Have you ever skipped over massive ‘credentials’ in your life because they don’t fit into the standard frames of success? I know I have… and still do. Yesterday, a conversation reminded me of one such huge ‘credential’: daughter of 7-figure exit founders. I often introduce myself as the daughter of missionaries, and completely forget that my parents also built two businesses from scratch, starting when I was 3, and exiting finally when I was 26. I didn’t notice how much their work in business shaped my relationship to ambition and money until much later. I rarely think about this, because my value system is not oriented around these things. I think it’s amazing how my parents were able to build business, family, and faith simultaneously for decades. It’s on their shoulders I stand. And, from this vantage point, I now realize this is a huge reason behind why I never pursued money-making. I’d seen the other side of the builder process, and gradually realized I didn’t need to go through it at all to be successful! This is the gift that my parents gave me: a starting point further ahead than their own. I was grateful for these important lessons, as they influenced my perspective and work so much that you could say they became the air I breathe in, without even noticing.

I have two questions for you (possibly related): Q 1: When was the last time you go to speak directly with someone who created a multi-billion-dollar industry? Q 2: What are you doing May 5th at 6pm ET (3pm PT)? Tim Bratton... - Pioneered the world’s first digital streaming service - Defined the modern subscription economy - Helped architect a multi-quadrillion-dollar payment rails system His career has been defined by one thing: Scaling complex systems from inception to global dominance. He has taken a company public, executed a reverse IPO, and built three separate nine-figure businesses. And now he is showing up LIVE to talk to us (you and me) No script. No filter. No sanitized “keynote speaker” nonsense. Just a live conversation with a guy who has repeatedly seen the future early, built the infrastructure behind it, and scaled it before the rest of the world caught up. Join us live May 5th at 6 PM ET. Here's the zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83272395942?pwd=2tLNyUmwSTjHNKAUH2onMLMddKXrDo.1 See you there.

If you’ve ever wondered: ‘Why do I feel most alone in rooms full of people who supposedly "get it"?’ you might relate to this. Before I found my grounding in my life, I felt completely unanchored. The identities I had taken on and tried to live up to: “good” daughter, mother, wife, minister, member of society… I was not good at performing according to any expectations, external or internal. I genuinely believed I was an all-around failure, and that the gaping hole of missing deep connection in my life was entirely what I ‘deserved’. Fast forward to today, and the same ‘evidence’ is processed very differently in my perspective. Instead of seeing missed connections as proof of my inadequacies, I see them as opportunities to form more pearls: wisdom acquired only through challenging lived experience. In Human Design, this is the gift of the 3/5 - to embrace the living of it, and then to honor the wisdom gained by faithfully delivering the lessons learned, the pearls, in such a practical way that others may benefit. With the helpful pattern recognition AI contributes, the articulation of pearls collapses from months and years into hours and days. I’m no longer calibrating to an old, irrelevant story that looks like connection on the surface, but holds no genuine depth underneath.

Do you ever have this pervasive thought: “I should be…” fill in the blank with somewhere other than where you currently are? I know I do. When I was younger, I would push myself super hard to satisfy this standard, to get to where “I should be”. It could be meeting a deadline, milestone, or physically getting invited to some event or group. Sometimes I ‘succeeded’; most of the time, I didn’t. But even ‘success’ felt hollow. When I got where I thought I wanted to be, I slowly realized in the pit of my stomach that it wasn’t a welcoming place for me. AND I was exhausted. Using all of that energy to push myself to be somewhere I wasn’t weakened me to the point I could not stand. Over time, it was clear that I wasn’t actually ‘supposed’ to be there, in spite of my thoughts that I “should”. Now, I’m learning to remind myself: my only job is to accept the truth of where I currently am. When I forget that, I encounter many forms of fear that feel stifling. When I remember and practice that, I immediately experience a sense of freedom and expansion. As purpose-driven leaders, we want to be responsible, make the most of the gifts we’ve been entrusted with. The challenge is: not falling back into the exhausting performance spiral of constantly trying to be somewhere we’re not. The tug is so strong all around us. It’s hard to resist. This is not a knock on goal-setting but a practical choice to appreciate in each and every moment where we already are, and not needing that to be different. Then the growth can slowly become an experience to enjoy, as opposed to a pressure to endure. This goes counter to what we were taught to value, and that, my friend, is the whole point. In this period of global transition, we can sense that the old way of succeeding will NOT get us through to what’s coming. This way, the way of accepting that where I think I should be is not where I currently am, and that’s ok, is a way that I keep returning to.

Yesterday, while engaging in a fun conversation about the meaning of the word CONTEXT, my head was swirling. I used to use ‘context’ all the time to make clear points in my work, but now… I couldn’t remember! I felt my heart rate pick up as I tried to pull up in my mind the relevance of the word ‘context’ in my world… … and couldn’t. Context is what determines what becomes possible. The pH level in blood that either encourages or discourages the growth of cancer cells. The temperature in an oven that bakes a cake or doesn’t. The level of warmth and trust in a relational field that supports a significant agreement to exchange value or not. In yesterday’s conversation, the context didn’t allow me access to my typical use of the word ‘context’. If a context can make it possible for me to forget a core aspect of my work, what else is it making possible, both as individuals and as a collective, beneath our conscious awareness? Context is the water we’re swimming in. We don’t notice it as it shapes every possibility. Our stories are only stories because of our context. In the world of the Story of Separation (term coined by Charles Eisenstein), we observe a particular context that allows for specific conditions to proliferate: 🔸 scarcity 🔸 extraction 🔸 fear In the world between stories, we can observe a context as well: 🔸 curiosity 🔸 generosity 🔸 interconnection Right now, if you’re sensing both worlds, like many are, the experience is quite conflicting. It can feel very dissonant as these two contexts vie for our attention. And once we see what’s actually controlling possibility, we can’t unsee it.