Feminism and Empowerment
A Powerful Lesson from Rosie the Riveter
In 1942, 20-year-old Naomi Parker was working in a machine shop at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, when a photographer snapped a shot of her on the job.
In the photo…she’s bent over an industrial machine, wearing a jumpsuit and sensible heels, with her hair tied back in a polka-dot bandana for safety.
The picture was soon turned into poster which featured a woman nicknamed “Rosie the Riveter” in a red-and-white polka-dot headscarf and blue shirt, flexing her bicep beneath the phrase… “We Can Do It!
Westinghouse Electric was the first to display the poster in its factories to encourage more women to join the wartime labor force during World War II.
The poster image was adopted as a feminist symbol of strength and an icon of American wartime resilience.
The name “Rosie the Riveter” was applied to the woman it portrayed.
I’m a big believer in the power of symbols and the inspiring messages they convey. In the case of the “We Can Do It” poster, the message was clear…
When you rise to meet a challenge…you’ll discover that you’re stronger than you think, more capable than you know...and more resilient than you ever thought possible.
In effect, when you learn to embrace the liberating power of self-reliance…you give yourself the gift of lifetime security.
Here’s the thing…
Security, strength and prosperity comes from your ability to produce results. Every time you choose safety, security and dependence on outside parties, you weaken your personal power and make it that much easier for everyone to beat you.
You must be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it.
If self-reliance means a strong belief in your own ability to achieve success and happiness, then dependency is an absence of such belief.
Until you learn to stand on your own two-feet and take full responsibility for yourself, your results, and your future… you’ll never fully know just how strong and capable you really are.
My favorite quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson beautifully illustrates what the ‘We Can Do It” campaign was all about while providing us with the perfect entree into this message.
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us!”
If we all accepted Emerson’s observation and became acutely aware of the awesome power that lies within, the world would be radically altered in a positive way.
Now before I go much further, I want to be clear on one point…self-reliance is not to be looked at as anti-society nor anti-community.
Instead, we must view and advocate for self-reliance as a starting point, as a means for being responsible, not as an exclusionary goal.
Self-reliance is a virtue in need of serious cultivation as it’s all about freedom from the control or influence of outside parties.
It’s a simple concept that encourages each one of us to take responsibility for our own needs — physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and economic.
To put it more directly, it’s an understanding that nobody owes you anything!
Yet, even though self-reliance is such a critical life skill…why on earth is society filled with so many wimpy, excuse making, responsibility dodging, entitlement driven people looking for a handout?
The answer like many others can be found in both government and in the home.
Many programs throughout the world have been set up by well-meaning individuals and institutions to aid those who are in need.
However, many of these programs are designed with the shortsighted objective of “helping people,” as opposed to “helping people help themselves.”
As a result, the beneficiaries of these handouts or helping hands more than often become dependent upon them, and rather than inspiring self-reliance, they often accomplish just the opposite.
To bottom line this point…unnecessary dependence upon others is a false sense of security that only serves to make you weak and highly vulnerable. It’s the ultimate act of self-betrayal, as your talents NEVER see the light of day.
“It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain himself“ — Epicurus
By shielding yourself from independence, from challenges, failure, unpleasant tasks and adversity, you are actually doing more harm than good.
THE SOLUTION
So how do you do it? How do you become more self-reliant, how do enjoy more freedom and control in your life?
You Must Become Your Own Hero
To become truly self-reliant, you MUST embrace the power of unconditional responsibility.
Why?
Because it’s foolish for any of us to ask for or to accept from others for that which we have the power to obtain themselves.
It pains me to think how easily people capitulate their dreams to badges, titles, and manipulative institutions.
Honorable work is the most foundational source of happiness, self-worth and prosperity. Only the weak, insecure and confidence deprived strive for security and dependency on others. Therefore, you must work on your ability to drive results.
Your greatest asset and primary sense of security freedom extends from your ability to produce results.
You are far better off struggling to get what you want than letting someone give it to you. You never want to hear the words, “you wouldn’t have that if it wasn’t for me.”
To truly be self-reliant, you must become your own hero.
Gary Ryan Blair is creator of the 100 Day Challenge…a radical approach to goal achievement that shows people how to accelerate their results, achieve 10X size goals and transform every area of their life and career — FAST.
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