Eleanor Roosevelt. Mother Teresa. Rosa Parks. Oprah Winfrey. These are all inspirational women. They have done something notable or in some way made a positive contribution to society. Other people look up to them and try to emulate them. These are women who made or are making a positive difference in the world. So what can we learn from them? How can we come close to what they do or did? While there is a great deal of variation, here are four traits that most inspirational women have in common.
Inspirational women are willing to go against the grain. Remember that most people are just doing what they see everyone around them doing. Inspirational women are willing to do things that most women aren’t. They take on the dirty jobs and work harder and longer than others. They push themselves to rise above the crowd or to do things more successfully than everyone else. This willingness to go against the grain is part of what sets them apart and makes them so inspirational.
Inspirational women are willing to take risks. All inspirational women are risk takers. Rosa Parks risked arrest and physical harm when she took a stand (well, a seat). Oprah Winfrey took risks and became one of the most successful African American women in the world. Remember that the proportion of success that you experience is very closely tied to the amount of risk that you are willing to take. Many people who never take any risks find themselves doing the same thing day after day without getting any closer to their dreams.
In addition to being willing to take risks, these inspirational women had a vision and a plan for achieving it. Mother Teresa had a dream of helping the poorest of the poor. She took a risk and traveled to India with a vision and not much else. In the end she built a ministry that is known around the world. Eleanor Roosevelt had a vision for helping and empowering women, and she was a driving force towards this goal. People who do not have vision or plans for achieving their dreams will find themselves struggling to accomplish them. Having a plan and the courage to take risks and follow through is what will enable you to achieve significant things in your life.
Besides all of this, inspirational women are charismatic. This means that they have the ability to inspire and motivate others. Oprah Winfrey’s talk show has motivated countless women to improve themselves in some way. Watching her weight struggles has motivated women to lose weight. Hearing her stories of growing up in poverty has motivated women who struggled with coming from nothing. Inspirational women inspire others through the force of their personalities and their example. This is the classic, “if I can do it, anyone can.” Inspirational women realize that in most cases the only things that set them apart are their determination to take risks and follow their dreams. And these are characteristics that all women can emulate and learn from.
