Charmed, I'm sure

Stepping into Jennifer Warwick's The New Charm School is a Forrest Gump moment.-- you really don't know what you're gonna get and its all delicious! I bring up this overused,trite( okay and gagable) cliche because in a wickedly delightful diss,Warwick reminds us that the use of cliches is the mark of a lazy writer.

    Climbing the corporate ladder is tough. Doing it in 3-inch pumps is tougher, according to the National Association of Female Executives. Let’s just ignore the fact that cliches are the mark of a lazy writer. Am I the only one who finds this image irritating, for reasons other than the fact that it’s completely overused? There is a ridiculous new “self-help” book out for women called something like “Climbing the Corporate Ladder in Heels”…I’m so annoyed by the author’s conceit that I can’t be bothered to look it up. Basically, you take a little quiz to find out how you work, and then read your section for helpful career tips. Doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well, the choices available include CEO…Diva…and Cheerleader. Is this career advice or a catalog of collectible Barbies?

From bad books to suspect studies, Warwick tackles a wide array of issues of interest to working women. There's a category called Women and Technology. where she shares news and studies.

Policy makers, educators, managers need to recognize that you can’t generalize to all women,” said Dr. Eileen Trauth, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) [at Penn State]. “There is far too much variation in the paths that women take for anyone to assume that women’s career motivations are the same, their methods of balancing work and family are the same, or their responses to motherhood are the same”…

You can be inspired by reading the stories of gutsy women of the world.

When Tina Dutton’s daughter Leanna told her that she didn’t like being the last person in the taxi after a night out, Tina heard her loud and clear, and knew it was time to act. She did her research, raised some money, and got to work. But she didn’t pursue the usual worthy activities, such as organizing a walk-a-thon to promote women’s safety, hounding her elected officials, putting up flyers about safety in the ladies’ rooms in bars, or recruiting a celebrity to do PSAs to scare the life out of solo women everywhere. Tina started a company. Pink Ladies, founded in 2005 in the UK with business partner Andrea Winders, is a car-hire company with a women-only policy on both drivers and passengers.

And my personal favorite category- The case for naps, cocktails, carbs,and cute shoes.

A Wake Forest University study of more than 7,000 “older women” (defined as women over 65) found that those who drink two to three drinks a day of alcohol have better verbal abilities and higher levels of mental function than their teetotalling sisters. Additional research is underway to determine whether alcohol also increases levels of “good” cholesterol, lowers the risk of stroke, decreases the likelihood of Alzheimer’s, and helps learning and memory function. So read the whole article and have a Sassy Red Lady. As we say here at New Charm School, you’re never too young to take care of your health.

On her website Jennifer.inc Warwick describes herself as "a women's career strategist who believes that when women bring their full selves to their work and personal lives, transformation happens for them, the people around them, and the world. As a coach, she supports and challenges her clients to take off their masks and bring their true selves to their work and their lives."

So, if you happen to live in a part of the country that is going to have a rainy weekend, pull up the laptop, get comfy and spend some time at The New Charm School-- you will be charmed, I'm sure.

Note: This is cross-posted at Blogher