This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StrengthHasNoGender #CollectiveBias
I love my life. I am self-employed. I am a mother of two. I get to do what I love each day. I never have to miss a school event or an afternoon pick-up. My kid’s sick day is not an inconvenience for my job. I have time to focus on my work while also paying attention to my health. I have a balance. But I didn’t get to this point without challenges. Up until last year, my life looked much different. I was spending 60+ hours a week climbing a ladder that was not leading to what I really wanted. I wanted it all: family, career, health, and travel. You may be thinking that sounds like a GIANT wish list. And I agree it is. Many things kept me from those goals until recently. I decided to smash the barrier in front of me and go after having it all! I left the corporate race after 15 years with the goal to work remotely and grow my career while spending precious time with my family. I successfully launched my own marketing business, started monetizing my blog and began my freelance travel writing journey.
The original Brawny Man steps aside
Sometimes we need to have someone encourage us by simply stepping aside. That is why I am in love with the Brawny® #StrengthHasNoGender campaign, which highlights the inspirational stories of everyday women breaking down barriers in traditionally male-dominated industries and empowering others all over America. The Brawny brand has been an American icon of strength and durability, taking on tough messes since 1974. For Women’s History Month, The Brawny Man® is stepping aside to give the spotlight to strong, resilient women — celebrating women whose personal stories have inspired the rest of us to STAY GIANT®.
My story of strength starts from within.
Everyday women demonstrate acts of strength. Today I am happy to partner with Brawny to share how Strength Has No Gender™ in my life. I always wanted to have a successful career and be a fabulous parent. However, in the corporate world, I found that more difficult to do than my fellow male counterparts. Being a mom was viewed as a weakness not a strength in my corporate world experience. When stepping up to take on more responsibility I was often met with criticism, concern, and doubt. In order to gain more respect and the opportunity to climb that corporate ladder my family and personal time had to be sacrificed. I knew deep inside that I could and should be able to have it all. I knew I could be a Giant.
What I specifically want to share with you, is not just that I embraced my inner giant with mental and emotional strength. My decision to step out on my own taught me about courage and perseverance. Having your own business is just that, it is yours. Yours to build, yours to succeed and yours to fail. There was no sales team to blame or coworker to fall back on. Without my mental strength and courage, I wouldn’t have been able to push myself past the naysayers, walk through the unknown territory, and withstand the growing pains that come with building a business from scratch.
Over the past year, I have learned some important life lessons from my risk of believing in myself with no safety nets. The first, is just what Brawny® is promoting, that Strength Has No Gender™. Taking risks, leading the way, overcoming obstacles, and pushing through hard moments is both a male and female strength. Just because you’re surrounded by men business owners does not mean that you cannot build a business from the ground up just as well. And if you are met with skepticism because you are coloring outside of the line it doesn’t mean that you will not succeed. Secondly, there is strength in celebrating with others. Strength Has No Gender™ is not just about women being strong, but that when we empower and support one another we become stronger.
My biggest goal in life is to teach my son and daughter alike that they both have the same opportunity to succeed and I equally support whatever dream they set out to accomplish. No gender owns a title, a feeling, or a strength. I want their generation to understand that we don’t get stronger by holding others back or tearing each other down. We gain strength by sharing strength. Strength is not defined by one’s gender but by the individual. Stay giant my little ones!
Be Courageous Enough To Break Barriers Because Strength Has No Gender™
If you have not seen the exclusive to Walmart, limited-edition Strength Has No Gender™ pack yet, there is still time. Stop by your local Walmart and pick up this Brawny® Pick-a-Size 8 Giant Plus. These paper towels offer more sheets per roll compared to other leading national brands having a comparable roll and sheet size. Plus, one of the main reasons I have always loved Brawny is how absorbent they are. I use fewer sheets to clean up the many messes my kids throw down.
Join the Women Empower Women Movement
I believe it is important for women to empower the entrepreneurial goals of other women. As part of my business model, I focus on helping other women launch and grow their own businesses. I hope to inspire women that they can make their own success. In less than a year I replaced my corporate world income purely by using my skills and talents to build my own business, monetized my family blog, became a contributing writer and speaker. If I can build my dream so can you. Regardless of your gender, you can knock out the barriers with your own strength.
And because everyone loves an inspirational story of breaking down stereotype barriers. This is a story about a self-taught coder who developed a breast cancer detection program:
Learn more about what makes Brawny® Paper Towels better than the competition and tell me: Have you broken any gender barriers? Did you overcome any obstacles in your career?
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