My earliest memory of hearing my voice was in high school. At the time, I thought I was following it perfectly when I chose my college path, but looking back, I realize my inner critic kept me from fully weighing my options.

I was applying for colleges in North Carolina, and there was no shortage of incredible schools to choose from. But even before visiting a single campus, I had loudly declared that I wanted to go to NC State.

Although I was adamant, my dad insisted that I visit a few others, including UNC-Wilmington, Asheville, and Greensboro, just to be sure. So I did. But I didn’t waver.

What did I love so much about NC State? It’s hard to put my finger on it, honestly. It was a feeling. The way the brick buildings surrounded me as I stood in the quad. The Free Expression Tunnel, where students were spray-painting graffiti as I walked through. The dorms where student life was buzzing, people playing volleyball, and music blasting. It all felt so me, something I wanted to be a part of.

My voice was screaming that this was my place! I applied, and I got in.

But there’s another side to this story that I’ve never told. There’s another popular school in North Carolina that you might have heard of: UNC-Chapel Hill. It’s my fiercest rival today, located only 30 minutes down the road from NC State, and it’s widely considered the more “prestigious” academic choice. As a communications major, UNC technically had the better program. Many journalists you see on TV have a UNC pedigree on their resumes. It would have been an excellent choice for me.

But I didn’t even apply. I insisted NC State was my only choice.

Guided by the external narrative around how tough it was to get into Chapel Hill, my inner critic took over the steering wheel. I had a solid 3.5 GPA and a great list of extracurriculars, but my SAT score was underwhelming. That score deflated me. The societal narrative around how tough the school was made it seem out of reach, so I didn’t even try.

I didn’t want to face the idea of failure or the judgment from friends or family if my application was rejected. But worse, I didn’t want to face that rejection head-on myself. I squandered my authentic voice. I didn’t even give myself the chance to see if it was a school I actually wanted to attend, because I shut it down before it even had a chance to breathe.

This was the first time I can remember an external narrative rewriting my personal destiny.

Don’t get me wrong: it turned out wonderfully. I absolutely loved going to NC State and wouldn’t take it back for anything. I had the quintessential undergrad experience, got obsessed with NC State sports, made lifelong friends, and kinda killed it academically too :)

But the truth remains: I limited my options because I let outside noise cover up my own voice. That’s the voice that hides under our inner critics and buries itself beneath societal scripts, suggesting the neat little boxes we are supposed to fit into. My authentic voice back then might have said, “Submit an application. Let’s just see what happens.” Who knows? Maybe I would have gotten in and realized NC State was still my frontrunner. But I denied myself the choice.

I was only 16 at the time. Sixteen! Even at that young age, we already let other voices guide our decision-making and dictate what we think we deserve. When we do that for decades—decision after decision, year after year—it takes a massive toll. Living inauthentically inevitably causes stress, burnout, unfulfillment, and numbing behaviors.

“Finding your authentic voice” can sound a bit awkward because technically, we hear our inner monologue all day long. But usually, it sounds like this:

• “I should start dinner now.”

• “If I leave by 4 PM, I should miss the traffic, but I need to pick up a few things first.”

• “Why did I say that in the meeting?”

• “I should have done a better job on that presentation.”

Our inner voice constantly ruminates on scenarios we wish had played out differently or future situations we hope will go our way. A 2020 study found that you and I have more than 6,000 thoughts per day. And while there’s no specific number on how many of those are negative, psychological research on our inherent “negativity bias” shows we place far more weight on negative thoughts than positive ones.

These are the layers we have to shave away to hear what our authentic voice actually wants. But we rarely do the shaving. We mistake societal narratives for our own truths and run on autopilot because routine offers the least resistance.

But right underneath all that noise is a soft whisper telling you exactly what you want.

During our very first Bold Moves Podcast Club Power Hour (think a classic book club, but for my podcast episodes!) on Wednesday, July 8. We are going to dissect my latest episode with Jen DeGroff and dig deeper into the societal scripts that bury our authentic voices. It’s a safe space to gather with a group of friends who are all rooting for each other to break out of the status quo.

Perhaps during our discussion, you’ll get a little bit clearer about what your voice is trying to tell you when it’s finally unburdened by all the heavy layers.

Join the Bold Moves community and me on Wednesday, July 8.

👉 RSVP HERE FOR THE POWER HOUR

To set us in motion, here are a few questions we’ll be diving into, discussing the episode, “The Toxic Cost of Burnout and Stress: How to Stop Performing Life and Start Living It (feat. Jen DeGroff of TrueIcon)”:

On paper, Jen was a classic corporate “success story.” She had her MBA, climbed into marketing, interfaced with the C-suite, and helped build a startup . Why do you think it is so common for high-performers to master the art of “checking all the boxes” even when the role no longer serves them?

