Women must embrace themselves and know they are smart enough to attain their goals. It’s when they give themselves permission to be real and vulnerable that they break their bindings. Before then, you are constantly trying to protect yourself making sure you sound right, look right and dress right. When you take that off and say” I am good enough, I just am who I am”, that’s when you let people connect. That’s when you show up as really who you are. I think when you are vulnerable, that’s when you are most attractive. Being vulnerable never threatens the fact that I am smart, it just lets people in. It lets people feel my heart.

Ariane de Bonvoisin

The First 30 Days is now available in paperback. It is a fabulous book for anyone going through change, wanting to change or needing to change. Pick up a copy, let us know what change you are making. Change is good.

http://www.first30days.com/

Smart is Cool.

Lost Shoe...Found Hope

This is dedicated to the NYC stranger, Michael: My knight in shining armor.

Through the growth of this movement we have incredible opportunities to meet both amazing women and incredible men.

On my way to an important meeting with a radio celebrity, I hopped on the subway at Spring Street, NYC. While rushing to board the train, my shoe incident began. My heel got caught in the lip of the yellow painted line at the edge of the platform. I stumbled onto the train and right out of my shoe! Before I knew it I was standing on the train a little shell shocked, missing one shoe. As I turned, the dread flowed through me as I then witnessed, in slow motion, my remaining shoe’s birth twin tumbling with grace onto the tracks. Two men gently ushered me back onto the platform to try to retrieve my now orphaned shoe. I embarrassedly hopped over to the booth and told the unusually attentive MTA worker what happened. She radioed men to the tracks to retrieve it; she stated it would be a while. Using the most feminine and nimble stair hop I could manage, I rose to street level in search of a pair of surrogate shoes. I was never so happy to see H&M! I hopped over there, hopped to the shoe department, bought a pair of cheap flats and ran full speed back to the subway straight to the attendant. “D’re gonna haf-ta stop da trains ta get da shew. Whadda-ya wanna do lady?” I thought of my shoe with a sad mourning. My SIC meeting was vital to the greater good of the SIC community. The interview was important. I knew I had to sacrifice one, for the good of the many. Shoe abandonment; left on the tracks in the filth, with the rats and of course no shoe in sight to keep her company. It broke my heart, but sometimes our hand is forced. I took a moment of silence. “No, please don’t stop the trains I have a very important meeting and I need to get uptown.” She started to say something about the shoe becoming the property of the NYC transit. Right then is when a gentleman handed me a Duane Reade plastic bag and said “Excuse miss I got you a pair of flip flops.” On autopilot, I took the bag and said thank you. In a blink, the man was gone.

Then it hit me: Something wonderful just happened. This man wanted nothing in return. A complete stranger went out of his way to help me; A purely selfless act. I ran to the stairs a shouted up to him, “Hey wait, what’s your name?” “Michael” He shouted back, and then kept going. My thank you to him was not just for the shoes, but for restoring some of my faith in the direction of the world. I heard the train pulling in and I turned to catch it. While I was on the train, both shoes on, I opened the Duane Reade bag and found a pair of black flip flops with little diamond studs along the top. I sat in amazement of what just happened. Though I was running late for this very important meeting, a sense of calm clarity came over me.
My life is beautiful; full of family, friends and strangers helping me get where I need to go. I know I am on the right path.
Smart is Cool -Erin

Smart is Cool

Obama says smart is cool; he worries nation losing attitude that learning is a privilege
By Associated Press
12:19 PM EDT, April 29, 2009
ARNOLD, Mo. (AP) — President Barack Obama says smart is cool, and he worries the country is losing its love of learning.

At a town hall-appearance in Missouri marking his 100th day in office Wednesday, Obama was asked about challenges in education and how he'd make things better.

He talked about having quality teachers in classrooms.

But the president said he worries that the country may be giving up on the idea that it's "cool to be smart."

Have no fear Mr. President, Smart is Cool.

The media has latched on to the term “smart is the new cool.” But we, including the President and his wife, have known that smart is cool period. It’s not a trend or a fad, it’s a way of life. Always has been and always will be.

Smart is Cool:

Understanding and embracing all the unique talents you have in order to make decisions in your life…Smart

Seizing the opportunities that the world presents to you… Cool.

Living the life that you dream of... Smart is Cool

What is Smart is Cool to you?

Little Miss Perfect

A few weeks ago, I watched an episode of a program called Little Miss Perfect for the first time.

So many feelings rushed through me…horror, fear, anger, sadness and hope. Has anyone else watched an episode?

It is a show about child beauty pageants. It follows moms and their young daughters behind the scenes preparing for the beauty competition and then at the competition itself. I saw a 9 year old get a spray tan! I can’t count how many times I heard someone say smile so you sparkle. Sparkle, sparkle ,sparkle ! Are you kidding me?

The children had more makeup on than I have ever worn in my life, complete with false eyelashes, a lot of blue eye shadow and enormous amounts of blush and finished with lipstick. The outfits for the “talent” part of the competition bordered on lingerie for some girls. Never mind the “talent” part only seemed be a choreographed dance much to their mother’s wishes.

The Mothers!!!!! What can I say? They are using this “Little Miss Perfect” as some sort of validation for themselves. It is so sad on so many levels. It is sad that these women do not realize the true meaning of self confidence, independence and community. Their drive to win is damaging these beautiful young girls. The irony is that most of the mothers were out of shape and one even admitted her own low self esteem. These young girls do not yet know real role models. They are pushed to “perfection” in what their damaged mother sees as important.

Our hope is to have enough scholarships for former Little Miss Perfect girls so they can have a chance to experience their inner strengths and talents, to help them become true leaders in their communities and to know Smart is Cool.

West Coast Conference

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/04/womans_nation.html

Maria Shriver, who leads the California Women’s Conference—the pre-eminent forum for, by, and about American women—is launching a multifaceted project in partnership with the Center for American Progress and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy. TIME magazine will also be involved in research and reporting, as well as co-presenting discussions and roundtables around the country.

The last expansive government project centered on women was conducted under the presidency of John F. Kennedy, who appointed Eleanor Roosevelt in 1961 to chair a commission to report on the status of women. A Woman’s Nation will report its findings to the nation, Congress, and President Obama, who recently signed an executive order to establish a council to coordinate the federal government's efforts to address the needs of women and girl.

It will be interesting to see and hear the results.

I am sure our community of women welcomes this opportunity to re-examine the almost 50 years of womanhood that have made us who we are today.

Smart is Cool

The First Lady Knows

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/business/2009/g20/7980476.stm

The BBC covered Michelle Obama speaking to pupils at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School about the importance of education in female empowerment.

The caption reads… Smart is Cool.

We are thrilled to be a part of building this community of women embracing all their unique talents to redefine smart and set standards of cool.

This sisterhood has actually been growing for years quietly, secretly but always passionately and today we can celebrate out loud, laugh and confidently come together to live full lives based on this belief.

Our hope is to help all women become self confident, independent, community minded leaders.

We are honored that Micelle Obama knows Smart is Cool.

What a great picture taken by photographer Laura Novak!! It really sums up our day. A day where smart, driven woman came together to grow the Smart Is Cool movement.

This was our version of a "round table board meeting". There were no stuffy leather seats and uncomfortable corporate clothes. We wore our favorite jeans and our black Smart Is Cool tee and took pictures. Now that is of brainstorming in style!

We can only give you a sneak peek with a photograph of Erin Darby. Although we would love to post all the pics we need to keep our board members top secret until our official press release. We are very excited and grateful to all who were there we are so blessed to have you all in our lives....