Closing every year with a musical tribute (this year it was Alicia Keys singing “I’m a Superwoman”) 12 hours later we stagger out the door drunk on woman power and ready to change the world.

Because it is as New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof noted, “Women and girls are not the problem – they are the solution.”

So, how can one woman ignite such passion? By inviting a few of her friends to share their stories. Stories of success, struggles, triumph, heartbreak, determination, perseverance, courage, brilliance, mistakes, tenacity, hope, awe, and of course, inspiration. Oh, and Maria’s friends happen to include Oprah, the Dalai Lama, Queen Noor, Sara Ferguson, Barbara Walters, Suze Orman, Michelle Obama, Sandra Day O’Connor, Tony Blair, Tim Russert, Tom Brokaw, Bono, Warren Buffet, Madeleine Albright, Elizabeth Edwards, Katie Couric, Linda Ellerbee, Paula Deen…the impressive list of who has come to the Women’s Conference goes on and on. Imagine the impact it has when people like this are your personal cheerleaders for the day.

As first woman Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, declared, “I believe there is a special place in hell for women who don’t support each other.”

Every year, Maria leads this contingent of celebrity power players with a moving keynote address. In years past she has used herself as an example of a woman trying to find her way and make her mark in this world. She has courageously shared private struggles for public consumption on trying to balance work and family, ambition versus support, and her place in the Kennedy legacy.

This year, she was more candid than ever. She stood before us, bravely declaring herself “a woman with a broken heart” after the recent death of her mother, Eunice Shriver. She admitted, “There’s a disconnect between how I feel and how I’m supposed to behave” – a tough endeavor for anyone experiencing grief and loss but even more so for someone living in the public eye.

She then shared a spiritual experience, believing her mother reached out to deliver a message “letting me know she was okay” through a former nun from Mother Teresa’s order. Together Maria and the nun waded into the Atlantic Ocean fully clothed to pray and “walk through the loss, walk through the grief, walk through the fear and walk into the water.”

Hearing an arena full of sniffles and nose blowing showed Maria’s message of hope was taken to heart. Said Maria, “If I allow myself to really feel my grief and survive it I’ll be able to live a life – and that’s a life I want to live - where I’m brave enough to always walk in the water.”

Never one to pass up a teachable moment and punctuate her point Maria then moderated a panel on grief, healing and resilience with Elizabeth Edwards and Susan St. James, mothers who lost their sons to tragedy, and Lisa Neimi, a wife who lost her husband (Patrick Swayze).

It indeed makes it easier to have hope when someone like St. James, who even after suffering a mother’s worst nightmare, still encourages, “You start to recognize some graces when the dust settles.”

Maria doesn’t have to lead this Women’s Conference with her own personal struggles and triumphs, but that’s just what Maria does. She presents herself neither as a celebrity nor member of a near mythical family, but as one of us - a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend - trying also to achieve her best possible self. Maria shows she’s willing to begin with herself to be the change she wishes to see in the world.

But Maria is nothing if not her mother’s daughter if she didn’t then push us and challenge us women assembled to be the answer to our problems – to not become frozen in despair, fear, uncertainty, denial and inaction, but to become courageous architects of change. To search out ways to educate and empower ourselves and to keep moving forward.

This time Maria told us, “Confront loss. No one is exempt. How we deal with it has so much to do with how we live our lives afterward.”

Now, three days later, still ringing in my ears and propelling me forward are the inspiring words of courageous and bold women who have gone before me, sharing their knowledge and wisdom to make my path clearer.

• It is the words of Katie Couric, first female national evening news anchor, encouraging determination and risks. “A boat is always safe in the harbor, but that’s not what boats are built for.”

• It is Dr. Kathy Hull, founder of the nation’s first freestanding pediatric hospice and Minerva Award winner, who has had the willingness to act on her compassion because, “I don’t think there’s a parent out there with a child to spare.”

• It is Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, sharing a family secret to success: “You are never too old, too young, or too busy to be of service.”

• It is cancer survivor and co-anchor of ABC news’ Good Morning America, Robin Roberts, whose mother’s wisdom propels her “To make your mess your message,” and use your message to affect change.

• It is Elizabeth Edwards in the fight for her life and living in the moment. “I’m not afraid. Every day I fear cancer is another day I give cancer.”

• It is Valerie Jarrett, mother and White House senior staffer believing anything can be done with “… a good support system.”

• It is the words of Somaly Mam, Cambodian child sex slave survivor that makes it seem so simple, clear and easy to help others – “Don’t be scared to give hope.”

• It is Eve Ensler, proud to be a girl and an emotional creature, provoking us to decide, “Do you want to be liked or admired? No one has ever told the Atlantic Ocean to behave.”

• It is actress and activist Geena Davis who reminds us to affect change all we have to do is “Look with new eyes and share what we see.”

I left The Women’s Conference this year as I always do – ready to change the world, even if it is only my own little corner of it. I set forth recharged, reinvigorated, hopeful, determined, validated, proud and ready to be my best possible self. Whether I am focused on being a wife, mother, writer, daughter, friend, sister, volunteer or whatever I choose to shine my hopes, dreams, talents and blessings on I know I can be successful, happy and proud with my efforts and achievements.

And a magical thing happens when you begin to believe that your voice does matter. It opens you, inspires you to pay it forward and use it to help someone else. In fact, the positive energy of the conference so fulfills me, it becomes impossible not to share a smile, a compliment, an encouraging word, a hopeful message, or a helping hand and a desire to lift others in need.