Women in the Industry Virtual Breakfast

These inspiring women attended this mornings “Women in the Industry Virtual Breakfast,” along with myself. It was hosted by Michele J. Goldsmith of AIM Marine, who brought along a fantastic speaker, Alicia Rodriguez. I was impressed to see hundreds of participants joining the Zoom meeting. The turnout was the best I have ever seen for any virtual event this year. You could feel the energy through the faces on the screen and in the chat room as it started to blow up with participants introducing themselves.

As Michele started the breakfast, you could see and feel her excitement. She began by introducing herself and some of the other key players in the room. Feeling and seeing her energy through the camera is what let me know that this was going to be a great experience. Michele recently celebrated her 30th year in the marine industry and shared her own personal experience about when she first entered the industry. She and several other of her female coworkers experienced many “firsts” – The first female in this position, the first female to host this event, the first female to work for this company, and many others. This stood out to me because of its relatability, which I am sure many other participants in the Zoom meeting felt. We are a part of the many “firsts” in the marine industry and work to change the standards every day.

The next speaker was Alicia Rodriguez, an entrepreneur, coach, blogger, and much more. She encouraged us to self-reflect and spoke on several topics that most of us probably don’t think of often. She went over a wealth of information, but the one that stood out to me was this point:

Stop reacting, focused on the problems (fear-based)
Start creating, focused on the vision (love-based)

This insight forced me to evaluate how I handle both. We tend to focus on putting out fires a lot of the time. Yes, these fires are important and need to be addressed, but they cannot consume your life. You need to focus on creating – whether that be a dream, goal, a new company, new concept, new challenge. Can we constantly be “creating” to expand our knowledge and grow as human beings? This mindset allows us to focus on the larger picture and to create our visions and dreams rather than getting caught up in the minute details.

Overall, this Breakfast was a success because I walked away with a new perspective and ideas to help me grow professionally and personally. I am taking these points and applying them to my company. I will focus on creating instead of reacting.

I hope to see you all at the next Women in the Industry Virtual Breakfast!

#AimConnectingWomen