Confidence Shift

 Confident girls become confident women, and confident women change the world.

Today, I wholeheartedly thank the City of Lloydminster for investing in my message to speak to girls of our community. I also thank the parents open and trusting of me to teach the girls they love.

During the two-in-one evening, I met some of the most insightful girls in my community. The first session was for hand-selected girls taking part in a community initiative. It was a small group, and I lead them through creating a confidence board.  I taught them that no vision board comes true without a confidence board first.

These girls drilled down into lists of gifts, talents, virtues, values to describe the best parts of themselves.  That best part that will create any dream they desire.  They also learned that honestly supportive relationships must have to keep their confidence high.  Priceless for success.

The main event, Girls Conquer, was open to all community girls 9-12. ...

What a joy it was to be the opening speaker at the Ignite Girls Conference this morning in my city.

The room was filled with 14 and 15-year-old girls learning more about themselves and how to create a community with each other.

I took them on a journey of giving themselves permission to be #InstagramUnworthy.

We discovered how they could begin diving into learning and loving their own gifts and talents and the letting go of any social media that doesn’t support who they are becoming.

I watched their faces change (some with horror) as I revealed to them the influence their "feed" is having on them learning to build their own self-esteem and confidence.

It was amazing. Their questions after my talk were insightful, revealing and touching. These girls get it and will never look at their IG feed the same way.

It was a powerful message to begin their day at their conference.

And as always, no "Michele-style-keynote" is complete without "homework"  They got some me and...

Eyes are the window to the soul - pools of endless color in harmony.  How did the Design class of Lakeland College know I believed this so deeply? Oh wait, I told them in my Image Works for Young Professionals talk last month.

Today, I received the most heart-warming thank you gift. Better than any other - a color map of their eyes!  In all their beautiful, individual, colorful detail and the arranged in hue design from browns, through amber and hazel, to moss to green and aqua, to teal and sky blue and dot the deepest pine green.

How wonderfully thoughtful. They have made an impression on me.  So glad I made an impression on them too. Their thank you messages were on the reverse of this collage: 

 “Michele! Thank you for being the most empowering guest speaker ever!”

“Thank you so much for coming.”

“Thanks for the confidence boost! I did cut my hair!”

“Motivating and Inspiring”
“You are so inspiring,...