Remember when you were 7? And you could carry a purse the size of a checkbook because all you had to put in it was chapstick and bubble gum (and maybe your $10 allowance if you were lucky).
Boy how times change.
As we get older, our purses seem to grow exponentially. First we hit high school and chapstick becomes lip gloss, a compact, mascara, and 3 colors of eye shadow. We're also much more conscious of what our hair looks like so a brush and mini-bottle of hairspray are added to the mix. Soon we're 16 and the keys to the car become our next essential. Somewhere along the line we get a cell phone (although nowadays, that might be happening at age 7 too!) and our little purses are no longer so little.
As we progress into the work world, our office shoes also need a space (because face it, we're not wearing our Jimmy Choo's on the walk to work...those bad boys will never see anything but carpet) as do a reusable travel mug and water bottle so we don't keep adding to the problem with the landfills.
And for those with kids, there's a whole separate purse full of bottles, blankets & binkis (hopefully one without pastel versions of Pooh & friends to preserve at least some of our dignity as we change our babies in some crazy places because hey, when nature calls...we have to answer!).
I was reminded of just how miraculous our purses can be when a friend of mine marveled and what I seemed to carry with me at all times. He laughed because I had specifically stopped to clear out my purse before heading out to spend a day with him being tourists in our own city, yet still pulled out a myriad of items throughout the day.
I had my camera to snap pictures of our adventures. And an extra battery when the first one died. I had lip gloss and a mirror to reapply my perfect pout after our stop at Starbucks. When it started to rain I pulled out my perfectly, purse-sized umbrella. There was hand sanitizer for the times I just had to pick up disgusting but oh-so-exciting-to-find money on the ground (we found 50 cents that day). But what I think got him was the microphone I had opted to leave in my purse in case I felt like breaking into song at any point during the day (which I did).
The point is, women are ready for just about anything based on what we keep in our purses (and if you don't have a microphone in yours, I highly recommend one. Especially one with a button that gives you a laugh track or round of applause for a particularly well performed action).
There's no class on "how to pack a purse" or "what you'll need in the big bad world." We all just seem to intuitively know what we'll need given the situations we face on a daily basis. And we prepare accordingly.
I find that women lead in much the same way.
As we grow, we tuck away life experiences and lessons learned to access at just the right time down the road. Somewhere along our journey as leaders, we swap our hot pink, Hello Kitty mini-purses for full-fledged grown-up totes and look down to realize we're capable of leading families, communities, and corporations.
But don't fret...for nothing is lost. Although most women can reach into their bag-o-tricks to solve a crisis, plan the meals, schedule a conference call, and write a major proposal all before noon...they probably still have the chapstick and bubble gum in a side zipper compartment too.
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