lead-ing la-dy n. – A woman who takes care of herself, lives life to its fullest, goes after her dreams, smiles, laughs, loves herself, loves others, and is happy. She lives out loud, not afraid to be her true, authentic self.

Be the kind of woman that makes other women want to be you. -TopazWe all want to be that woman. We look at her and admire her. She embraces life. She is so thankful for everything. She knows how to be silly and have fun, and she knows who she is and what she likes. She creates the live she wants to live. She takes every day and spends it completely.

“You know, I’ve really made something of myself. I have a career. People actually want to be me.”  -Sweet Home Alabama

Who doesn’t want to be someone who others want to be? It means we are living our life well.

I have realized a valuable secret to having the life you want and being the leading lady that you want to be.

People who know how to live and find joy in life, no matter what the circumstances, are total people magnets. People want to laugh. They want to be inspired. And they want to soar with the eagles. Leading ladies who practice laughter and joy and have a great attitude will always be the women who others want to be around and the women who they want to be like.

The opposite of this is someone who does nothing but unload their problems on other people and only see the worst in every situation. They not only bring themselves down but everyone around them.

I love this story that a friend shared with me. It illustrated it perfectly.

Two buddies are walking home together. As they get to the fork where they part ways, the one turns to the other and says “Man, life sure stinks!”  His pal grins and says “I think life is beautiful.” From a nearby park bench an old bum overhears them. With a shaky voice from years of experiences he looks up at them, “You’re both right,” he say’s as he turns to the 2nd fellow, “but I’d rather walk with you.”

Are you the leading lady who people would rather walk with?

This is something that most people in most situations have complete control over. It’s just a matter of deciding who you want to be and making positive, daily choices to make it happen. It’s a choice.

So next time, when you’re out with your friends, choose to discuss happy things, amazing things, or even things with chicken wings (does anyone else hear the Oscar Mayer song right now?), but whatever you do, don’t complain about what’s going on in your life. Everyone has problems. And there is a time for sharing, but we are taking this time to learn some new and better habits.

Think about the kind of person you are drawn to. Most of us are drawn to happy, fun, outgoing, interesting people with lives. They’re not waiting for someone to complete them. They are out there living life. And they are surely not telling everyone all of their woes and drama, unless of course they have made a funny story out of it. They are amazing people who we are drawn to, want to be around, and want to be more like.