Today is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Last night, I was so honored to be invited to a Nike Chicago event celebrating International Women's Day and the incredible women who inspire us. I got to listen to a speaker panel of Influential Chicago women, participated in a goal setting workshop by Life Coach, Tiffany Louise, and completed a 2.5 mile run with Nike Running Club.

Needless to say, I totally left inspired and motivated...so much that I'm up at 6am writing about it.  I wanted to discuss some of the key take-aways from the event:

• Build your own Good Vibe Tribe✌️ You are responsible for your own happiness. Be wise about who you choose to spend your time with. Be mindful of the vibes that you put out into the world. Live your truth and no one will be able to hold it against you.

• Don't wait for an invitation. If you want something go get it. One of the women on the panel was a Dawn Jackson Blatner, nutritionist for the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs! The sports world is a male dominant industry. When the Cubs were in the World Series, she wasn't invited to the Clubhouse even though she earned her place there. So, she snuck her way in with some smoothies and got them boys to recognize how important she was to the team! And guess what? They won the game that night!

• Understanding your goals and how to achieve them.

  • Think of a goal that you haven't achieved yet. Why haven't you achieved it? Most us don't reach our goals because of fear, guilt, ect. Fear of what others may think or the uncertainty of what may happen. Guilt from loving yourself that others may deem as selfish. All in all, it's about getting out of your comfort zone.

  • What feelings do you expect to feel when you achieve that goal? Joy, happiness, comfort, relief, accomplishment, ect. Next time you have trouble getting motivated to do something, train your mind to focus on the feeling you want when reaching your goal to help get over the discomfort. Getting out of your warm bed at 6am when it's -2 outside to hit the gym will get easier because those feelings of achievement and strength from finishing that badass workout is totally worth it along with looking great in your summer bikini.

• Female Empowerment. We together as one can make a difference in this world. Stop tearing each other down. Congratulate one another on each other's achievements and successes. Diminish jealousy from your life. Understand that if someone has something you want, thank them for showing you that it can be achieved! THE FORCE IS FEMALE.

I will get inspired before I will ever get jealous.

We all received some amazing goodies from the event which included a shirt to spread the powerful message, notebook, and special edition Nike LunarEpic Flyknit 2 to commemorate this special day. I'm not huge on running but I completed that 2.5 mile run with ease. These shoes are dope!

At the end of our run, we received bouquets of flowers, one for ourselves and one to give to someone who inspires us. I gave mine to my roommate because she's amazing in so many ways.

Thank you so much Nike! My next goal, is to make it on that panel one day. Stay tuned :)

Thank you all for reading my post. My goal for you today is to go celebrate strong women in your life and tell me about it in the comments.