Over the last few years, as I found the courage to leave a career I hated (law) and I began writing my first two books, If Women Ran the World, Sh*t Would Get Done and What Would You Do If YOU Ran the World?, I have met so many amazing women who are doing so many amazing things in the world.  In fact, I’ve started to wonder if kicking butt is actually our twenty-fourth chromosome!  

Yet, I’ve also started to realize how often women sacrifice what matters most to them, be it because of self-doubt, other people, circumstances, or the society they live in.  I’ve noticed that settling for less than what we want can be as common for women as our love affair with chocolate or our hate affair with cellulite.  I think it’s time for that to change! 

This week, as we head into the Independence Day holiday and a celebration of freedom, ask yourself the following question: 

What am I ready to be free of so I can live my dream life? 

No matter what the answer is (be it low self esteem, unsupportive friends or even an unsupportive partner, a lack of belief or something else), know that your dreams are waiting for you to say yes to them. They can't happen otherwise!

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."  Isn't TODAY the perfect day to start saying yes to yours?

Like many of you, I’ve been watching the events of the last week in Iran, and I’ve been feeling a mixture of sadness, anger, and a deep wish that there was more that I could do.  Last century, more than one hundred million people died in wars and violence at the hands of another person.  I don’t know anyone who wants the same to be true when we reach the end of this century.

Here is my wish for every man, woman, and child everywhere.  It's a wish that appears in my book and I call it a Declaration of Independence, one that is truly for all people, of all ages, in all countries.  While it’s written for women, it applies to all of us:

• Live where she wants to live.
• Live how she wants to live.
• Live with whomever she wants to live with.
• Do what makes her happy.
• Not do what makes her unhappy.
• Decide what she does or does not do with her body.
• Never have to use her body for food or survival.
• Keep the money that she earns.
• Earn the same amount of money as her equally-qualified male counterparts.
• Live in a world where she is always respected, valued, cherished, loved, and safe, and is never seen by anyone as an object, possession, or servant.

Earlier this year, I was on the east coast for book signing events and time to visit with family.  One day, my eight-year-old nephew, Dylan, and I were watching television.  One of those anti-smoking commercials came on (the one where someone is in a rat costume, crawls out of a subway, and then writhes on the ground…making the point that cigarettes have rat poison in them). My nephew, in his best eight-year-old tone that was innocent and petulant at the same time, asked, “What is he doing?”  As I explained that the man in the rat costume was making a point that cigarettes are bad for people and can make them sick, Dylan said, “Well, then the people who make cigarettes should just stop making them!”  

Personally, I think he has a point, though having watched someone I deeply care about struggle to quit smoking for the last several years, I know it’s not quite that simple.  If you know anyone who is trying to quit smoking, be a face of encouragement for them.  Send them cards or emails when they hit a milestone, even if it’s just one day without a cigarette.  Treat them to dinner or a movie if they make it a month.  And if they do fall off the wagon, encourage them to keep trying instead of making them feel even worse.  This is one area our loved ones need all the support they can get. 

Are you able to give it to them?

For more information, visit www.americanlegacy.org, an organization whose mission is to build a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit!