Talking about Achievement  

Dear Super Girl:

Three weeks from today, I’ll be speaking at the Women in Business conference hosted by the Tempe Chamber of Commerce. The event itself is focused on reaching, achieving and celebrating. And I am the speaker centered around the achieving portion of the conference.

That makes me giddy! This opportunity, like so many others I’ve received in the last 25 months, comes at the perfect time!

I think girls and women alike are prone to putting more focus on the things we have YET to achieve. I know it took me years to see that about myself. And while that ego and fear-based viewpoint will still stand in my way at times, I’m able to recognize when I’m being way too hard on myself.

The speech I’ll give in three weeks is something I’ve been working on for the last three months. It’s the first time I’ll get up in front of a live audience and talk about the old reoccurring thought patterns I had to shed, release, forgive and move on from before I was able to achieve the beautiful accomplishments I have in this journey.

I’ll give you a sneak peek. One of the themes I carried into adulthood from my childhood was this: I believed I was unworthy of greatness. And that theme carried on from one element of live to the next. The second theme that hung on me like dead weight was that I believed I had to earn whatever it was that I was working toward achieving. I never knew how to just receive and celebrate that gift.

It’s no coincidence that Severson Sisters is an empowerment organization. And, it’s no coincidence I created Severson Sisters as a non-profit. Now, in my professional live I am always in celebration because every single dollar we receive I cheer for. And I’ve worked extensively on myself to see how worthy I am to be where I am. It took a lot of work and a lot of time to get here though.

I love that my portion of this event in three weeks is focused on achieving. I filled my story with take-away pieces the audience can adopt in their life to help them break through any of their own blocks to achievement. It’s true that my story does have dark spots but I live in light now. The story I’ll share will hopefully shed more light on their journey than darkness.

It’s honestly only in the light that we’re able to truly see what it is we can achieve.

And I’m honored to tell my story.

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very light kind of day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/

Junior Super Girls!

Dear Super Girl:

There’s a girl I think you should know about. Her name is Gabrielle Arcilla. She’s in sixth grade. Gabrielle is the Miss Junior Teen Scottsdale and she’s bullied because of it. And I’m actually concerned I made it worse.

Here’s her story:

In January Gabrielle got in touch with me and said she wanted to get more involved with the Severson Sisters but she didn’t know how.

So, I created the Junior Super Girl Ambassador Alliance for Gabrielle to lead.

The mission of this alliance is to provide girls with the skills and tools necessary to serve as positive role models in the community. The three components of the program will be friendships, peer-to-peer inspiration, and training.

Friendships will bring Junior Super Girl Ambassadors together through events and interaction. To keep the Junior Super Girl Ambassadors inspired, Gabrielle will send out e-blasts twice a month. She will share experiences and provide tips.

We will bring in 25 girls this summer to the Junior Super Girl Ambassador Alliance summer camp in June. It’s three days of training. At the end, these Junior Super Girl Ambassadors will be trained in our curriculum so that they can go out into the community and help their peers.

Gabrielle created a campaign to raise money so the girls coming into this program are sponsored. I’m very proud of this campaign and this program. If you’re able to help out – please do and share this so we’re able to get this word out.

Check it out here – http://seversonsisters.org/our-team/junior-super-girl-ambassador-alliance/

Gabrielle and I were on Channel 3 on Sunday to promote this new program. It was her first time on television! When I arrived at the station, Gabrielle and her mom were sitting in the lobby. Gabrielle was upset and so was her mom. On Friday, a group of girls “crank called” Gabrielle at home after school and mocked her. They said, “You think you’re better than everyone else.” On and on.

Then came Sunday. Before heading to the television station, Gabrielle found out from a mutual friend that one of the girls who “crank called” on Friday made ill remarks on Facebook about Gabby. Comments were posted along the lines of, “It’s a good thing you blocked me because I’d go all out on you.”

Gabby, on the other hand, posted on her Facebook page that she had this beautiful opportunity to come on television with me. She was nervous. She asked people to keep their fingers crossed.

I did what I would have done if that happened to me. I addressed it and since we were at a TV station…I brought it up to the host and we talked about it on live TV. Gabby was elegant. She was honest. She was inspiring. She was truthful.

I was so proud to be there, supporting her. It’s moments like that one that help me remember what it really feels like to be 13 again.

Then came Monday. I got a call from Gabrielle’s mom. It turns out that these girls who are bullying (and I’m willing to even call it harassment now) “crank called” Gabrielle on Monday after school. This time it was, “You think you’re famous now that you’ve been on TV. Should I ask you for your autograph?”

Naturally, I’m concerned. I was the one who wanted to address this on TV. There we were for a cause and a program she influenced. It’s her platform and the bullying she endures is now worsened because of it.

I asked Gabrielle’s mom if we should continue this.

Gabrielle insists we do. She said, “These girls will never get the best of me.”

I don’t remember feeling like that when I was 13. Girls did get the best of me. I was depressed and confused. I wish someone had created a Super Girl program when I was 13.

Here’s the good news…there’s one now! And a Junior Super Girl Ambassador Alliance to go right along with it so peers can support peers. And what’s great is that a 13-year-old is the inspiration behind it.

