I saw this Instagram post that says “If you’re going to kick ass, you need kick ass shoes.” The “kick ass” shoes they were trying to sell were 5-6 inch-heels and were a hefty price.

Well, I don’t own any “kick ass shoes,” but I do have these $15 Aldi garden boots that I’ve worn for 3 years, and they helped me grow a jungle of food from seeds to feed my household and share with my neighbors.

And I suspect that when my grandmother snuck past the Communist officers to break into her old house, the house that they burned down to the ground, to steal valuables to help her family, I’m guessing she also was NOT wearing “kick ass shoes.”

Nor did my 16–year-old great-grandmother wear any “kick ass shoes” while she was reciting epic books of literature to entertain her illiterate boat mates on the Đà River, and later learned them from memory to educate her sons.

Nor did my great-grandmother need “kick ass shoes” when she bravely guided her confused children on a harrowing escape out of the Communist-controlled zone in 1954, crossing the 17th parallel line on FOOT.

Nor did my mom need to prove to anyone she was a #GirlBoss when she quietly and patiently taught the most difficult students how to read, students that no one else would teach.

The modern hustle culture wants us to believe that as a woman, our success is defined by a corner corporate office, 6-figure-salary, pampered privileges, fancy title, expensive suits and “kick ass shoes.”

But as demonstrated by the many examples of women in my family, strong and effective leaders do not need expensive trophies to prove that they’re leaders.

Indulge in the pricey shoes if they make you feel happy and powerful. But you don’t NEED them to be “kick ass.” You’re kick ass WITH or WITHOUT them. 

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY to all the women who kick ass everyday, in any shoes.