“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life… Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Steve Jobs

I am often asked, how do you find your ‘Voice’? When do you know it is your own? This is an excellent question and one of discernment. Some women indicate that it takes them years to find their ‘Voice’! And that they wish they had the confidence to express their ‘Voice’ much earlier in their life!

One way to find ‘Voice’ is taking the time to listen and learn from others. Hearing the story of other individuals that have different values and believes in their lives is an important component of finding one’s ‘Voice’. These different ‘Voices’ help us discern and understand our being, our identity! Taking time to listen to those different than us provides the opportunity to learn about why individuals believe as they do – their experiences whether they be racial, age, disability, religious, cultural, and/or sexual – and gives us in a sense the feeling of “walking in another’s shoes”.

We have been watching the Olympics and have been fascinated with Simone Biles as I expect many of you have as well. As the different reporters tried to give her ‘Voice’, she was quick to say, “I am the first Simone Biles”. She seems to have a strong sense of who she is and doesn’t want the labels of race, parentage to define her. She is! How at such a young age does she have a strong sense of ‘Voice’, yet many of us find our ‘Voice’ later in life?

Many of us still struggle with living the ‘Life’ that others project upon us and not the life that we want to live! A recent article in The Atlantic suggests that women come into their own in their 40’s. They have raised their children, increased their skills and knowledge and are asking the question, “What can I do to make my life really count?”

Have you found your ‘Voice’ for meaningfulness and purpose?

Identity, Influence, Influencing Voices, Leadership, Meaningfulness, voice, women