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very inspiring day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/

Dear Super Girl:

I am always so very grateful for your support. The last two weeks were particularly special for me. I reached out for support on a personal level, which I’ve never done before. In response, I raised $1,700 in 48 hours and was able to attend the 2013 Women in the World Summit in New York City!

Here’s what happened:

Before the Women in the World Summit, I met with teenVogue! I went to their headquarters and that was a beautiful experience for me. I have a journalism degree. I went into journalism so, so many years ago because I wanted to change the way society viewed women. And, I thought the best way to do that would be to get a writing degree so I can get involved with media and change the way the media portrays women.

It took me 17 years to get to this point in my career and I’m still tingling that it happened. I pitched teenVogue many, many ideas. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that they do indeed bring me on as a contributing writer!

After teenVogue, I was off to Rosie’s Theater Kids! Rosie O’Donnell launched this educational theater company 10 years ago. I was there. It’s totally like FAME! I loved it! The kids were gracious, amazing, sweet, smart, warm and on and on. They have a good grip on their organization and it was very inspiring. I’d love to partner with Rosie’s Theater Kids and they know that now.

After Rosie’s Theater Kids, I went to the Women in the World Summit! And. IT. WAS. LIFE. CHANGING.

I learned about so many women from so many different parts of the world who are doing EXACTLY what I’m doing. They have dedicated their life to enhancing the lives of girls and women. They fight for it. They live for it. The difference between me and them is that I’m not threatened on a daily basis because of my career. And they are.

The entire Summit was amazing. I saw Oprah and Meryl and Angelina and Hillary. But what was more moving for me were the women from Pakistan – Humaira Bachal and Khalida Brohi. These two ladies teamed up with a female filmmaker, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, to portray what men really think of women in the country. In their documentary, the repeating line among these men was: “Women get the bullet.”

The audience gave Humaira and Khalida and Sharmeen a standing ovation. And then we wept.

Seeing so many women put their lives on the line to better the lives of so many girls and women is something I will always remember.

And I hope you do too. Super Girls need to stick together. We will change the world. Because, we are Women in the World together.

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very BIG day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/

Dear Super Girl:

I’m in New York City for the week. There’s such sweet, beautiful, powerful energy pulling me forward right now. I find myself day dreaming a lot these day about all the opportunities and possibilities I’ll have at my fingertips this week. And then I laugh and hop around! Seriously, I’m hopping and giggling in the Big Apple. And I LOVE IT!

I’m really excited to sit down with teenVogue this week to discuss story ideas. I’m pitching them for few new concepts. I have a lot to offer Super Girls and teenVogue is a great place for me to lend my voice, tips and empowering advice.

Then I head to the Women in the World Summit to absorb amazing and empowering voices, energy and tips from worldly thought leaders.

The trip has been really beautiful already. Check this out!

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very BIG day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/

Dear Super Girl:

One week from today I head to the Big Apple and I’m so very excited! I’m attending the 2013 Women in the World Summit!

Let me tell you how this came about. I create vision boards for myself every January. This year I created three of them. I made a professional board, a personal board and a fundraising board!

My personal board is really focused on what I feel coming in next – my love life.

My fundraising board is just that – images that are equal to feelings I want people to feel when they are at our events or when they decide to give to us. This board is filled with flowers, feathers, pink flowers and lots and lots of balloons! It’s a celebration and I adore it!

The last board is my professional board. I have mastheads of magazines I’d like to write for this year – teenVogue, Family Circle, Woman’s Day and O, The Oprah Magazine. I also have a picture of Oprah on my professional board because I believe in her teaching method. I admire how exposed she allows herself to be for the greater good of her audience.

I feel I have a lot to offer O, The Oprah Magazine but also Super Soul Sunday. This year I’ve decided to pull back all the layers that held me back from exposing myself at the level I’d be asked to if I wrote for her or joined her on her network.

The reason I’m telling you this is because about a month ago I received an email from a Super Girl Supporter regarding the 2013 Women in the World Summit. I had never heard of the event before and at the time I didn’t have the finances to support a trip to New York City.

Rather than turn away from it due to my finances, I sat with it because Oprah is a keynote and I believe everything happens for a reason.

I asked for help from friends and professional supporters and as a result I was able to purchase my ticket to the conference and received my plane ticket totally donated to me.

So here we are with one week to go! I decided to write this week’s blog about the Women in the World Summit because I still welcome financial support to pay for my hotel while in New York City.

I believe this event will be powerful, inspiring and eye-opening for me. And all I learn there will be applied to Super Girls in the world. Let me tell you who will be there!

