Sisterhood (Period)

 I know this may sound strange but I am not making this up.  When I get my issue of Essence in the mail I am so elated.  It is one of the most fulfilling parts of getting mail. Isn’t it nice to get instead of bills?   I gaze at the beautiful cover and I smile at the feature stories as they speak to my heart in so many ways. I turn the pages and glance at how not only how beautiful we are as sisters but how diverse.  NO TWO women are even REMOTELY alike.   But then too as I read the articles I find so much of myself in them. I only have to read the titles or the small captions and immediately I am drawn in.

So this is not a blog about my love of Essence.  It is a blog about my love for self and finding myself in others…other women who are so different in many ways and yet the same.  And that is what amazes me about being in business with sisters.

We embody the epitome of just being different.  We are so diverse in our thinking and our love and our passion and yet we all want the same.  We to succeed.  We all want to be able to build our dreams.  And what is even more beautiful is that we want to see EACH other succeed. 

We want for our sisters what we want for ourselves”   That is a CAFÉ quote. 

That is a quote from a business whose primary mission is to celebrate the differences and similarities in being sisters in business.  I think that is why I find so much love for CAFÉ.  

But then this isn’t about a blog about Nicole Newman and Tara Colquitt. It is about a blog about love for self and finding myself in others.

I have so many wonderful ideas of what I want for my business…what I want for my daughter.  There are times I feel winded, and I mean literally can’t breathe because there is so much for me to do and to be done. And frankly I am scared. 

I wrote a post on FB a few days ago about validation and finding it in others.  And then what should happen, a young lady directs me to her post about the very same thing and how she has managed or continues to manage it.  Here I find a courageous and beautiful woman that has transformed her life for love of herself.   I felt honored to have her direct me to her blog.  And here again, a woman that wants for her sister as she wants for herself.  She is a brand worth reckoning and as she models her life for daughter to see as she continues to empower those around her. She helped me realize this is what I am doing every day…being a champion for my daughter.  She reminded me of that…just  BEING TYEMA.

But this is not a blog about Tyema Sanchez Salaam.  Yes, this is a blog about love of self and myself in others.

And then there is this woman that EVERY SINGLE TIME I SEE HER. She has the HUGEST smile on her face.  She is continuously positive and her NETWORK embraces her as a strong and ambitious business owner and coach.  She is open to anyone for conversation and she is always asking how she can help you, your business or how her business can collaborate with yours.  She is humble and yet a pillar.  She wants for you what she wants for herself.  She is BEING Michelle!  She has her own goals and ambitions but they mean nothing if she cannot help you grow.  

#Growtogether..That is her hashtag and her smile just draws you in!!! . 

But this is not a blog about Michelle Snow.   It is a blog about love of self and finding myself in others.

And so I am just surrounded by empowering and remarkable women.  Each one is different and beautiful in their own right and yet we all share the same goals…the need to uplift and at the end of the day they want for others what they want for themselves.

And here I am in business, building my dreams and looking to build something for my daughter. I read through my Essence magazine and I lose my breath, overwhelmed. I look at the beautiful women that are so diverse and so rare and different each in her own right.  And I read through the articles and find the similarity, how they speak to my own cause and how I find myself in them.   I look around me and I find that in my own circle I am surrounded by strong and beautiful women that have each in their own way have shown me, Leslie,  that I should continue to believe in myself because they believe in me.  They want for me what I want for myself.  We want for each other what we want for ourselves.  We Grow Together.  You Go We go. We are BEING (you fill in the blank). WE ARE LOVE.

But this isn’t a blog about Tara Colquitt, Nicole Newman, Tyema Sanchez Salaam or Michelle Snow. It is a blog about Leslie Crudup.  And I want for my sisters what I want for myself.

Dedication and devotion is part of business growth…have you really embraced it?