I dare you to like this post.

International Women's Day Opportunities 2015

Warning – this post might offend you. If you don’t want a challenge, don’t read it. If you want what I want, please like it and share it. Maybe we can make a difference.

Sunday and the celebration of International Women’s Day was important to me because I want all women everywhere to feel loved, appreciated, and valued; to recognize their strengths and be recognized for their contributions.

I struggled with what to write because I don't want it to be only about one day. I don't want it to be only about women. I want this to be a conversation about opportunities. Opportunities for achievement, opportunities for innovation, opportunities for the world to come together and share in what is possible when we stop judging others, when we push our comfort zone and hire those who don't look exactly like us, who don't think like us or talk like us; who instead enrich us in ways we could never imagine.

You may be shaking your head now. You think it can’t be done. You believe the reports that say that gender parity will occur by 2095.

I say enough. I applaud the efforts by numerous world governments to make efforts to achieve gender equality by 2030. I think it’s great that EY, Intel and others, are challenging their organizations to do the same thing.

That’s all really great and I say why does it have to wait? What about right now? If we want drastic change, we have to do things differently.

What can you change? What is possible if each of us offered to help one other person today? Who can you help? What help do you need?

My keyword for the week is fun. What would be fun about giving someone a raise or a promotion? What would be fun about asking for strategic input from people in your organization with whom you don’t usually meet? What would be fun about offering to help?

I challenge you to find the fun in creating opportunities for everyone to succeed.

Here is the thing. We don’t all want the same thing. Some of us do and many of us compete but we are more valuable when we help others find their success and contribute to creating opportunities.

There are more than seven billion people in the world! We don’t need everyone to like us or believe in us or agree with what we are selling. That’s okay! Find the group that matters to you. Find ways to encourage others to thrive. Everyone can create opportunities for success. Let’s be part of conversations that inspire everyone to make a difference.

Thank you for letting me share this with you. Thank you for being part of meaningful conversations. Thank you for taking action that matters.