• In addition to Oprah, there’s Michaela DePrince, a 17-year-old ballerina who was born in Sierra Leone during the country’s civil war. She was adopted, moved to America and is now a professional ballerina. She returned to South Africa recently to make her professional debut.
• There’s Tererai Trent, a Zimbabwean-American woman who fought her way through and found her own way in life. She taught herself to read, endured abuse from her first husband, is a mother of five, secured her bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D degrees. Oprah donated $1.5 million to Tererai so she could build a school in her old village in Zimbabwe.
• Melanne Verveer is an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s issues.
• Media representatives such as Lesley Stahl from 60 minutes, Deborah Roberts from 20/20 and Cynthia McFadden from Nightline will be there. Barkha Dut, a popular television journalist with NDTV, India will be speaking as well.
• Diane von Furstenberg will speak and she’s a fashion icon I admire.
• Tina Brown is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast. She is one of the event hosts.
• Actresses and Advocates such as America Ferrera, Eva Longoria and my personal favorite – Meryl Streep will be there to add great inspiration to the event.
• Finally, and just as exciting, I’ll be in front of leaders who have a strong seat at board tables at corporations around the country.

Just writing this out brings tears to my eyes. These ladies are my definition of what it means to be a Super Girl – or Super Woman. They move through their life shining light everywhere they can, inspiring everyone around them to do the same. They stand strong on the path of what they believe in regardless of the challenges they face.

I aspire day in and day out to live my life that way. I live to find ways to shine brighter, love deeper and be happier so that everyone around me feels it too.

I would greatly appreciate your help. Are you able to help me through a financial gift to support me during the Women in the World Summit? If you are, please donate at www.seversonsisters.org. There is a giant pretty butterfly in the upper left hand corner of the home page that says DONATE! You can send in donations that way.

Thank you for your consideration. I will let you know what I learn from all these amazing Super Women when I return!

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very POWERFUL day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/

Dear Super Girl:

Summer is special to me. It always has been. It’s a breaking point for me. I love breaking points. Some people think negatively about breaking points. Me? I’m pretty much the opposite. Breaking points happen in life for us to step back and refuel our souls so we’re able to break through something. I have this picture in my office of a butterfly flying through a sheet of glass. I find the concept and the visual really powerful.

Butterflies are symbols of transformation, and we surround ourselves with butterflies and transformation. We’re all about both! Transformation happens in breaking points. Transformation happens during breakthroughs.

We break through glass ceilings.
We break through decades of life.
We break through old patterns to new ones.
We break through negative thought patterns to positive ones.

Summertime is all about fun. It’s about creating positive experiences. I use summer as my time for deep reflection. It’s my mid-point check-in to what I promised I would change about my life. I’m probably at my healthiest emotionally, physically and spiritually in the summertime. I turn a new page every summer with my birthday and it’s honestly my favorite time of the year. It means new possibilities, new opportunities, new chapters and a new season.

And that’s what Severson Sisters infuses in our programs. We decided to get back into the summer camp grove this year. We didn’t host summer camps in 2012 because Severson Sisters was experiencing explosive growth in 2012 and I was late to the summer camp schedule. We missed it!

I’m thrilled to say we’re back! And we’re offering positive, powerful, programs for your breaking point. It’s important to get involved in the summertime. You’re influenced by people you’re around and having some sort of structure and social outlet in the summer is healthy.

We’re doing a few different programs – all creative and totally Super Girlish. You’ll make new friends, create cool experiences and enjoy your breaking point.

Get involved this summertime, Super Girl! You’ll be a stronger, healthier, girl because of it. Check out what we’re doing here and let me know your thoughts! http://seversonsisters.org/summer-camps/

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very powerful day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/

Dear Super Girl:

There’s a great deal of conversation and controversy happening this week around whether or not women should lean in more when it comes to their career.

The conversation, and controversy, is also a movement thanks to Sheryl Sandberg and her book – “Lean In, Women, Work and the Will to Succeed.”

As a woman who took a major leap of faith two years ago to launch Severson Sisters, I’m pro Lean In. I’m grateful to Sheryl Sandberg for creating the conversation. I’m in support of the movement, the concept, and I welcome the conversation. I even welcome the controversy. In my opinion, that means things are stirring and change is coming.

I invite it in.

Lean In is all about believing that we as women are worthy of a seat at the table. This movement is all about taking on initiative, stepping up and into new challenges and opportunities, and holding our ground because we make a difference.

I feel I should point that that even though I’m pro Lean In, I’m also pro a personal life and a husband and family when that time of my life emerges. A lot of conversation around Lean In has to do with whether or not women, who happen to be mothers, can really have it all. Some of the critics are harsh on Sheryl about this piece because she has an engaged husband who supports her. The stories around this subject get to me the most. Why would anyone want to discredit a partnership like that? It’s important to highlight relationships like this one.

The only way glass ceilings will totally disappear is if more women Lean In. I’m pro Lean In because I believe more women should be at board tables around the country.

There’s one more point I want to address. Sheryl Sandberg has said in a number of recent stories that she believes the woman’s movement is stalled. Based on board room and female executive level seats around the country, I accept that statement. I’ve had my eye on the Super Girls of the world the last two years though and I’ve seen a lot of movement.

I’m proud to say that girls are stepping and leaning in. From what I’ve seen, there is this great shift rolling in and I’m proud to be a part of it.

I’m pro Lean In because I am that woman. I’ll show you how you can grow up to become one too.

Sending you all my very best Super Girl energy for a very beautiful day!

Carrie Severson
Severson Sisters Super Girl Guide to Respect – http://seversonsisters.org/shop/