Who am I and what am I doing here?   

 

As a kid, I was  labelled a ‘social butterfly’ (with the report cards to prove it)!   Every Parent-Teacher Interview seemed to reinforce the same narrative.   I had massive ‘Potential’, if only I could APPLY myself darn it, I’d be pretty much perfect!  Or at least that’s how I felt.   How I lived.  (spoiler alert - undiagnosed ADHD is rampant in girls - especially way back in the pioneer days of my youth!) 

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I became a single mom at 17.   If I had a dime for every time I was told ‘you’ve ruined your life, your chances, your POTENTIAL!’  I raised my son alone those first few years,  juggled a full time college course load and worked 30+ hrs a week.   Looking back, I NEVER saw myself as ‘strong, or brave, resourceful, or creative, and certainly never acknowledged any of my accomplishments.  After all, I’d ruined my life, right?  

I later met  and married a truly wonderful guy,  bought a house, had another baby, settled into safe, sane, stable jobs and did all the things that I thought were on the ‘checklist’   We were ADULTING!   But  10 years in, I started to wonder…  

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Is this IT?    The rest of my life?   Go to work, come home, pay bills?     *This ‘Adulting’ had  no free trial -  and I wanted to unsubscribe!!

 

I started  looking for that fulfillment in other areas -ALL the personal development books,  TRAVEL, several side hustles, including being a full fledged badass Power Yoga Teacher at the most amazing studio!!   At one point, I had FIVE jobs.     I threw myself into anything that would afford me a dopamine hit, all the while, chastizing myself for being ‘scattered’   

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Looking back, burnout was inevitable.  Everything came crashing down when I landed in the hospital. My untapped ‘POTENTIAL’ was kicking my ass!  Literally… I ended up being diagnosed with  Crohn’s disease.!   This was one of those, ‘come to Jesus’ moments, where  I realized that if I didn’t change something, I was going to be doomed to a pretty miserable life.     

 

Like so many people before me when faced with a crisis, I threw myself into finding ways to support myself, and soon experienced DEEP SHIFTS in my health and wellness.  AS I LOOKED TO THE FUTURE, I MADE A PROMISE TO MYSELF TO STOP LIVING SMALL, AND SAFE…. AND TO REALLY LIVE!!   I was fortunate to discover CliftonStrengths during this season of my life, and it became a GPS system for finding alignment in both the WHAT I wanted to do, and the WHY I wanted to do it.  

 

THIS methodology was exactly the vehicle that I had been dreaming of… the ‘cherry on top’ of everything I had been unconsciously building toward, a powerful set of tools to create not only empowerment, but a deep sense of alignment, and TANGIBLE results.   This perspective has been invaluable to me in ALL areas of my life -professionally, my relationships, parenting, and most importantly, my relationship with myself.    I only wish I’d found it sooner. It would have made a tremendous difference in the  more difficult seasons of my life.    

I quit my corporate job, and went ALL IN on my own path.   No more 80 hr work weeks,  no more throwing myself from one thing to the next in an attempt to find fulfillment.   Now, I start my day with a kick ass playlist, some quality time with my puppers and a strong coffee.   I work, play and REST in alignment with my goals, and more importantly, with my SOUL!   

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My life today is a DIRECT RESULT of the decision to step into the vision I’d always had for myself.  To lean into my Strengths, and see just how far I could GLOW UP!  

 

My hope is that you’ll take the leap to invest in yourself, and YOUR STRENGTHS, to access a whole lot more possibility in your life!  

 

Are you ready?   Let’s GO !