Photo: Thinkstock

What do German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Melinda Gates, and Lady Gaga have in common? These high-profile women are all on Forbes List of the 100 Most Powerful Women (along with someone named Oprah Winfrey): influential in the world due to their positions and how they wield them, their various resources and media reach, their wide spheres of influence. It's a fascinating and thought-provoking list to browse through, and one that seems to present the possibilities for women.

Even the, hm, less-globally-powerful among us can learn from these eminent figures, from Hilary Clinton to Beyonce. Forbes has helpfully culled some highlights:

• Your own personal efforts trump external conditions.
• There is no prescribed timetable for success.
• You have to put yourself out there. 

It occurs to me that these are actually all part of the same thing, basically three ways of saying: Don't put up mental blocks in your way. It holds true in so many ways, in so many different corners of our lives. Even if we don't actually want to be the most powerful women in the world. Even if our wildest aspirations are actually to be the most powerful woman within a significantly smaller sphere of influence, even if -- maybe especially if -- the people we wish to lead and inspire are just the kids snoozing in the bedrooms down the hall.

Read More:
Raising Chickens, Reclaiming a Career
4 Steps to Getting Your Life Back on Track