7. Has a strong sense of empathy, passion, and compassion.

3. Remains humble about her strength, skills, and intelligence.

4. Uses her strength, skills and intelligence wisely and without apology.

When I was growing up, my Grandma - Isabelle, was a magnet for people. Everyone loved her, everyone wanted to be in her presence and by the time I had become an adult she had  many who called her "Grandma". As I reflect back on what made her that strong presence in people's lives, it wasn't the titles behind her name - she was a simple woman who taught piano all her life and never once drove a car or wore pants. But in her quietness she held more strength than any woman I knew. Her eyes spoke volumes, and in only a few words she could give you the freedom to think about something deeper and more meaningful. There are many woman like this throughout history and even those who walk beside us every day. They are the women such as Mother Theresa, Oprah, Helen Keller, and more.

A person's power is not determined by the words attached to someone's persona. Power is defined through action. Your gift to this world is your passion, your extraordinary divineness, and accepting the gifts God gave you to do service in this world and to make a difference even if in just one life.

The one who boasts highly about themselves, shouts out to everyone "Look at me, I'm great", and has little awareness of those around her need to be quietly empowered by those who have already laid witness to their own strength. Be an example to those who have yet to find humbleness. You give power when you recognize in others what you have already recognized within yourself.

Marianne Williamson sums it up best when she wrote:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Buy Marianne's book where this excerpt came from. Buy from here and a percentage of your sale will be donated to Powerful Women!

Other books you will enjoy:

Read Oriah's Poems that have inspired these books.

She Said, She Said 

 1. Does not participate in gossip, rumors, alienation, judgment or other social weapons that seek to destroy.  

5. Speaks about others in a way that builds and honors them, and also highlights their good qualities.

We've all done it - we have either listened to or dished out some good juicy gossip about someone. Or we've kept the chain moving on the rumor mill and made a judgment about someone solely based on the words of another human being. These forms of social weapons have destroyed relationships, they have alienated people from a community, and have even gone as far as pushing someone to kill themselves as we saw last summer with the teen girl who was the victim of such social weapons online.  

Gossip is defined as an intimate or sensational fact revealed about a person or situation. This communication usually focuses on unverified half-truths and the salacious interpersonal lives of its subject. This sensational rant almost always begins with a topic that never directly affects the people who are discussing it. A rumor is a testimonial or opinion that may or may not be true. Many times the person dishing the gossip or spreading the rumor is doing so with either ill intent towards the person who is the subject or from a lack of a positive self-esteem. Their need to be the center of attention, the one with all the "facts', gives them a temporary feeling of superiority and acceptance. Participating in these social weapons is a sign of weakness and immaturity; there is nothing powerful about it. 

The dangers of gossip and rumors are widespread. Even when a person knows better than to listen to gossip, it still plants a seed of disbelief or wonder about the person who is the subject of the gossip. We risk alienating someone from our lives based on something we heard that may or may not be true.  

So what steps do we take to make sure we are not participating in the vicious game of social weapons?

1. Quite simply, do not speak about others unless what you are saying builds and empowers them, highlights their strengths and good qualities.

2. Walk away. When someone is speaking gossip or rumors, simply walk away and make the conscious choice to not listen.

3. Stand up for the person who is the subject of the gossip - let the speaker know that it's not justified to speak of someone who isn't present to defend themselves or tell them you are not comfortable participating in the immature act of gossip.

4. Let your own interaction with a person be what determines how you feel about them - not what someone else says about them. The dynamics between people are always different and how you are with someone is not how someone else will be with that same person.

5. If you have learned you were the subject of some gossip or rumors, don't react in anger - approach the gossiper when you are calm and able to be objective.

6. Taking the "high road" should never be an option, it should be - without question - the only route you decide to take. Besides, the view is much better from the high road.

7. Always remember that a woman who is in her power has no need to gossip, spread rumors, or alienate others. She is empowered enough to allow others to be who they are, and is comfortable and secure in her own skin.