She Keeps Going: The Making of an Inspirational Woman
Finding strength, resilience, and purpose in the journey of womanhood and lifting others along the way.
What It Means to Be an Inspirational Woman
When I was notified that I would be part of the 2026 group of Most Inspirational Women, I was asked a question that required more than a quick answer:
What does being an inspirational woman mean to you?
To answer honestly, I had to break it into two parts—because the word inspirational only makes sense when we understand the meaning behind both parts of it:
What it means to be a woman.
And what it means to inspire.
Together, they define everything I believe, everything I teach, and everything I strive to live.
What It Means to Be a Woman
Being a woman is one of the most powerful and beautiful experiences there is.
It is the ability to hold contrasts without breaking—
strength and softness, authority and empathy, discipline and care.
Being a woman is nurturing, caring, and deeply empathetic. It is the ability to think beyond ourselves, to hold space for others, and to multitask emotionally and mentally in astonishing ways.
Being a woman is also resilience. It is learning to stand strong in environments that have not always welcomed us. It is earning recognition, respect, and space—sometimes being the first, sometimes having to fight harder, often having to prove more.
Today, being a woman for me means coming home and being a mother while also stepping into my professional world with determination, confidence, and presence. It means wearing high heels and responsibility at the same time. It means being caring, but also firm. Loving, but setting boundaries.
The struggles women face build something powerful within us: resilience, self-confidence, and determination. And many times, we don’t fight only for ourselves—we fight to show our children what it means to love who you are and to fight for what you want.
What It Means to Inspire
To inspire is not to be perfect.
It is to create impact.
Inspiration happens when something shifts inside another person—when they leave a conversation believing something they didn’t believe before.
That belief might be:
I can do this.
I can grow.
I can become better.
I can keep going.
In psychology, purpose is considered the highest level of happiness. The reason is simple: purpose is never about you. Purpose exists only when you impact others.
I often say in my trainings that if I speak to forty people and inspire just one person to believe in themselves, to add one positive habit, or to take one step forward—that is enough. That fills me in a way no recognition ever could.
If someone sees in me an example—not of perfection, but of perseverance—and thinks, “If she can, maybe I can too,” then I am doing my work.
That is influence.
That is inspiration.
That is purpose.
The Advice I Give Other Women
The second question I was asked was:
What advice would you give other women?
Without hesitation, my answer was simple:
Keep going.
This has been a core principle in my life.
Life will be hard.
It will be stressful.
It will test you.
You are allowed to feel sad.
You are allowed to feel overwhelmed.
You are allowed to cry.
But you cannot allow those emotions to dictate your behavior.
There were many moments in my life when I cried behind closed doors, in my car, or in silence—so that when I showed up, I showed strength, stability, and hope. That ability is discipline. And discipline is the foundation of resilience.
If we allow our feelings to control our actions, we stop. And when we stop, we quit. And quitting slowly erodes belief.
My advice is this:
Feel what you need to feel—but do not stop moving forward.
If it becomes too heavy, find help.
Find support.
But keep going.
Get up.
Make your bed.
Take care of your body.
Go to work.
Show up.
And not only show up—but show up with intention. With a positive attitude. With energy that lifts others, even when you are still carrying weight yourself.
You don’t inspire others by having a perfect life.
You inspire others by choosing resilience in the middle of hardship.
And something powerful happens when you live this way: you begin to feel better—not because life becomes easier, but because helping others creates purpose, confidence, and connection. People remember how you make them feel.
Opportunities come.
Connections deepen.
Self-trust grows.
You begin to realize: I did this. I overcame this. And once you know that, you trust yourself to overcome whatever comes next.
Hardships don’t stop.
But your ability to navigate them grows stronger.
What It Means to Be an Inspirational Woman
So, for me, being an inspirational woman means this:
To honor the depth, strength, and beauty of being a woman.
To use that strength to create belief in others.
To turn struggle into purpose.
And to keep going, so that others know they can too.
If my story, my work, or my presence makes even one person’s life a little better, then everything I’ve lived has meaning.
And that is a life guided by purpose.
