I'm in a quote mood today, so I thought I'd share five of my favorite quotes from five amazing women: 

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Williamson 

“I have a brain and a uterus, and I use both.” ~ Patricia Schroeder  

“Always be a first rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ~ Judy Garland  

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” ~ Beverly Sills  

What quotes inspire YOU the most?

This Sunday my parents will be celebrating their 45^th wedding anniversary. When I asked my mom what she wanted, she answered that she wished her whole family could be together. Given that my brother and my sister's family live nearby and I'm the only one out of state (not to mention clear across the country), I'm usually the one who's missing from the equation. My mom’s wish wasn't meant to be a guilt-inducing nudge at me - it's just her wish, and I think the wish of mom's everywhere.

In many ways, I think that universal feeling among women - for our families to be safe, protected and together - is part of the important gift women bring to leadership and to the world. In my first book, If Women Ran the World, Sh*t Would Get Done, I have a list called the "12 Things Women Do For The World...Even if No One Notices."  The last item...and perhaps the most important item...is that “women realize that women around the world are mothers, sisters, friends, and daughters who share more similarities than differences.”

Isn’t it time we stopped being afraid of differences and instead celebrated our common humanity? I would love to see what the world would look like as more of us do just that! Are YOU ready, willing, and able to do so?

There are many great quotes on resentment and forgiveness.  Two of my favorites are: 

“Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” ~ Carrie Fisher 

“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.”  ~Catherine Ponder 

We can decide that it is more important to be happy than to be right any second we choose.  We can never control what other people do, but we can always choose our response.  And we can know that forgiveness is really a gift we give to ourselves more than to anyone else. 

Are YOU ready to choose forgiveness today?  And are YOU ready to experience more happiness as a result?

I just started reading a book called Undefended Love  by Jett Psaris and Marlena Lyons, which is a beautiful book about building deeper intimacy, understanding and closeness in relationships, romantic and otherwise.  Something I read in the first chapter has really stuck with me: 

“If you want to see what’s possible, how you can love another without reservation, all you have to do is imagine that your partner has contracted a deadly disease and you only have six months left together.  What kind of person do you want to be in the remaining time you have with one another?” 

I don’t know about you, but that’s something I never like to think about or imagine about my loved ones, which is why I think the question is so profound.  So often, we get so entrenched in our need to be right, or our need to control, or our need to have things our way that we end up alienating the people we love most and who love us most.  For me, those three things (needing to be right, be in control, and have things my way) would be the things I would want to change about myself.  And of course, I don’t have to wait.  I can start TODAY! 

What kind of person would you want to be if you ever learned you only have six months to spend with someone you love?  What would you become more or less of?  Are YOU ready to start today?