I LOVE those two small words. Last Saturday I participated in the “I CAN” Women’s Leadership Conference in New York. The event was hosted by Sisters of Excellence led by founder Cindy Brown who remarked: “I Can 2019 is an event packed with educational tips to empower the whole woman– mind, body and spirit. The women left with educational nuggets to change the belief that all things are possible and they can make their dreams a reality.“
When Cindy invited me a few months ago to be part of this event, I could not commit because I was caring for my brother and was not willing to go that far away from him. When I think about it God already knew that I will be going, because he was going to have my brother join him. A time as this needed to be in this kind of atmosphere with like-minded people, because of the storm I am going through. I had to develop a mindset to embrace the storm knowing it will not last forever.
Even though some storms hit you on the blind side, they are many positives that come out of them. Stormy seasons force change, test our faith; they expose weaknesses, test our foundation, bring you back to what is important and reminds us we will not be here forever. Maybe one feature in this column will be about storms, lol. Let’s get back to the conference. This entire day was super inspiring and I motivated everyone in attendance. I also made some new connections with some great women I met for the first time, but it did not feel that way. The phenomenal ladies who made amazing presentations were Dr Patricia Shaw, Carolyn Barwicki, Elizabeth Madison, Toni Coleman Brown ,Nicole McCullum ,Drenee Boothe , Bridgett Jobe , Dr Juliet, Mc Bride ,Sharon Webb Richards, Denise Hicks Francis, Cynthia Bell and the lone guy Peter Ivey, Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of The Reggae Chefs , Creator of Mission: Food Possible.
I love the idea of having an amazing young man who was born in Jamaica to be the keynote speaker at a women’s conference.
“I believe that true progress cannot be made when we work in isolation. Collaboration is key and I can see that is what the Sisters of Excellence Women’s conference tried and succeeded in accomplishing. I was proud to be given access to such an event and be able to make an impact on the audience, “ Peter Ivey said.
I love when he shared his seven life lessons with us: listening, writing your own story, believe in magic,
go beyond your limits, it is better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission; be authentic,
and it is more important to be useful than brilliant.
His story every young man should hear because it would motivate them that they too can rise, no matter where you begin. I am looking forward to future collaborations with Peter Ivey, because we speak the same language and are passionate about contributing in a positive way to humanity.
Everyday “I CAN” should be part of our vocabulary as we continue to celebrate this beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.
