Recently, I attended a retirement party for a client I hadn’t worked with in over eight years.

To my surprise, it didn’t feel like stepping back in time. It felt like a mirror.
Reflecting back to me just how far I’ve come.

Back in 2015, I worked closely with this client while going through one of the hardest personal transitions of my life: my divorce. I was juggling a deep sense of loss and uncertainty in my personal life, while showing up professionally with as much presence as I could manage.

And yet, something beautiful happened.

The team I worked with during that time turned out to be one of the most supportive, warm, and welcoming groups I’ve ever had the privilege of working with. They didn’t just accept me, they embraced me. They gave me room to lead, space to challenge the status quo, and most importantly, a place to belong during a time when everything in my life felt shaky.

I remember someone at the party recently saying to me:
“As soon as you joined, things shifted. You saw everything with fresh eyes, questioned the norms that weren’t serving us, and helped us think differently. But more than that, you brought us together. You made it fun to be a team again.”

That’s when I realized, even though I was going through a difficult divorce and battling internal doubt, I still had that inner fire.
The spirit of a founder.
The mindset of a builder.
The energy of someone who saw themselves not just as a role-holder, but as a leader with responsibility and care for the whole.

That mindset led to real impact. I streamlined processes, built bridges, and made space for community, whether it was organizing lunch outings or potlucks, or simply creating a safe place for team conversations. Within a year, the client had requested my promotion because they saw how deeply invested I was in their success.

And yet, what most people didn’t know at the time was that I was quietly shrinking on the inside.
I was questioning myself.
I didn’t feel powerful — I felt lost.

So when I walked into that retirement party recently and saw those familiar faces, something clicked.
It felt like the universe offering me a snapshot of my own progress.
Not just professionally, but emotionally, spiritually, internally.

I realized how much I’ve shed.
How much I’ve grown.
And how much of that growth happened quietly, in the background, over years of showing up, healing, and choosing to believe in myself again.

It reminded me of something Bill Gates once said:
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten.”

Ten years ago, I couldn’t have imagined the life I live now.

I’m coaching leaders to rise through their own phoenix moments. I’m building something meaningful — not just professionally, but personally too.
And I’ve finally released that old voice in my head that told me I had to prove myself to be worthy.
I’ve stopped shrinking.
And started soaring.

Recently, I came across a story about how Richard Branson started Virgin Atlantic by convincing Boeing to lease him an unused plane, without any existing funding. That kind of boldness can only come from belief.
Not bravado.
But belief.
The kind that says: I may not have all the answers, but I have the courage to try.

And that’s what I want to leave you with.

If you’re in a season where you feel stuck, small, or unsure — don’t write yourself off. You’re not lost.
You’re just in the middle of your story.
And maybe, just maybe, the version of you you’re becoming is more powerful than anything you’ve imagined.

This was a full-circle moment for me. And maybe reading this is one for you.

You are capable of more than just bouncing back.
You’re capable of rising — stronger, wiser, freer.

The best is yet to come.