There were so many times I look back and see how much I didn't love myself. 

I have this harsh inner critic that tells me I will never be good enough.  Good enough for what?...for anything.  This is a belief that was embedded at a very young age.  I love my parents and grandparents, and there were many moments where I felt, and believed, their love was conditional.  They gave me so many wonderful memories, and the harsh words and behaviors stuck around for a very long time. 

When I made good grades, I was praised with words and money.  When I made a B, my grandmother told me how angry and disappointed she was in me with words I would never speak to my children, and a lashing I would never wish upon anyone. 

When I was "too large" at the tender age of 11, I was brought to Weight Watchers, where I would weigh in weekly in front of other women twice my age.  I began noticing the difference in my body compared to others.  I began counting calories.  I began judging and hating my body.  ...

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out”~Dr. Seuss

Let's talk about this amazingly beautiful paradox where we all want to fit in and want to be unique in this world.  

Did you know that standing out actually helps you fit in?!  Follow me here.  When we are authentic, we stand out in the crowd we are amongst.  This might be the crowd of our family, friends, colleagues, co-workers, etc.  When we allow our true self to shine through, it leads us to find the groups where we do fit in, which is a need.  

Psychologist William Glasser discusses one of the basic human needs as to “feel a sense of belonging”.  In the hierarchy of needs, love and belonging is the 3rd basic need after physiological and safety needs.  Cognitive behavioral compassion theory recognizes that mammals survive in community.  What happens when we have such an ingrained human need, as well as the need to know we are uniquely made?  An opportunity for growth!

We are created to grow, change, and expand.  When we gro...

Have you ever felt like Mirabel in the movie "Encanto"?  All the parents out there will know what movie I am talking about, and even some who are not parents, but Disney lovers.  The premise of the movie is all about a family who has all these magical powers, except for one-Mirabel.  There are so many amazing messages in this movie, and I am going to focus on one of the many that hit home for me in my journey.  The movie begins with Mirabel singing to the local children about her family and all of their powers and duties to the family and their community.  The children keep asking Mirabel about her powers, which she avoids because she does not possess any of these "gifts".  Throughout the movie, she often feels like a burden and that she does not fit in, but she also recognizes that she has an important part in the family.  She intuitively knows she has a bigger purpose, is not sure what exactly that purpose is, and she also longs to be "special" like the rest, continuously doubting he...

"If you want to go fast, you go alone.  If you want to go far, we go together". 

These words came from my Rise to Power Ride Cycle instructor at 5:15 this morning, who may have gotten it from a variety of people since nobody truly knows where this quote originated.  

I had been thinking about what I wanted to write for my next blog article and it hit me right then and there.  Community and Connection.  Through the past few weeks, I had started and stopped writing so many blog articles.  None of them seemed to adequately explain what I have been noticing, thinking, and experiencing in my life.  There was some self criticism in this process that I "should" be able to bang this stuff out, yet as I write this today, I know it was just the process I needed to come to this perfect topic.  

There are countless articles with studies showing that every successful woman has a community of successful women behind her, cheering her on and challenging her to be her best self.  Articles also show...

I remember my first big failure so clearly in my mind.  In 5th grade, I brought home my first B.  I recall walking to my grandmother's house from Catholic School in my little skirt and tucked in button up shirt with the heaviness of that B in my backpack.  My heart pounding and sweat dripping off my body, even though there was a cool breeze in the air.  Thoughts were racing about all the disappointment that I would witness coming across my grandmother's face.  I had disappointed the family.  

When I got to her house, luckily she wasn't there so I know I had a little bit more time to figure out the best way to break the news to her.  I felt my heart sink when I heard the door open.  I was sitting upstairs in the spare room and called for her to come up.  What I didn't expect was exactly what happened next...she became so irate, screaming at me and shaking me, asking "what is wrong with you".  I didn't clearly hear the words stated after that moment because I went into fight or flight m...

Over the past quarter of 2021, I have experienced God Winks that have ripped my body open and exposed my soul to the larger truth of the Universe.  They have enlightened me to the energetic connections that are pulsating around me at all times.  

Have you ever felt as if you are hearing a message from the Universe, whether cautioning you or guiding you towards your Diving Destination?  There are signs all around us... constantly.  Urging us to move forward.  Letting us know that the Universe has our back.

Synchronicity is a term coined by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875-1961).  In my last article about Co-Creating with the Universe, I have identified several different examples of synchronicities.   Here are a few more: seeing a word repeatedly, you have a dream about an old friend and shortly after, run into them.

First, let me explain that I believe that the Universe and God are One, similar to Pantheists like Albert Einstein and Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Pantheists state "There is ...

My family and I are in a huge season of transition.  It has been almost nonstop since early 2019, much like many of us when the pandemic hit.  This season of change has been different than others though.  We have been through drastic changes before.  Like when my husband lost his contract when he was in his own business back in 2009, or when we decided to move to a more remote area in Georgia in 2015 for a job opportunity, or when I left an established corporation to be part of a start up in 2017.  Most of those changes were filled with fear and doubt.  I held tight to 'control' in every situation.  I didn't trust anyone in taking care of the details or making sure everything ran smoothly.  That included my husband and the Universe.  I remember the feeling of dread when my husband was out of work for two months.  I remember the feeling of fear when moving away from all of our friends and the comfort of being close to the hustle and bustle of Atlanta when we moved up to North Georgia.  ...

According to the paper from Claire Costello, Managing Director of Philanthropic Solutions at Bank of America and Jackie VanderBrug, Head of Sustainable and Impact Investment Strategy in the Chief Investment Office for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, up to 93% of women give to charity or volunteer, compared to 80% of men. This shows that the vast majority of women care about giving back, whether that is with their time or money.  

These numbers honestly don't surprise me.  Even with women making $0.82 to every $1 men are making, we still give more.  The paper from Costello simply reinforces the fact that women are playing a central role in the charitable giving space.

Here are just a few examples of women all over the world who are giving: 

• British author J.K. Rowling reportedly dropped off the Forbes list of billionaires because she gave so much money away through the Volant Charitable Trust. 
• In China, the landscaping entrepreneur He Qiaonu pledged $1.5 billion for bi
...

"I have no need for the past, I thought, like a child. I did not consider that the past might have a need for me."~ from the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

For some of us, our past is the last place we want to visit.  So instead, we run from it.  We run into relationships, jobs, food, excessive exercise, gambling, drinking, promiscuity, excessive dieting, excessive overachieving.  You name it, we try it.  We try everything  and anything to avoid the feelings, experiences, and hurts of our past. 

How do I know this?  I was a marathon runner when it came to dealing with my past.  I was lost, lonely, confused, hurt, and scared when I was a kid.  I hated myself to the point of self mutilation and bulimia.  I just didn't know how to exist in this life. And I used to blame everyone else for my pain.  

My parents truly did the best they could with what they were given through life.  I can now see them as also being hurt and scared as adults navigating ...

Personal and professional expansion is such an amazing, beautiful, and hard process.  It is one filled with ALL of the emotions. While we push past the limiting beliefs that generations of family and society has placed on us, there is fear. 

Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of being alone, fear of losing those you love because they don't understand or agree with you.  I have gone through all of these fears in my head over and over for a decade before making my leap. 

I continue to move through them as I continue to expand and dream. 

As we sell our home to move back to New York from Georgia after almost 20 years, another layer of limiting beliefs show up. 

The tricky part is that these are not my limiting beliefs, but husband's.  

As I dream bigger, he contracts. He wants to build his dream house and I agree with two conditions...it must be on the water and it must be over an acre .  He begins telling me I am dreaming too big.  He tells me that "only rich people live on the ...