Author Archives: Janie M Williams

In Celebration of Women Everywhere

Posted in Empowerment by

Happy International Women’s Day  (IWD) to all the women everywhere. IWD is celebrated annually on March 8. It is a global day of celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women (everywhere).

The first IWD day occurred well over a century ago, with the first gathering noted in 1911. International Women’s Day is not country, group or organization specific – in fact, it belongs to all groups of women,  collectively (everywhere).

Supporting and celebrating women’s rights in the United States and abroad is a year-round responsibility. However on this International Women’s Day, March 8, 2020, it’s even more important to take a stand for women’s equality.

If you’re not familiar with International Women’s Day and where and how it began click one of the hyper links and read more about it.

I leave you with the following quote from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, “The best protection any woman can have is courage.” Let us embrace one another (women), let us embrace our differences (women), then and only then can we stand courageously as one (WOMEN).

Peace and Blessings Everywhere,

international womens day2

j

 

Happy Leap Day

Posted in Empowerment by

LEAP123We are in the throws of another Year and by now I hope that you have already set in motion a push toward all things positive, purposeful and peaceful.  This is not just 2020 the Year of Vision but it is also a LEAP YEAR. 

As you may well know, Julius Caesar introduced Leap-Year in the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago, but the Julian calendar had only one rule: any year evenly divisible by 4 would be a Leap-Year. This led to way too many Leap-Years, but didn’t get corrected until the introduction of the Gregorian calendar (followed by Western society) more than 1500 years later. Leap-Year is a time that comes every four years in order to keep the Gregorian calendar year in sync with the seasonal or astronomical year, adding a 29th day to February (a Leap Day).

Leap Day (Feb 29th) as a concept has existed for more than 2000 years, and is still associated with the following age-old tradition and fun facts;

Tradition
 St. Patrick allowed women to propose to their boyfriends.

Fun Facts
The chances of a leap birthday are one in 1,461.
The longest time between two Leap-Year is eight years, it won’t happen again until 2096 to 2104.
The Henriksen family of Norway, gave birth to two children on consecutive Leap Days, a daughter on Feb. 29, 1960 and two sons on Leap Day in 1964 and 1968.
Reuters reports that there are more than 200,000 leaplings in the United States and more than 5 million worldwide. (as of 2015)

Unlike Western society, Jews, Muslims and the Chinese all follow a lunar calendar (also 12 months), with each month measured by the waxing and waning of the moon. According to the current calendar, a Jewish Leap-Year occurs seven times within every 19 years.

A year with 13 months is referred to in Hebrew as a Pregnant Year or Shanah Me’uberet – a happy year. In English, we commonly call it a Leap-Year.  With an additional month of Adar added, the idea is that there are now two months (Adar Rishon and Adar I) to increase our joy, and never decrease.

How does one increase their joy? By purposefully setting aside time for joyous activities and/or celebrations but furthermore with those who bring them joy.

Whether it is personal time or family time, my prayer for you in this season is that you establish a day, a week or a month, in which you take full advantage of all opportunities to increase your joy – never decreasing. In hopes that that time will prepare you, empower you and bring you wisdom for your Journey forward. Happy New Leap Year – LEAP Forward!

LEAPLOGO22

Daddy’s Way

Posted in Empowerment by

Daddy’s Way7CA49F0A-880A-4F0E-9EDF-B5946FC3A242

A male friend told me once, when it comes to relationships that I’m too strong of a woman. He said that I need to be less in order to let the man be more.

What my male friend didn’t know at the time was, my daddy raised me that way. Why? because he (my daddy) said, “he didn’t want his daughters to ever, have to depend on a man for xxxx.”  You see, as a man and a father he recognized that his daughters would have to one day stand strong. She would need the spirit of independence to stand on her own when & if she ever found herself alone. That hardworking man and dedicated father shaped my life for the today, in which I stand.

Over the many years, I have learned the that it takes a strong man to lead a strong a woman. (No compromise there) And an even stronger woman to know when to step back and let her King lead.

So when you see me dictating xxxx & standing in a strong (wo)man’s place – don’t judge – just know my daddy stands strong in me. – …I’m a better  person for it (Daddy’s Way)…. 🖤

#daddysway #see #jane #run #strength

One and Done

Posted in Communciation, culture, Empowerment, Mentoring, Parenting, people, Purpose, Sports, Vision, youth by

oneandone2A thought came to mind recently of the term “One and Done”. Knowing that I had heard the term before but unsure of its actual meaning. I proceeded to look it up to find the following; One and Done is the rule effectively mandated that players spend at least one year in college. That High school players who would otherwise have jumped directly into the NBA were required instead to play in college for a year before leaving and entering the draft……….

Although there are many arguments either for or against the rule, I have chosen to delve in a bit deeper on this rule and blog on what most interests me. Of course, if you have an opposing view be sure to share it in the comment section but be kind about it.

Both my work and personal experience with young people leads me to believe that “One and Done” clearly allows time and space for necessary development. That development which has happened physically allows for maturation socially, emotionally, and in cognitive development.

Many would argue that physically these players/individuals already possess the skillset to play professionally and I do agree. However, with the inept ability to manage the social/emotional implications there’s increased risk of – crash and burn. Research shows that an 18 year-old makes far riskier/ impulsive decisions in an attempt to plan and reach a goal. More so than someone in their mid-20s. This is due in part to lack of experience, but primarily to an underdeveloped brain. The brain’s reward system tends to reach a high level of activation during puberty, then gradually drifts back to normal activation when a person reaches roughly the age of 25. This concept, we also see in the actions of the car insurance industry where higher premiums are charged for drivers under 25, who are believed to be immature and inexperience at operating a vehicle and prone to accidents.  

I would also like to interject that sports and insurance are not the only relatable experiences here. Relationships, Careers, Finances, and Spirituality are also relevant. Because we don’t mature in all aspects of life on an even keel, it is common to see someone physically mature and emotionally bankrupt, or spiritually adequate and socially starved. How about in business, where managers are great at managing projects but inadequate at managing people? Somewhere there is a gap and a need for interventions that help bring qualitative balance.

What is even more interesting is that this rule is up for review and there is a likely chance that it will no longer apply come 2020.  If that is the case and the rule does go away, my hope is that that all parties are proactive in developing a culture to lessen the impact of this (new) environment on these young but exemplary athletes.  A culture ready and able to recognize potential problems and provide early interventions that can result in better outcomes.

I end by saying growth is inevitable but balanced growth is not. Although development is a continuous process, it is one that occurs in a series of qualitatively different steps. Therefore, there will always be a need for research, for studies, for subjects and samples to help us as humans to reach our true potential.