I want every Latina to repeat after me, “Become intimately familiar with your GRIT, RESILIENCE and VALUE – failure to do so, gives others the POWER to dictate the pace of your success.”

What is Grit? The courage to resolve. What is Resilience? The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties. Well, guess what? As Latinas, we already have an advantage here! We are masters at resolving and recovering throughout the complexities of our personal journeys. So, let’s dig in a bit – are we tapping into these traits to compete and assert ourselves within our working environment?

Let’s talk about value and power. When was the last time you checked in on how you are valuing your worth? Similarly, when was the last time you took a pulse as to how you are leveraging your power? If we are not intentional about pausing and assessing how we see ourselves or how we are strategically leveraging our power, then by default, we are not owning nor executing against the brand we believe we have thoughtfully created for ourselves.

I have met incredible Latinas throughout my career. Many, specifically through LATINA Style events. The one constant I continue to admire is the innate will to continuously evolve with an inner unwavering drive to succeed. The other constant has been how belief systems can hinder progress towards reaching one’s aspirational goals.

How do we get to a place of fully expecting nothing less than the recognition of our Value? How do we courageously wear our power where we feel it and others see it? Hint — we choose to give it unwavering energy and own it! Now, I know there are external influences, things that may be out of our control, and realities of bias that will likely impact our otherwise fully empowered stride. But let’s go back to the top, that’s when we pull on our Grit and Resilience. In other words, we don’t shrink inwards when challenges present themselves, we don’t ignore the signs so blatantly in front of us, and we certainly don’t choose to give up on achieving what we have earned.

Latinas are a force. Our fabric and DNA are of incredible strength proven by our ancestors. I often ask myself, “How would my grandparents feel about the opportunities that I have experienced, the levels to which I have risen, or the world as I have traveled it and seen it?” My ancestry is founded in a small town in Puerto Rico, Juncos; an even smaller ‘campo’ called El Mango! This Latina right here, with reverence, looks back at this incredible ancestor pool and embraces the power of me! I get it because their individual and collective power was immense.

LATINA Style, I CELEBRATE YOU! You have gifted us Latinas the power to be seen and heard. For giving us a 25-year platform through the LATINA Style 50 Awards and Diversity Leaders Conference and for all future opportunities ahead, you deserve and have earned a standing ovation! Happy 25th Anniversary!