Reader I'm celebrating Thanksgiving this week and in that spirit I want you to know how grateful I am for your support and engagement. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey and for being a part of mine.

My word for 2025 is change.

Selecting it was a breeze because my life was full of changes I knew where coming and I was preparing myself to embrace each one:

• the first year without my father
• launching my podcast—The Story I'm Telling Myself
• celebrating my youngest daughter graduating from high school and starting college
• my husband's retirement
• one of my closest friends moving away

There were also sifnificant financial changes layered within the larger ones listed above.

Fourth quarter of last year I was in full mourning after the death of my father and had no mental space to work on business development which meant I was starting 2025 with about 20% of the scheduled revenue compared to the prior two years.

My husband's retirement added the expense of my health insurance to my ledger (and ouch! is it expensive).

Launching the podcast was my creative salvation that lifted me out of my mourning stupor while also adding new business expenses.

And oh, by the way, the overall economic climate tightened budgets and made investments in my services more difficult to secure.

So last week when my husband asked me to give him my rough number for year end so he could make any necessary final adjustments to our taxes, I was unsurprised, yet still disheartened to see the drop in my year over year net income.

My inner critic Miranda was stamping the big L on my forehead and questioning why I didn't give up and go work for a company like a normal person.

Reader I'm not going to lie to you. I spent more time than I want to admit bought into Miranda's failure narrative and doubting myself.

Then as I dug into the numbers, I realized that there was much more to the story than what is told by looking at my net income number.

In fact, in the details were a lot of metrics that indicated success and growth I should be celebrating:

• my sales conversions from speaking opportunities increased 30%
• my retained client sales more than doubled
• two clients have hired me as their fractional leadership development professional (guaranteed recurring work)
• I launched a podcast that is steadily growing in listenership
• I made a significant investment in my own growth and development

Digging in and shining the light on this list of accomplishments changed everything.

I have a lot of good momentum that I need to harness and capitalize on going forward.

Not every change fits neatly into a 12 month cycle.

I choose to see myself in the messy middle of a change that is not yet complete, and to believe that the economic gains are still ahead of me.

So I am not letting up on the gas. I'm leaning in and I'm inviting you to join me.

Reader, we have aligned values which automatically means you are someone with whom I want to collaborate.

So here is my offer.

You can save twenty percent on my services in the first quarter of 2026 (that is $1000 savings when you book $5k). Here are some of the most common ways I deliver value that clients keep coming back for:

• Motivational speaker for your leadership meeting/conference
• Customized workshop for your leadership offsite
• Facilitated learning session during your quarterly leadership meeting
• Facilitated learning session for your all-employee meeting
• New supervisor/manager training program/offsite
• New supervisor/manager coaching
• Personal development coaching

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Reader I also want to remind you that as the year comes to a close and you start to assess your results that progress is not always linear and no single metric determines success.

Make sure you acknowledge the wins and progress made no matter how small.

One year may be a standard measure, but it is still arbitrary because not everything fits into a twelve month cycle.

Cheers to you!

Schedule Your 2026 Leadership Development Workshop with Me

My 5-point System applies the latest insights from neuroscience and psychology to deliver:

LONG-TERM RETENTION: Retain the best people without the added cost of perks.

COST SAVINGS: Retain institutional knowledge and reduce the expense of talent replacement.

PERFORMANCE: Full discretionary effort from employees and resilience in the face of any challenge.

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Catch Up on 'the story i'm telling myself' podcast

Give us a 5-star review and share an episode with a friend: Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music​

The Story I’m Telling Myself is for anyone who wants to overcome the limitations of self-doubt and live a life of purpose and fulfillment.

Through candid conversations, you'll discover:

• The hidden costs of listening to your inner critic: How fear and doubt sabotage your confidence, happiness, and success.
• Transformational strategies for silencing the negative voice: Learn how to overcome self-doubt, embrace vulnerability, and step into your true potential.
• The power of a mindset shift: Discover how changing your internal dialogue can lead to extraordinary results.

Real-life stories of courage and resilience: Gain inspiration from everyday people who overcame their negative self-talk to live a life of purpose and fulfillment.

Listen to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music.

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