Presenting

From our Founder wo years ago I set out on this journey to create a magazine I felt women wanted and needed. Being in the media business since 2011 when I acquired Florida Homes Magazine, I felt an obligation to create something meaningful for women. My mission was to break out of the celebrity/fashion/beauty box to show what success actually looks like, without filters. I hoped to create an authentic publication to challenge women to look beyond the surface and pursue their dreams. I was passionate about the mission from the beginning, and GR AVITAS soon turned into much more than a new publication for me. I 've lear ned a great deal about myself, the media busi- ness, women and the world. The experience has profoundly changed me. Along the way, I found something that had eluded me my entire life. I discovered my voice in the dark hours alone c h a s i n g d e a d l i n e s . W i t h every inter view and ar ticle I wrote, I became bet ter acquainted with my true s e l f h i d i n g b e h i n d t h e per sona I gener ated for the wor ld. My thoughts began to flow freely with c o n v i c t i o n I h a d n e v e r known. I no longer searched for words, they flowed out of me like a rushing river. Inside that voice, I found my truth and unlocked my purpose: to be a spoke in the wheel of advancing women. This epiphany didn't happen like I imagined it might. It wasn't a singular moment of clarity or a thunderbolt of wisdom that struck me, but rather a feeling that washed over me every time I sat at my computer to write an ar ticle or design a page. Ever y woman who showed her vulnerability and humility inspired me to look deeper within myself. Although this newfound purpose gave my life more defini - tion, the realities of business didn't just fade away. Managing the moving par ts of a media company wi th sever al ti tles and various custom publica- tions is no small task. So this summer, I took some time to evaluate my life. I share some of the techniques I used in my ar ticle, Rewrite Your Fairy Tale. I'm a firm believer in sketching out the life of your dreams and then letting fate and experi- ences color in the details. As I rewrote my own story, I developed some exciting new ways to broaden our message and fulfill my newly minted purpose. In 2017, we will introduce the New Girls Club Audio Magazines and Podcast Channel, Dinner Parties and educational Workshops. The New Girls Club is a commu- nity devoted to connec ting, educating and empowering women with purpose. That's right, purpose. I am not inter- ested in just having a "rah-rah" sisterhood moment. I want women to band together with renewed enthusiasm in busi- ness and in government with the goal of getting to the top together and finally breaking those formidable glass ceilings. I'm an avid believer that women are the key to truly changing the world, but we must address the fractures in our sister- hood. I say it all the time, "the Old Boys Club works really well, not just because men have a lot of advantages, but because they promote, sponsor and help each other in business and politics in a way women have not mastered." Men have an impressive ability to come together for mutual benef it . Women, however, are highly competitive on a different level. In business and on the playing field, guys wage brutal battles to win and yet, when the competition is over they can head to the pub and share a few brewskis while laughing over their war wounds. Ladies, we don't leave our grievances at the door, we take them to the grave! We can be catty, cliquish and downright mean. We need to stop judging one another, as well as ourselves, by an unreasonable scale of perfection. We need to look at other women as allies. If we really want to break all the glass ceilings of the world, we have to do it together. When women talk one-on-one, T 6 | GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com

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