“So, what’s it going to take for us to move Threads to the next level?” I asked. I was in Guatemala with my co-founder Angela, our VP of sales, our marketing consultant, and a team from our Artisan Partner group in Guatemala (including María, my role model in life and business). I was super interested to hear what these smart, creative, dedicated women would have to say. One of my greatest points of pride as a Threads founder is the team of experts I’ve helped curate to lead us into the future.
As I listened to their ideas, though, I started to notice something. I had asked the question, but I hadn’t fully engaged with the question—at least not in the same way I was expecting them to. I realized that I didn’t include myself in that team of experts I’d curated. I knew I had something to contribute, but I’d been struggling for a long time to figure out exactly what that was. In fact, I’d been asking countless people around me what they thought that was. And now here I was, with this amazing team of women, once again looking outside myself for the answers.
I came home from that trip a different leader. I realized that yes, I have curated a powerhouse team of world-changers to build Threads with, but that I am one of those powerhouses, too. I’d been waiting and watching to see what they create, waiting for them to tell me how to contribute. But no one else can show up for me. I have to show up for myself. I decided to be done waiting.
Now I come to work with purpose and passion. I’m clear on my role, secure in my contribution, and producing results that would make the old me fall over from shock.
Kara 2.0 is a total badass. (For the record, Kara 1.0 was also a badass, but she spent wayyyy too much time waiting for someone else to prove it to her.)
In honor of International Women’s Day tomorrow, I invite you to stop waiting, too. Stop waiting to take a step toward your dreams. Stop waiting for someone else to tell you what you’re worth. Stop waiting for permission to unleash your inner badass and show the world who you really are.
It’s time for women to show up. Powerfully. Honestly. Unapologetically. Don’t wait for someone else to give you permission to be your best self. She’s already you, and you’re already her. You just have to show up for each other.
