Impossible Then, Possible Now...Constance Baker Motley

"Something which we think is impossible now is not impossible in another decade."

--Constance Baker Motley (First Black Woman in the U.S. to become a Federal Judge)

As we await in 2022  President Biden's nomination of the first black woman to be a Supreme Court Justice, remember the quote of Judge Constance Baker Motley above and remember this wisdom: don't let people tell you what is or is not possible for you? 

Confidence Is Everything...Ciara

“Confidence is everything. Confidence is what makes that simple white tee and jeans look good.” 

—Ciara Princess Harris Wilson 

(August 24, 2016 - Source: Ari Perilstein/
Getty Images North America)

Your Powerful Mind...Napoleon Hill

"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."

--Napoleon Hill

Trust and Love Yourself...Golda Meir

"Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement."

--Golda Meir

You Have To Have A Plan...Nipsey Hussle

"The most important thing, number one, is you gotta get rid of doubt. If you got doubt in what you're doing, it's not gonna work and the way to do that is you have a plan. 'Cause if you got a plan, it's not just like a pipe-dream, you have a step-by-step list of things to do to get to your goal. If you don't have that, it's very hard to really have faith in what you're doing 'cause soon as something pop up, it's gonna look like the end-all."

-- Nipsey Hussle, (Ermias Joseph Asghedom, 1985-2019), Rapper and Entrepreneur 

Believe...Misty Copeland

"Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you."

--Misty Copeland

Misty Copeland wearing her Underarmour Signature Collection, MistySignature.

In June 2015, Misty Danielle Copeland made history when she was promoted by the prestigious American Ballet Theatre (ABT) to principal dancer. The Kansas City, Missouri native who was raised in San Pedro, California was the first black principal dancer in the ABT's then 75 year history. Click here, MistyCopeland, for more information on this incredible woman who made history. 

Love Yourself As If...Aberjhani

"Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends."


--Aberjhani, Author and Poet, "Journey through the Power of the Rainbow: Quotations from a Life Made Out of Poetry"

You Can!...Donna W. Martin

"I don't consider myself a trailblazer but I do want young women to look at me and say, 'anything is possible'. I think that if you work hard, and you really believe in yourself, you can achieve anything that you absolutely set your mind to."

--Major General Donna S. Martin, Commanding General, Fort Leonard Wood U.S. Army Installation, Missouri

On Tuesdays, womenatliberty.com presents #LeadershipTuesdays, a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage and strengthen women leaders. Today we feature a quote by military trailblazer, Major General Donna W. Martin, who made history as the first woman to take Command of one of the Army's premier training installations in the U.S., Fort Leonard Wood U.S. Army Installation. Based in the Ozarks region of Missouri, the military base welcomes 80,000 military personnel and visitors each year. In addition to managing its day-to-day operations, she will also oversee the construction of a $100 million hospital in the next 2-3 years that replaces the current General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital.

Read our complete profile of Major General Martin by clicking here . Then follow @LeadershipTues on Twitter to view our daily #LeadershipTuesdays posts for resources that will help you develop your leadership skills. We post videos and articles on trailblazing women and men who are successful leaders. Check us out!

Update: 

Lieutenant General Donna W. Martin
The 67th Inspector General, 2023

LTG Donna W. Martin assumed responsibility as The 67th Inspector General of the United States Army,  Sept. 2, 2021

https://ig.army.mil/About/Leadership/

Believe In Your Potential...Mary J. Blige

“The important thing is to realize that no matter what people’s opinions may be, they’re only just that – people’s opinions. You have to believe in your heart what you know to be true about yourself. And let that be that.”

--Mary J. Blige, Grammy Award winning Singer, and Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Actress

Do Your Thing...Tina Fey

"Don't waste your energy trying to change opinions ... do your thing, and don't care if they like it." 

--Tina Fey

Focus On The Outcome...T.F. Hodge

"To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles."

--T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with "The Divine Presence"

Image credits:
Rolex watch pieces, https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/rolex-info/rolex-watch-pairings.html
Rolex watch, https://www.bobswatches.com/rolex-blog/rolex-info/rolex-watch-pairings.html

Trust, Believe And Stay Focused...Musiq Soulchild

"Be true to yourself, stay focused and stay you, take advice from other folks, use what you can, but never mind what is not for you. For the most part, trust yourself and believe in what you are doing."

--Musiq Soulchild, Grammy nominated and multi-award winning Hip Hop Soul Artist and Songwriter

https://flic.kr/p/55rRzs

Stay Focused...Phillip Sweet

Stay true to yourself, yet always be open to learn. Work hard, and never give up on your dreams, even when nobody else believes they can come true but you. These are not cliches but real tools you need no matter what you do in life to stay focused on your path.

