Lean In is a women's empowerment foundation established following the release of Sheryl Sandberg's book
Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead. I haven't read this book yet, but I have genuinely enjoyed reading some of the content on the Lean In website. (Check out the 'Letters from Dad'.)
One of the projects started by Lean In is
'What Would You Do If You Weren't Afraid?', which is based on the following premise...
Studies show that even after college, women are less ambitious than their male peers. They avoid leadership roles. They are afraid to speak up.
Why do women harbor such fear? Why are they afraid to raise their hands?
...and it got me thinking.
What would I do if I wasn't afraid?
At first I thought "I'm not afraid", and in the conventional sense, I'm not. But then I realised that there are subtle fears shaping my life. For example, I would love to travel more, but with only 4 weeks annual leave a year, I would probably have to quit my job to truly pursue that goal. And while I really like my job, which is the main reason I haven't just packed and left, I'm also afraid that a prolonged period of travel could negatively effect my future career prospects.
So here is brief list of some of things I would do if I wasn't afraid.
1. Travel the world for 12 months or so
2. Talk to my parents more openly
3. Believe that I can (do anything)
Which then leads me to the question... what would you do if you weren't afraid?
- Dani
