It’s official. I am the archetype of the empowered female professional. I went back to school when I was 42 years old and earned an MBA. Subsequently, I quit the company I helped found as an employee some 17 years ago and took the big plunge. I started my own company. As Pam Slim put it, I left cubicle nation behind me. And for the last two years, I have been riding the roller coaster of entrepreneurship.
So, what does it look like to be a professional woman in the 21st century? It’s hectic, to say the least. Here’s a typical day in my life:
5 a.m.: Wake up.
6 a.m.: My first call of the day.
7 a.m.: Wake up daughter, dutifully endure her whining and resistance, and take daughter to school.
8:30 a.m.: Second call of the day, during which I realize I forgot to eat (which is just too bad, because my back-to-back calls don’t stop until noon).
12 p.m.: Realize I forgot to do homework for my graduate-degree program (the one that will certify me as a coach, a profession I have been in for 20 years, but times are changing, and you got to get with the program). So, I eat while I write. Don’t ask what I said. I have no idea.
1p.m.: More back-to-back calls. Go. Go. Go.
2:30 p.m.: Try to peel myself off the phone so I can take my daughter to her doctor’s appointment. (After all, we are good parents, aren’t we?) Work while in the waiting room and realize with wonder that I can plug into their wifi. Phew. My eyes drift helplessly from my inbox to CNN news. This costs me precious time, but I just can’t help it!
4:30 p.m.: Do some shopping and return home to start the new torture called “kid’s homework.”
(Man, I am tired.)
6 p.m.: Husband arrives home from work and takes over parental chores, so I get in front of the computer and listen to a class online.
8 p.m.: Guilt ridden and feeling like a bad mother, I go kiss my daughter goodnight and get back on the computer to work and answer e-mails until 9 p.m.
9 p.m.: Crash into bed thinking, ”Why do I have to be so lazy that I can’t exercise?” My husband jumps in the conversation, asking how I want to balance my life and rattling off solutions to help me get on track. (Did I just say I was lazy?)
The moral of the story?
I have worked with hundreds of male and female professionals, and the truth is this: It’s tough for all of us, however you slice it. So, why do we keep doing this? For the money? For the glory? Or for a sense of creating something bigger than ourselves?
There are days when I see that I made a difference in someone’s life with my contribution. And on those days, I fulfill my purpose on this planet: “Helping preserve the planet by supporting humans to fully tap into their magic.”
And then I watch “This is Water”. And I remember…There is wonder in every moment even while in line at the grocery store. Our individual time on this planet is precious and reaching for the stars is sometimes as simple as holding my daughter’s hand or thanking my husband for being the pillar of safety he is in my life.
Who are you grateful for?
What is your very unique contribution in this lifetime? No one else but you can do it.