--Phillip Sweet

Leading Yourself...Israelmore Ayivor

"Go out and lead the world; but never forget to begin by leading yourself first at home. You can’t lead the environment if you can’t lead yourself in it."
--Israelmore Ayivor

Beauty, Distinctive and Uncommon...Yvonne Pierre

"The enemy uses those things [you are] insecure about. Free yourself and take your power back by being secure in who you are - flaws and all."

--Yvonne Pierre, The Day My Soul Cried: A Memoir
___________________

Beauty starts in the soul, deep in the soul. Cultivate its seeds there and it will blossom from its dark place into distintive and uncommon magnificence. 

Believe...Isa Zapata

"The more you believe in yourself, the more the world believes in you!"

--Isa Zapata

So, find a mirror or turn on the camera in your phone, look into it and repeat these words: "I believe in you."

I Believe...

"I believe that there is Greatness within me.

I believe that I am an Overcomer!

I believe that my source only increases my ability to become the Dynamic person I want to become.

I believe therefore I am."

Know Your Value!...@vnona

We spend a lifetime training, and enhancing and honing our skills and abilities. Don't let someone come along in a minute and discount everything you've worked for. Know your worth! Know your value!

--Nona O.

The Double-Edged Sword: Being Confident

“What’s wrong with being, what’s wrong with being
What’s wrong with being confident?

What’s wrong with being, what’s wrong with being
What’s wrong with being confident?
 
So you say I’m complicated
But you’ve had me underrated”

--Demi Lovato (as perfomed by), lyrics from song, “Confident”

For women, being confident is a double-edged sword. Some people may view you as smart and self-assured, while others may perceive you as a know it all and cocky. One thing is for sure, judging someone’s confidence is subjective. Just like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, someone’s negative opinion of your level of confidence may really be a function of their cultural paradigm of how a woman should act and conduct herself and where her place is or should be in society.

Confident women tend to be viewed negatively in society. So it’s not surprising that women would give themselves a lower score when assessing leadership skills and management abilities as compared to how men perceive themselves in the same areas. According to the 2015 report from Development Dimensions International (DDI), “Ready-Now Leaders: Cultivating Women in Leadership to Meet Tomorrow’s Business Challenges”:

“One of the few significant differences between the sexes was level of confidence. Men considered themselves more effective as leaders. This self-confidence is reflected in how highly they rated their leadership skills and ability to tackle management and business challenges. Women, on the other hand, were less likely to rate themselves as highly effective leaders compared to their peers…"

If you are a woman, I know that you can relate to that quote. How many times have you had conversations with your girlfriends or significant other about whether you were good enough to take on a new assignment? Or if we go back to school days, we can all remember talking to our friends about whether we had what it took to try out for the basketball team, audition for the lead in the school choir, or run for a class president or any school leadership position. I would bet anyone $1 million dollars that one of the phrases you would hear in any of the above scenarios is, “I don’t know whether I’m good enough”. And while a bit of self-doubt is healthy, you have to know that your male counterparts are not saying the same things about themselves to their friends.

In Sheryl Sandberg’s book, “Lean In”, she described a situation where she and her Harvard roommate, Carrie, who were seniors, and her younger brother, David (a sophomore), took a European intellectual history class together. Carrie was considered a subject matter expert in the class because of her major. She attended all of the classes and read all of the reading assignments in the “original” languages. Sheryl attended most of the classes and read all of the readings in English while her brother only went to two classes and read one book. When it was time to take the final exam, David went to the girls to be tutored. After taking the three hour test, the girls walked out unsure of their grade and wondering if they had included enough information in their answers. When asked by Sheryl and Carrie how he felt he had done, David replied that he had gotten an “A” and guess what, he had. The girls got A’s too, but the difference was in how he felt and talked about his abilities.

How do you increase yourself confidence?

1. Study and prepare yourself. This will decrease your fear. Next, get comfortable with feeling some fear and uncomfortableness. It’s a part of the process. Valorie Burton, life coach and author of “Get Unstuck, Be Unstoppable” says, “…[you are] going to feel fear but it doesn’t have to be a stop sign. Most people feel like when they feel fear they have to stop. No, just keep moving forward.”

2. Believe in yourself. Sonia Sotomayor stated in a quote recently featured in a Leadership Tuesdays’ blog that you have got to prove the naysayers wrong who believe that you are not qualified or can’t do the work by believing in yourself and simply doing the work. See her quote here.

3. Don’t expect everyone to like you. So says Reshma Saujani, founder of “Girls Who Code”, you’ve got to become okay with not everyone liking you. It is hard work coming to grips with this, especially for women, and this doesn’t usually happen for women until much later in life. But, the sooner you become comfortable in your own skin, the better off you will be. See Reshma Saujani’s quote here.

To view a video clip from the Demi Lovato song quote above, click here. Lastly, to check out other Leadership Tuesdays features, go here or visit womenatliberty.com.

Lights, Action, You're On!...Mikki Taylor

Many women live like it's a dress rehearsal. Ladies, the curtains up and you're on.

--Mikki Taylor, Editor-at-Large, Essence