2018 Is the year to play BIG and step into your GREATNESS!!

Here we are at the end of 2017 and what a year it's been!! I've found myself so far from where I began last year – leaps and bounds in all directions and I could never have imagined the trajectory.

In the beginning of 2017, I made a vision board with friends. I grabbed random pictures and words that stood out for me: a picture of a woman leading a group of women, a woman standing under a full moon arms spread, an office with a row of windows filled with light, a beach with palm trees. There are also random pictures of women and words: inspiration, travel, daring and love.

When I made that board I had not yet started my womens group. There had been no discussion of what would become a cruise in September with seven women amongst the palm trees and beaches of Bermuda; I had no idea that I would soon find myself regularly in an office with a wall full of windows, or howling under a full moon with an amazing group of daring women leaders come spring time

And then there are all the women. So, so many women that I have surrounded myself with. Those who have trusted me as their coach, their friend, their leader, their partner, their collaborator. Those that I have found as mentors, inspirational leaders, daring badasses and ones who would kick me into action and others who would hear me cry without “fixing” me.

There is also the one line that I have thought of over and over throughout the year “Stay strong for the fight.” And we have had to fight this year. We, we are the women and the men who support women. We have stayed strong. We have started to build a foundation that I will be proud of my daughter and son to continue to grow upon. We have shown solidarity. We have broken down barriers. And we have done it together.

We have found our people. We have found who will build us up – who we can link arms with – who we can count on. Because there is enough room for us all. We know that if we rise to our own greatness that doesn't mean we have to knock someone down – no, this is the time to rise together and know that everyone's voice has room to be heard. And though fear always has it's place – it's to goad us into action. Because really those who might mock us or try to bring us down, are not the ones that we should be surrounding ourselves with. There is a quote I love by Julia Cameron, “Jealousy is a mask for fear. A mask for what we really want to do but are not yet brave enough to take action towards.” Don't let jealousy or fear hold you back, release those people in your life who don't lift you up.

Then there is Lean Out. Lean Out has been my mantra and call for the past 5 years and what fired me up in order to become a coach. Lean Out from what doesn't serve you, from doing things just because that is how they are done, from mindlessly climbing some corporate ladder, from not speaking up in fear of how you will be perceived.

But in 2017 I also felt a new call – to not only help others Lean Out, but to go back into the corporate world and help people lean INTO their positions. To find the value and the worth in what they do. To make a difference to an organization, to change the way the business shows up. And what I am finding is that as people find their true voice and confidence they start showing up in a new way. Their role at work shifts, they are seen differently, they find value in a job they couldn't find value in for a long time and they are able to find joy, because they have found meaning. And trust me, if you knew me in 2016 – I was far, far away from ever venturing back into the corporate world!!

So my new mantra is this: Make a vision, but don't hold on so tight to the path that will get you there....

And please know, I did not make my 2017 happen by making a vision board and sitting at home waiting for it to come true. I networked when I didn't feel like it, I wrote when I felt fear around the topic, I spoke when the opportunity was offered to me and I asked for the opportunity when it wasn't offered. Know that as long as you are taking steps, new risks, getting out of your comfort zone, showing up – the vision will appear and the ride will be so much better than you could have ever imagined!

I have an annual ritual in which I like to look at the past year and set a vision for the future come New Years. These aren't resolutions, these are aspirations. If you'd like to join me, click on the CONNECTIONS tab above and enter your email in the popup box.

And if you are feeling extra creative – then grab a couple of magazines, start tearing out photos that speak to you and glue them on a dollar store board. Come December 2018, you just might be in awe of what you too have managed to bring into your life!

My goal for you in this email is to inspire you to try something new, to think about where you are playing too small and step up your game.  Be your greatest self, be BIG, let your light shine.  The world needs what you have to offer right now and 2018 is the year to bring it!

May these last days of 2017 fill you with excitement and wonder for the coming year – and may you bring your ass-kicking, aspirational self to 2018!!

amazing photo credit to: http://laurent-julien.com/