Self Confidence Archives - Kathleen Hassan

What Are You Waiting For?

What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for your big break? A book deal? A financial breakthrough? A promotion? Your house to sell? The love of your life to come and sweep you off your feet? Your daughter to respect you? For her to love and accept herself? To lose twenty pounds? For your roots to grow out? To get all your ducks in a row? The legendary Tom Petty sang, “And the waiting is the hardest part.” No one likes to wait. We live in a world of instant gratification and quick fixes. In today’s society, entitlement has replaced empowerment and as a result, our kids are suffering with depression and anxiety. We need to teach them persistence and resiliency skills, how to stop looking to everyone else for their sense of self-worth and how to stop being so damn afraid to fail. There’s a worship song we sing at [...]

By Kathleen| 2018-05-01T01:30:25-05:00 May 1st, 2018|

Need help? Hire a Girl!

My business naturally yields itself to working with girls. Let’s face it, my business is girls! But even if you’re not specifically in the female empowering biz, hiring a girl might be the best thing you could do for your company, and will probably be the best thing that could happen to a girl too. This past summer, I hired an intern for some special projects, one of which was getting organized and clearing out all old files from my desk and computer. While transferring files onto a external memory drive, I came across a series of audio files that I had created years ago while mentoring a group of girls at GirlTalk Radio, a station run by girls in Boston. All the girls had cool DJ names and they dubbed me “DJ Kat.” I created twenty short audio clips/confidence tips that they could play regularly on air as girl empowerment [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-12-24T14:47:04-05:00 December 24th, 2017|

You Are Here! But Where Do You Want to Be?

You are here! You know that map at the mall? The one you look at when you're trying to find Forever 21? In order to get there you have to know where you're coming from. It's the same thing in life. You can't get where you're going until you know the starting point. Last week was the final session of my brand new pilot program called Buried Treasure: A Girl's Guide to Discovering Inner Strength and Confidence. It's a social emotional curriculum that helps girls deal with their feelings and relationships more effectively so they can navigate the onslaught of pop culture that constantly sets them up for feeling like they're not good enough. This particular program was a six-week after school program, but will be adapted for a weekend retreat experience as well. The Buried Treasure™ curriculum was developed to help girls explore their place in the world, to [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-06-05T15:50:09-05:00 June 5th, 2017|

Let’s Hear It for the Girls! Favorite Moments from the #StateofWomen Summit

Last week I was honored to attend the United State of Women Summit in Washington, DC. Five thousand women gathered in our nation’s capital to celebrate the progress made throughout the Obama administration to improve the lives of women and girls here and around the world, and showcase innovative solutions to the obstacles women and girls still face. The invitation-only guest list was a who’s who of activists, academics, journalists, public officials and business leaders who are all change-makers dedicated to building a better world. I cannot tell you how grateful and humbled I was to be among them. I was invited to attend the Summit by Jess Weiner, CEO of Talk to Jess, a consulting and strategy firm that acts as a thought partner for companies who seek to change their messaging toward women and girls. Jess moderated a panel on Revolutionizing Gender Norms with Amy Poehler and Juliana Chugg, EVP [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:39:41-05:00 June 22nd, 2016|

I Got My Daughter Back!

“I got my daughter back!” Those are the very words I heard this week from a client who hired me to coach her daughter that had lost her way and was in crisis. Nothing brings me more joy than to see a girl begin to really understand her own worth and power while helping both the mother and daughter learn how to communicate more effectively while creating a relationship based on trust and mutual respect. I can’t think of a more perfect Mother’s Day gift than this. Today I am honoring and celebrating this most sacred relationship and over the next few months will be sharing some of the strategies I used to coach this amazing turnaround. Just two months ago, I received an email from a distraught mother, begging for help. Her fifteen year old daughter had been sneaking out of the house and getting into all kinds of [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:48:29-05:00 May 8th, 2016|

I Am Enough – free meditation podcast

You are more than enough! You are awesome!!

By Kathleen| 2019-04-27T12:10:25-05:00 April 30th, 2016|

You’ve Got What It Takes

Recently I flew up to Boston to attend the 30th Anniversary Gala for National Speakers Association of New England. They were honoring all the past chapter presidents and I was the 20th president. During my term, I actually hosted the 20th Anniversary Gala and people flew in from all over the country so I felt somewhat obligated and compelled to make the trip and attend... and I'm so glad I did! It's not often that we get an opportunity to look back and see our trajectory and career path and get to honor and give thanks for all the people who helped us on our journey. During the event, each past president in attendance got to share a story or most memorable moment of NSA-NE. However, we were told to keep our remarks to 90 seconds!! They should've known better... a roomful of speakers and one microphone - trust me - [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T11:54:50-05:00 May 22nd, 2015|

Perfectly Imperfect: Five Ways to Kick Perfectionism to the Curb

Have you ever felt like you just weren’t good enough? Most of us have felt that way at one time or another. But for many teen girls, this feeling is a chronic ache and is being perpetuated by a culture that celebrates the illusion of perfection. Beyoncé sings, "perfection is a disease of a nation" and tells us pretty hurts, yet how many girls are killing themselves to be just like her? Red carpet glamor and excessive photoshopping makes girls, and women alike, strive to be perfect and contributes to the ingrained belief that we are not good enough - just the way we are. This past spring I spoke at the Marin County Teen Girl Conference. Thirty teen girl ambassadors were planning the conference, selecting the speakers and choosing the topics. They polled girls in their schools and the #1 requested topic was how to deal with the stress of [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:17:22-05:00 October 13th, 2014|

Say YES to What’s Next

This morning I sat at Starbucks, sipping my soy latte with pen and journal in hand, (ironically, at that very moment I was writing about the desires of my soul vs. the demands of my ego,) when I glanced up and saw this message on the window: Say YES to what's next! It was the perfect writing prompt and got me thinking about the things that I want to conjure and manifest into my life from a place of pure desire rather than ego that only wants from a sense of lack and unworthiness. The very first thing I said "YES!" to was being open to receive... and with the pump primed, the pen started moving across the page, as if of its own volition and I could barely keep up with my own full-on voracious appetite for everything I desire. We're often taught that we shouldn't be too greedy [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:26:12-05:00 May 3rd, 2014|

Teen Girls and Sex: What’s the Big Deal?

I got an email the other day from a girl named Laurel and she wrote: Dear Kathleen, I am so glad there is someone like you inspiring so many girls out there! I've seen numerous social media posts recently about some girls losing their virginity veerrrry young. One of my friends recently wrote a post about what a big deal it is, and I totally agree. would you talk to us about sex and explain why we should wait till we're older? I've often wondered that myself Not that I'd want to lose my virginity young... But I think it comes into a lot of girls heads and we need someone to talk about the ongoing struggle about thoughts about sex. Why do we have to wait until we're married or until we really love someone? Why do we have to wait until we're older? How come it's such a [...]

By Kathleen| 2017-03-07T12:31:29-05:00 February 25th, 2014|