story is a reminder that things won’t always go according to plan but no matter what direction your life takes there will be ways to step into your power and pursue your passions.
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart doesn’t need much of an introduction. She’s a businesswoman, writer, and television personality who famously experienced some legal troubles in the early 2000s. She served a five-month sentence and many expected that would be the end of her career. As you know, it was not.
Martha Stewart came back stronger than ever, taking on new creative projects that expanded her brand to new audiences. Powerful people have strong support networks, and Martha Stewart credits her team for their creative and fresh ideas. Her relationships, both professional and personal are with people she trusts and who inspire her.
The takeaway.
Powerful people have support and can ask for help. No one can do everything by themselves…not even Martha Stewart.
When it comes to owning your power, observe the women you admire.
What makes them powerful?
Why are they good leaders?
How does their presence infiltrate every room they’re in?
Observe your fellow-powerful women. The world can be our classroom if we mindfully take in how others are succeeding and implement those lessons in our own lives.
We’re all ready for your powerful voice.