Like many of us, I’ve been reflecting on the recent losses of two extraordinary women: Jane Goodall and Diane Keaton. While their fields were vastly different, both left us with the same powerful legacy – they charted their own courses, unafraid to stand up and stand out, not to win popularity, but to remain true to themselves and their purpose.
And, to add a third icon to the list of inspiring women, I recently finished Barbra Streisand’s memoir, and while I’m grateful she’s still with us, her fortitude, courage, and unwavering commitment to her art place her in similar company with these two legends.
What does any of this have to do with leadership?
My business exists to inspire women to be leaders in their own lives – and each of these three women embodied exactly what that means. Jane Goodall revolutionized primatology by trusting her instincts over conventional scientific wisdom. Diane Keaton carved out a singular career and personal style, refusing to conform to Hollywood’s expectations. Barbra Streisand pursues perfection in her craft despite decades of criticism and resistance.
Being a leader in your own life means using your unique strengths to create your art – however you define that art. It means trusting your vision even when others don’t understand it. It means choosing authenticity over acceptance. And sometimes, it means doing the thing that scares you.
And sometimes…doing that thing that scares you pays off in ways you could never have imagined. Two years ago, I had the enormous privilege and good fortune of bumping into Jane Goodall on my way home from Tanzania. The encounter was a gift, but here’s what made it even more meaningful: the only reason I was in Tanzania at all was because I was being a leader in my own life and taking a trip that, for various rational and irrational reasons, scared me. And there she was – a living example of the very courage I was trying to embody.
Each of us has this capacity within us. Goodall, Keaton, and Streisand show us what’s possible when we refuse to play small. Now it’s our turn to honor their legacy – not by imitating them, but by having the courage to be fully, unapologetically ourselves.
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