We All Gotta Little Bodaciousness
by Mary Foley

"Bodacious, is that even a word?" I've been asked. Sure is, and it means being bold, outstanding, audacious. I love it because it captures a positive spirit of freedom, choice and being all you can be. My personal journey to bodaciousness has convinced me of at least two things about becoming a Bodacious Woman. The first is that bodaciousness starts on the inside. The second is that everyone already has some bodaciousness inside them. Being bodacious - I mean really feeling, thinking, and being bodacious - is an inside out process. All the how-to advice in the world about how to get what you want in the workplace and your life doesn't seem to have an affect if we don't take it in and let it soak through our heart and our mind. Behaviors that stick, behaviors that make a difference in lives do so because we've taken the time to honestly think about them and reflect. We consider what we really think and feel, why that's so and what's blocking us from making a change. In our heart of hearts we know that if we aren't internally signed-up for exhibiting a behavior we won't end up doing it. But those we do sign-up for, watch out! It's from the inside that we gain the strength to make a change. I've been asked, "Can anyone be bodacious or is it personality related?" Your personality will always give your bodaciousness personal flavor, but certainly anyone can be bodacious. In fact, I'm convinced that inside we all gotta little bodaciousness. All we have to do is identify it and help it grow. Which will require taking new risks. For some it may mean making a big change that we've been debating for a while. For most of us, though, it's likely going to appear seemingly less dramatic. Ordering something totally different at a restaurant. Starting a conversation with your boss' boss in the lunch room. Expressing a different viewpoint in the department meeting. Though these actions may not seem life-changing, they are because the impact on how we see ourselves and behave is huge. Bodaciousness starts on the inside and inside all of us there's at least some to get started. We only need the courage to look within. When we begin to muster that courage and look honestly at who we are and who we want to be, we often find it's not as scary as we first thought. "All life is an experiment" said Ralph Waldo Emerson. May the experiment be a doozy! Top of Page Meet Mary Foley Back to Your Bodacious Career