Who is your favorite philosopher? Plato? Aristotle? Perhaps you like a more contemporary version, like Dr. Phil. They are all good, and their messages are helpful, but as a woman, I can tell you who speaks the truest truths for me.
Mae West.Talk about a woman ahead of her time. She was spouting words that women of her era didn’t have the nerve to say, (“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful”).
She was savvy and knew what she wanted. Think about this… in the 1950s, Lucy was still asking Ricky for permission to buy a new hat, but Mae was being Mae as early as the 1930s. (“I only like 2 kinds of men; foreign and domestic”).
She was frank. She flaunted her outrageous sense of style. (“It’s better to be looked over than to be overlooked”). She was passionate. (“The best way to hold a man is in your arms”). And boy was she smart! (“You’re never too old to become younger”). She absolutely exuded confidence and was proud of her sexuality. (“The curve is more powerful than the sword”).
No offense to Sartre or Nietzsche and the other superstar philosophers, but Mae rocks my world. She understood men and she understood women. But most admirably of all, she understood herself.
There are seminars, books and countless magazine articles that aim to empower women and infuse them with confidence.
As far as I am concerned, all you need to do is look to Mae West.
The next time you have to make an entrance into a room crowded with strangers, think about Miss Mae. Make your walk a bit more of a sashay. Walk in like you own the place and remember her immortal words.
“It isn’t what I do, but how I do it. It isn’t what I say, but how I say it… and how I look when I do it and say it”.
Got it, girls?Until Next Time...
