Everyone, or at least most of us, go down memory lane and sometimes think of how we would have done things differently, or acknowledge good decisions we have made along the way. During a Commonwealth Women’s Forum session with the theme “Women in Leadership: Beyond Numbers,” in Kigali on Monday, June 20, inspiring women in leadership shared life lessons and what they would tell their younger selves, as shared below. Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary General of the Commonwealth I would say to my young self to not be afraid. Daddy and Mammy were right again. They said “there is no disgrace in failure. The only disgrace is in not having tried.” Try and try and try again. You never know what you can achieve if you try. And don’t be frightened of being the first. I remember saying to my father, “but why does it have to be me?” And he said, “why not?” And so, I have ended up being many firsts that I would never have dreamt possible. And the other thing I’d say to my younger self is to celebrate your friends. Celebrate all those who are willing to walk with you. Know that as they walk, you too, will be able to walk. Never ever let go of God’s hand, because through Him, all things are possible. You know those dreams you’re dreaming, dream bigger, be bolder. Have the courage to know that you can do all the things that you aspire to do by His grace. Harriett Baldwin, MP- United Kingdom Aim high. Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do things. It is so important to take opportunity education gives us and we follow our education through as fast and as far as possible. Don’t listen to the low expectations that sometimes people will impose on you and your view of yourself. Accept that you will fail from time to time. There will be occasions where you don’t succeed in your path. You will get knocked back along the way but pick yourself up, learn from those setbacks and set yourself further on your path, and focus on the things that really matter in terms of your journey. If you don’t ask, you don’t get! And so you just have to keep asking and eventually, you will get there. Cherie Blair, Founder and Chair of Omnia Strategy LLP I went as a barrister and at the end of my training; there was a choice between a male barrister and a female barrister. They said to me, “Well, Cherie, obviously, we are going to go with a boy because you’re a girl and who knows where life will take you? Well, they made a bet that the boy would be a better, long-term lawyer. Here I am 45 years later, and I am still going in the law. The boy on the other hand, left after seven years and went and did something else. Don’t let your confidence be undermined in the things that people tell you that you can’t do.
