You Have the Power in You

Sheila_RobinsonWhen Dr. Sheila Robinson said, “You have the power in you,” she was referring to her upcoming book, Redefining Your D.I.E.T. and Transform How You Look, Feel and Perform, but it pertains to practically everything in this conversation, from her childhood story where her mother taught her to work hard and be happy, to the upcoming theme for the Diversity Woman Media Business Leadership Conference, “Empowered to Lead,” and especially how we need to work to fix the broken systems so we can unite and grow stronger together. As Dr. Nancy says early in the conversation, “Happiness is a muscle. You have to work it. You have to believe it. You have to exercise it and you have to use it.” Dr. Sheila agrees and she works it every day in her nationally acclaimed publishing company, Diversity Woman Media, through her two magazines: “Diversity Woman” and “Inclusion,” her online self-care programs, Wellness Wednesday and her conferences throughout the year, culminating with the 2021 National Diversity Woman Media Business Leadership Conference, November 4-5 (registration is underway).

Empowered to Lead

Dr. Sheila stresses the need for all of us to share our resources. We’re all going through something very different. Some of us are home-schooling and may have developed short-cuts or techniques that have helped, so share it with others. Diversity Woman Media is all about that. And Dr. Sheila chose “Empowered to Lead” as the theme for the November 4 conference because by bringing a diverse group of women and men together, they can share resources that empower women to be their best and overcome obstacles and barriers that hold us all back. Sheila is excited about the different virtual ways they’ve developed to help women connect—simple things like clicking on a link to join a table talking about a topic of interest, building unity and energy by wearing the t-shirts with “Empowering to Lead” on them and sponsors on the back, platforms where participants can see one another like direct Zoom calls, and so on.  Sheila says, “Empowered women empower women.” Bringing women together for two days of opportunities to learn from and exchange ideas with some of the most extraordinary leaders is an empowering transformational experience.

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Self Care is not Selfish

Like many women, Dr. Sheila was brought up to take care of everyone else first. If they were all happy, then she was too. But that meant putting herself last and the pervasive mindset is to feel guilty if we put ourselves first. However, she learned that if she puts self-care first, she is better able to care for everyone else. When she lost 25 pounds she felt 20 years younger; she was more productive and even her mental ability improved. She wasn’t on any particular program and says that whatever support you need should work for you because “you have the power within you.” Since diet has so many negative connotations, Dr. Sheila chose to make it an acronym for her book title, Redefining Your D.I.E.T. and Transform How you Look Feel and Perform. “D” is for drinking more water and fewer sugary drinks. “I” is for what you ingest. She says you can eat whatever you want, but she ascribes to the 80-20 rule – 80% of what you eat should be to keep you alive and 20% for enjoyment. “E” is for enjoying exercise. There is no sacrifice in self-care. It’s all about you. “T” is for your thought process. Dr. Sheila says , “It all starts there. You got to have a compelling reason to be a better you and to believe that you can. And so anything will work you know, it’ll work.”

Let’s Create Some Win-Wins

All of Dr. Sheila’s work is about creating win-wins, but she is particularly focused on fixing the broken systems that create obstacles for us to unite. She says that the systems keep us apart and the reason people don’t fix them is the fear that they will lose something. The opposite is true when there are winners and losers, we all lose something. She says the have-nots will always turn over the haves. The solution is to create win-wins and be stronger as a country and as individuals.

Listen or watch this conversation for more ideas about empowering ourselves and others through changing our perspective and seizing opportunities to learn, grow and share our resources.

Most of all, register for the National Diversity Woman Media Business Leadership Conference, November 4-5, and look for Dr. Sheila’s upcoming book, Redefining Your D.I.E.T. and check out her magazines and other online programs.

Listen on Red Circle | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Watch on YouTube

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