The Dinner Table Doc at the United #StateOfWomen

6/28/2016

Due to her work her with The Dinner Table Documentary, director Asha Boston was both nominated and selected to participate in the United State of Women Summit hosted by the White House Council on Women and Girls. Read more about her experience here...

On Tuesday, June 14th, I (Asha Boston) had the pleasure of joining 5,000 women from across America to participate in the White House's council on Women and Girls, United State of Women summit.

The day served as not just inspiration but a call to action to create equity, opportunity and safe spaces for women and girls. I had an incredible experience and wanted to share just a few major 🔑's and quotes I learned while at the summit.

🔑aka "Keys"- is a great piece of information given in overall comprehensive context. For further understanding visit here.

Here's are my🔑 take away points from the #StateOfWomen:

1.

For the past few months I've been thinking about mentorship a lot.

How to find a mentor? Be a mentor? Recruit mentors? Though it's not easy an easy task, when it's done correctly it's so worth it! This quote given by Ayo Megbope during the Investing In Women session reminded me that mentorship relationships happen best when the connections are genuine. Often times the most fruitful relationships blossom when those who have been climbing turn around and extend their hand to pull the next generation of leaders up.

As we advance in our careers, let's always remember to pay it forward and invest in someone as we were invested in. Lift as you climb.

2.

"As a business owner, you're not always the one dealing with the customers so it's important to delegate customer service to your staff", Warren Buffet shared when talking about the importance of customer service and "delighting" in your consumer. Whether your offering a product or a service I think that it's integral to keep the demographic that you're serving first. This is not only important when understanding how to market your product, but even to helping your employees understand the value in customer service.

As we continue to work to help service others may we always put them first. People may forget what you say but they'll never forget how you made them feel. Provide the greatest experience possible.

3.

When First Lady, Michelle Obama and Oprah sat down for a conversation, I wouldn't have imaged that they'd spend so much time talking about wellness and self care but I'm so glad they did. After hours spent in the summit of listening to strategies, services initiatives and stories of survival and success it was nice to remember that in spite of all you do, you must take care of yourself.

One of my favorite quotes shared by the First Lady was, "If you do not take control of your time and your life, other people will gobble it up." 🙌 She also shared amazing reminders to understand your worth and to really know who you are. Having these conversations are so important because it's easy to lose yourself completely in selfless work.

This ultimately reminded me of a great quote shared by Jada Pinkett Smith on the same topic who stated, “You always have to remember to take care of you first and foremost. Because when you stop taking care of yourself, you get out of balance and you really forget how to take care of others. And I think that we’ve been taught that taking care of yourself is a problem.”

Powerful. Major🔑.

4.

At the Shattering Stereotypes event at the Department of Education, a fellow nominated change maker posed a question to panelist, Alejandra Ceja about making a difference despite being an being an outcast in her community. Alejandra responded by saying "You may not be popular but no change maker is at first."

Being of service to others is not always as easy as it seems. Although you may be ready to help everyone not everyone is ready to accept all that you have to offer and that's okay. It's about timing.

You don't need a million people to back you up at first. You need to build your foundation on your ideas and the actual work. Don't stress yourself out taking note of everyone that's not on your side that you think should be. Sometimes it takes people time to see how your help can truly resonate and make a difference in their life. Keep fighting; your efforts are not in vain.

Overall, I had a fantastic experience and know that this certainly won't be the last time The Dinner Table crosses paths with the White House's Initiative for Women and Girls. Did you attend the conference or watch it online? Share your thoughts in the comments! We'd love to hear your take-aways!

Check out some of the photos from my experience (both day one and two of the summit):