When you listened to Jen’s transition from a high-performing corporate executive to a fitness and mindset coach, what was the most unexpected or eye-opening detail that stuck with you?

Jen’s turning point was incredibly physical, eventually causing her to temporarily lose her hearing from sheer stress. In the episode, I talk about how if you ignore your voice long enough, your body will step in to force a recalibration. Do you think our culture trains us to ignore these physical alarm bells, or do we just become too good at tuning them out?

👉 RSVP HERE FOR THE POWER HOUR

The Podcast Club Power Hour is 100% free to attend because I firmly believe that no one should have to make bold moves alone. If these Bold Move podcast episodes, stories, reflections, and community spaces bring value to your life, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. It is an incredibly meaningful way to support the behind-the-scenes work that goes into curating this space dedicated to helping you discover – and lean into – your own midlife click.

Upgrade Me for Only $7/Month

With hindsight as 20/20, my advice is more grounded today than it has ever been: Try something and be consistent with it. You never know where it can lead you.

But let’s back up. Let me reflect on how I got here, as if I’m interviewing myself in typical Bold Moves fashion. I want to detail the tactical blueprint of the “click moment” and the moves I’ve made to still be doing this three years later with an expanded Bold Movers community (that’s you!), dedicated platform (hi, Substack!), and deep-work services to support your journey (Bold Moves Mastermind & 1:1 Bold Moves Coaching).

Subscribe now

A Square Peg

It started where it starts for most people… a contrasting feeling of “this isn’t working.” The best way I can describe it is feeling like a square peg in a round hole. I loved my leadership role, but who I am at my core—the leader who really values authenticity, transparency, autonomy, and trust—conflicted with how the department functioned.

For a long while, I was confused. I just need to adjust to the culture, I told myself. I just need to be more of a “yes” person. Half the time, I could see the system I was operating in and knew it wasn’t a match. The other half, I was gaslighting my own potential.

I felt demoralized and dejected, wondering why the high performance I thought was the key to success wasn’t paying off. I was high performing, alright. I only say this because you might be reading this also confused about how high performance doesn’t always equal satisfaction. I want you to know it’s not just you. A lot of high performers are dissatisfied day to day—even when they’re winning awards and getting promotions.

But here’s the truth: You cannot high-perform your way out of misalignment.

I eventually became part of a layoff. I was shocked and disappointed that my career was upended by a bottom-line business decision. But after I had a day to sit with it, I decided to see it as a green light. The green light to make an intentional choice: old me would have ruminated in a “why me?” loop.

Not this time. This time, I would choose differently.

The Laboratory of the Bold

This was my click moment. Decide what I want next, not what’s easy or expected. I was working with a career coach at the time, and she gave me an exercise based on Jack Canfield’s The Success Principles. She told me to figure out my typical perfect day. Not a vacation, but a typical Tuesday. Walk downstairs, open your laptop. What does it look like?

The only rule: no limitations. When I did that exercise without editing myself, the truth came out. It unveiled my desire to work on a variety of projects with a variety of people. I wanted location independence. I wanted autonomy, transparency, and trust.

It felt like the natural next step to step into an entrepreneurial phase. But realizing it in my head was one thing. Saying it was another. I remember the exact moment I finally said it out loud to my career coach: “I want to start consulting.”

It felt both exciting and absolutely terrifying. But saying it out loud made it real. It meant I had another choice: continue down the same path or bet on myself, bet that I could figure it out, and give something new a try. During that time, I also defined what gives me meaning, and articulated my strengths with CliftonStrengths.

All of this led to revelations in what I wanted next. My “click moment” was about reclaiming my agency. I realized I could be happier authoring my own story—one where the chapters aren't the prescribed version, but intentional choices guided by what actually matters to me. Over the next few months, I built it brick by brick:

• I analyzed how to translate my 15+ years of experience into consulting services, focusing on high-level strategy and professional development.

• I established the legal and financial framework (LLC and business banking) to operate as a professional entity.

• I launched a digital home for my services and initiated a targeted outreach campaign to my professional network, which quickly converted into my first high-value referrals.

• I identified a clear premise and content tilt for a podcast that would serve as a research laboratory for making Bold Moves.

Then…. I launched both my consultancy and the podcast with a commitment to consistent, high-quality execution.

Starting Bold Moves with a Beginner’s Mindset

When I launched the Bold Moves: How Did You Know podcast on March 7, 2023, I was a total newbie host, with the hypothesis that making bold moves leads to a more fulfilling life. But with no production experience, I had to be willing to become a beginner again. I had to intentionally take off the “expert” hat—one I had built over a 15-year career—and get comfortable with the vulnerability of not knowing the exact roadmap.

I was motivated to move forward because I had a deep desire to learn from others how to be brave when uncertainty in this new chosen professional life of mine was the name of the game. I figured if I needed this type of support to navigate a bold move with clarity and conviction, others did, too. I wasn’t just doing it for me. I was doing it for us!

