Style Speaks Power Panels

Purses, shoes, dresses, oh my! There was so much wonderful fashion to see at Style Speaks Sunday at a new Austin venue, Brodie Homestead. Surrounded by massive white chandeliers and cedar panels, the outfits glittered with glee. But looking around at the women in attendance, they were not glowing from the mini facials provided by Spa Social or the beautiful jewelry purchased from Stella & Dot, they were glowing because they started to dream again and discovered who they were created to be that day.

Panel I - Dreams & Purpose: Becoming the Created Woman & Finding the Time to Pursue Your Dreams

How do you spend your time? Do you daily give God your focused and undivided attention? Crystal Breaux, founder of Your Fitness Designer challenged us to look closely at our time and evaluate where we are spending it and how we can better use it to grow close to God and define our purpose and dreams.

I can be honest and say that my conversational skills with God are sadly lacking these days. I can blame it on the new seasons of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal or the laundry and dishes that haven't been touched in days or my husband's neglected feelings. Excuses. They are all excuses. As Cheryl Luke, author and speaker boldly pointed out, "You were created to dream and what you're doing today, right now, will help your dreams and your future. Do you feel you've lost your passions? Go find it. Girl, it's still there! The dream is still there. It's not gone. Your dream is not just a dream. It is your legacy. It's part of your DNA. Don't be afraid of it. What you have is for mankind. They (we) need it."

But you can't do it alone.

Yvonne Sanchez, English Language Arts teacher by day, She-Harmony founder by night encourages all women to find a dream partner. Yvonne knew she had a destiny, a purpose, but didn't know how to get there. She tried for many years to fulfill that destiny by taking many different avenues only exhausting herself by the end. Yvonne figured out that running in many lanes and alone isn't the way to use her God-given talents and wisdom. "Find your lane and stay there. Don't run in someone else's lane. Find what you're really good at and use that gift in your circle to encourage other women to nurture their dreams and embrace their unique identity where your dream will be nurtured in return. In order to find your lane you need to discover your gift and when you discover your gift you'll find the lane toward your destiny."

What is your biggest challenge from giving God and your dreams attention? Once you identify that, God begins to speak. Spend your time toward what you're called to do. You have a responsibility to do it. And Crystal hit home when she said, "We're busy doing things we're capable of doing, but not what we're called to do."

Be the woman you were created to be.

Panel II - How to Get that Glow from the Inside Out

It all started with Created Women's first Style Speaks event in March 2014 when one of the writers from Influential Magazine asked the beauty panel, "How do we get that radiant Beyonce glow?" Everyone wanted to know. And Lynn Cherry, author and speaker was going to find out. What she discovered was something deeper.

Am I beautiful? Do they notice me? Am I really worth it? These are some of the questions many women ask themselves. And the answer to all the questions is - absolutely. You sparkle. You shine. You're a snowflake. And you glow.

However, there is one thing women do giving power to diminish us and how we glow - comparison.

We take out our measuring stick and pass judgement, sometimes even unintentionally. We compare, we measure less than, greater than, equal to trying to find our place on the scale of worth. Lynn beautifully puts it, "When we compare, not only are we unable to celebrate the people around us who are glowing, we dampen our own ability to sparkle and shine. There is so much freedom when we stop measuring ourselves against others and spend time soaking up the sun. This is how we get that glow."

The first power panel shared on how to purposefully become the woman you were created to be - beautiful, bold, passionate, and inspiring, to name a few. The second power panel described a few ways to achieve the outside glow along with the inside glow.

First, make-up artist Adrienne Pitkin used Revlon Skinlights Face Illuminator along with foundation to get a healthy glow followed by a dab of Benefit Watts Up Highlighter to the tops of the cheekbones. Adrienne then set the products with Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in moonstone to brighten and illuminate the skin for a radiant complexion.

Then, hairstylist Lori Newman used Oribe Hair Care products to create a "wow" everyday bun. Lori first teased sections of the hair and sprayed it with Oribe Superfine Hair Spray to get body and fullness into the bun. She then pinned each section and locked the look with Oribe Impermeable Anti-Humidity Spray. This look will definitely turn some heads.

Featured Speaker, Lisa Copeland - Pink is Not a Strategy  

Lisa Copeland, General Manager of Fiat of Austin started her career in fashion but ended up in the car business. She loves fashion and she loves cars and no one was going to stop her from loving both. However, she didn't get where she is today without dreaming and these six things that can keep you from doing that one thing that you want to do.

1. Everything matters equally. Wrong. Things are never equal. If you're chasing two rabbits you won't get either. Extraordinary results are directly determined by how you narrow your focus and remember that not everything is created equal.

2. Multitasking. Women are great multitaskers but when we're jumping from one task to another, mistakes are made leading to bigger messes creating another thing on the list.

3. A disciplined life. Stay with a disciple long enough to build a habit.

4. Willpower. Stick to it. That's all there is about that one.

5. The lie of a balanced life. Choose what matters more and give it the time it demands. Focused attention and time are the requirements to getting results. You'll never know your ultimate calling until you give it time, attention, and most importantly, belief.

6. Big is bad. People are afraid of big. So, start small. But think big. People who change the world don't think like anyone else. They define that one thing and take action. Fear along with comparison is a waste of your potential. Give it all you've got and accept that failure is part of the journey to becoming who you were created to be.