The World Will Be Saved by The Western Woman
As many of you may have heard by now, at the recent, sold-out Peace Summit in Vancouver, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, made a proclamation that has surprised many people: "The world will be saved by the western woman."
When I first heard this, I was proud and stunned at the same time. The stunned part lasted for about two minutes. And then, the more I thought about it, I found myself nodding my head and thinking, "Yeah, that make sense." I had an overwhelming urge to make sure I passed the quotation along to as many people as I could.
Not because I think we're "special" or "better" or anything like that. But I've been watching us over the last few years and I have never seen such ingenuity, promise, dedication, hard work and passion in my life. Women are starting businesses, they’re figuring out how to work at home and provide for the family financially as well as emotionally. Women are going back to school in record numbers, and companies founded by women are popping up and succeeding.
All of this is great, but there is something besides financial, or even personal, gain that's behind all of these new ventures. Women have a profound desire to make the world a better place. As Amy and I started and built this website, I have been touched by how many other female entrepreneurs have stepped up and asked how they can help. I'm not surprised by it, I've worked with women who started their own gigs before, but I am continually moved by the depth and passion of our generosity with each other.
Over the last few weeks, Amy and I have been restructuring our work lives so we can create our home and personal lives to match what we want. There have been a lot of phone calls, discussions and growth for both of us. And at the end of the day — I've been beyond impressed with what we've been able to accomplish. I'll spare you the details, but the results we've both been able to produce have furthered my belief that the Dalai Lama is right.
I don't say this just because we all happen to be in the demographic he's talking about (though it makes me really happy). But as I've been interviewing very powerful women in corporate America and I've been speaking with moms who are home with their special needs children, mothers are the source of life — and boy do we know how to manage it. You couple our drive to make a difference with that source, and you have a powerful combination. Throw the freedom to pursue education and the right to start businesses, and it's pretty easy to see how we can become an unstoppable force.
We joke about how our beautiful male counterparts can’t seem to function when they have a cold. And heaven forbid they be able to concentrate on more than one task at a time. I think the reason we all point out this "flaw" is that we're so naturally good at multi-tasking. Any mother who has answered the phone, set the table, prepared for a board meeting, read a book and helped a sick child blow her nose – all while cooking dinner – knows that we just seem to handle all of these tasks in stride. It’s what we do. We don’t even really notice.
I think this natural ability is what makes the world work.
Sounds like a huge statement, I know. I don't mean to sound fantastical or hyperbolic, I'm being very serious. The world has been "run" by men for eons now, and well...do I really have to say any more about that?
I'm not saying we should stage a coup or that we must take over in order to save the world. I actually think that we'll continue to do exactly what we're doing, and the ripple effects of our behavior will continue to be astounding.
And I do believe we will save the world.
This saving of the world is not a "Heroes" thing or a "Storm" thing (though I sure would like to look like Halle Berry while I save the world. Uh, yes please.), it's a small, daily, moment-by-moment thing. The moments when we stop what we're doing to play with our children. The moments we mentor a co-worker or pitch a new procedure or product at the office. The extra care we put into preparing our kids' meals, or talking to teachers when we sense something is wrong. It's the small conversations at the kitchen table about sex, drugs, politics and kindness that will save the world. It's serving as executives in companies we believe in, and companies that further our causes. (continued...)
