It was a day in April this year, the beginning of spring, that I made up my mind about having my first women’s conference.
I’d been toying with the idea on and off since I published my book Permanent Happiness in May 2017. Since my book’s release, I’ve been receiving messages from young women all over the world. Some medical students, nursing students, those aspiring to serve in other areas of healthcare, and other young women with diverse backgrounds from different corners of the world. The power of social media!
The questions and stories they were sharing with me were real. They were curious to know how I juggled and combined all that I do—being a physician, a practice owner, author, blogger, speaker, and most importantly, also a mom.
Some had general questions about my life journey; some honed in on tapping into my knowledge of a specific dream they also had. Several have asked if I’ll be their mentor. Some just message to say “Hi, Dr. Iyabo. I really like your posts. They inspire me every day.” Some who live in Atlanta ask to meet over lunch to just chat with me, and I have accepted invitations and enjoyed my time with them.
These young women are hungry for direction in their lives. They long for mature women they can look up to, relate with, emulate, who can feel their every emotion before they even articulate it. Their ages have been mostly 18–35ish. Women in this age bracket yearn to do things right and are hungry for direction from mature professional women. Most already have a vision of their future selves, but some don’t. Some are confused and don’t know which future career path to take; some are overwhelmed with their personal and professional lives; some have a creative vision and don’t know where or how to start. And on and on...
The beautiful part of this journey for me is that everything they are asking me, I have already experienced, and I feel well positioned to guide, direct, and encourage them.
The most recent young woman I met with for lunch, just a few days before my conference, was an absolute delight. A young physician, married with a toddler, and with a dream of opening her own practice. As we sat down for lunch and I saw the yearning and longing in her eyes, and the bright twinkle in them, I could feel every single emotion she was about to pour out to me. I told her I could already predict her every question, and she chuckled and just relaxed!
I already knew everything about her life path before she even started pouring out her heart. I could feel her struggles, her achievements, her pain, her joy. I sat there two feet away from her at the table, and I immediately connected with her on all levels.
Why do I connect so easily with young women?
Some people I’ve met since my writing journey began have told me I’m an empath, that I’m highly intuitive and that I “channel”—the channeling is how I’m able to write nonfiction very quickly. I do get floods of information at specific times of the day—mostly early morning on awakening, while taking walks in nature, and in the shower.
I must say I don’t fully understand what being an empath and channeler mean, but I connect easily with young women, and I think the reason is because I’ve lived their lives.
Totally! I’ve been there—been single, married, divorced, in the dating field, had kids, studied my way through medical school, opened a successful business–medical practice from scratch, now a writer and speaker, and I’m a daughter, a sister, a friend, an aunty, and a mentor. So I’ve lived every stage they are now experiencing.
As these women messaged me every few days for the past couple of years, I realized what my calling was. I needed to continue to be an influence in their lives. I was loving every minute of my interactions with them, virtually and in person. I had to keep doing this.
Then in April this year, I was invited to be a speaker at an event for women called the Body, Soul, Spirit, and one woman in the audience asked, “How do you not feel guilty leaving your kids with a caretaker when you go out to work?” I answered her question.
As I was leaving at the end of the conference, another young lady ran after me to stop me at the parking lot, and was in tears. Within five minutes, she poured out her heart. Her struggles with her marriage, taking care of three kids, being stuck at home without a job because her husband thought it was a bad idea for her to go back to work. Her whole story was centered on fear and guilt.
This was the turning point for me. These two women turned on a Yes switch in me. It was time.
That question I answered at that conference and the lady I spoke with in the parking lot spurred me to finally make the decision to host my own women’s conferences. It was time. Young women need encouragement. They need direction, and they need to have their pressing questions answered.
In April 2019 I started executing the plan to host my first women’s conference. I named it Women without Guilt. I knew it would be a series because this is a vast topic that affects women of all races, color, and socioeconomic backgrounds in every corner of the world.
As women, we face guilt, fear, shame, insecurity, and doubt in every aspect of our lives, and these emotional blocks often prevent us from reaching our highest potential and fulfilling our divine purpose.
I picked the date: September 28. And all is history.
My first conference was a success. Lives were touched. Lives were transformed. The feedback messages are still coming in!
Did you miss it?
Well, you won’t have to wait another year for my next one. Women without Guilt Part 2 is coming soon here in Atlanta.
So as you read this blog post about my journey to my own first conference, what emotions is this blog post welling up in you?
Have you been putting off executing your own plan for your dreams?
Have you been ignoring the whispers you’ve been receiving in your mind?
Have you placed your dreams on hold until the “perfect time” comes?
Are you a mature woman who has a calling to mentor, inspire, and encourage younger women?
What are you waiting for?
The perfect time does not exist!
Mentors, those souls out there who are waiting for you are getting deeper and deeper in their yearning for answers. They need you. Not in five years…they need you now.
My hope is that this blog post will encourage many of you to start executing those dreams you have.
I know the dreams already exist in you. The execution is the issue, right?
Stop ignoring the whispers you’ve been hearing. They won’t stop until you start executing the plan for your dreams to be birthed.
May we all be permanently happy by executing the plan for our dreams and changing lives with the execution.
Dr. Iyabo