💡 BOLD TOOL TIP: Start Before You’re Expert

Waiting for perfect competence is a form of procrastination. Momentum is not a byproduct of expertise; it’s a byproduct of consistent action. Start with your idea and launch your “laboratory.” The fastest way to become an expert is to embrace the messy, necessary work of being a beginner.

Building in Public: The 3-Year Evolution

As I look back and analyze how I am creating something from just an idea, it’s a mix of finding my purpose, sensing it in my gut, and being guided by specific know-how. As the interviews piled up—now 60+ guests ranging from senior executives to gritty entrepreneurs—I began to see something deeper than incredible Bold Move stories. I saw patterns.

I realized that every bold move follows a specific sequence. I call it the Bold Moves Recipe. I’m a natural strategist, and once I saw this recipe, I couldn’t unsee it; the pattern was replicated in every guest interview.

• YOU: The internal work of silencing the “shoulds” and the external noise to finally get honest about what you want and why you want it.

• WHO: The shift from asking “What do I need to know?” to “Who do I need to know?” It’s the realization that the “how” is almost always hidden behind a person—mentors, peers, and door-openers.

• DO: The practice of breaking down a paralyzing leap into manageable milestones and micro-actions. It’s about building identity-based habits that keep you moving forward.

Uncovering this recipe changed my trajectory. It allowed me to move from being a student of Bold Moves to an advocate for them. My workshops and my Bold Moves Mastermind were born because of it. It became the backbone for building and serving this community!

💡 BOLD TOOL TIP: Recognize the Patterns

Don’t just collect information—analyze it. Your greatest value lies in your ability to “see the forest through the trees.” When you transform raw experience into a framework, you move from sharing a story to providing a roadmap.

Building a Community of Bold Movers

After the first season, I was just as interested in building community as I was in interviewing guests. That gut feeling started as a desire from deep within—the “YOU” in the Bold Moves Recipe.

So, I listened. I hosted the first Bold Moves Dinner, where I was joined by 10 Bold Movers in Atlanta for an evening of great food and engaging conversation. The feedback was incredible. That gave me the confidence to take the experience to New York City and Seattle. I also began leading virtual events, such as the “We’re Women Making History with Our Bold Moves” session. Each experience remains grounded in my mission: inspiring, empowering, and championing your Bold Moves.

💡 BOLD TOOL TIP: Trust the Internal Ping

When you feel a deep desire to start or expand, treat that gut feeling as a strategic data point. Confidence doesn’t always come before the move; it is a byproduct of making it. Start small, listen, and let that ping fuel your next move.

Moving from Monologue to Dialogue

As these in-person connections grew, I realized I wanted to shift from a one-way monologue through the podcast to a consistent, two-way conversation. That is why I moved our community home to Substack. Now, you can hit reply to my newsletters and reach me directly, or share what you’ve learned in the comments of every post. We’re even messaging in real-time through the subscriber chat—turning a digital space into a community hub where we navigate our Bold Moves together.

Whether we are sitting across a dinner table, connecting through your inbox, or in your ears, the goal remains the same: architecting the bold moves that make you the main character of your own story.

Alongside Every Bold Move Are the New Identities You Need to Step Into

I couldn’t have reached this milestone without shifting my mindset, and it’s not just me. Every Bold Moves guest I speak to has also done as much mental work as the technical to-dos to get over the hurdle of leaping and then sustaining their moves.

In my 50th episode, I reflected on the mental upshifts I needed to withstand setbacks, move forward through uncertainty, claim my confidence, and own my new path.

Explore those deeper reflections here.

The Ripple Effect: When Your Bold Move Becomes a Bridge

When I see members of our community at a crossroads and move from stuck in the status quo to starting on the bold move that puts them in the driver’s seat of their own story, I realize that my 1,095 days of consistency have created a bridge for others to cross. Your bold moves have the same impact, too!

From Patient to Family Advocate: Jenna’s Story

Jenna’s journey began with a deep internal desire to turn a period of personal trauma into a purposeful path. After her twin boys spent their first six months in the NICU, she felt a pull to return to the workforce in a role that didn’t yet exist: a NICU family coordinator.

• The Aligned Action: Jenna didn’t wait for a job posting to appear; she started volunteering in the NICU and speaking at hospital events to build her identity as a family advocate.

• The Result: Because she spent years planting seeds, when a dream role finally opened up that matched her vision, she was already the recognized advocate ready to step into the interview process. Her story proves that Bold Movers create their own opportunities rather than waiting for them to come along.

From Self-Sacrifice to Self-Fidelity: Kathryne’s Story

Kathryne joined the Bold Moves Mastermind to break a cycle. She realized that unless she identified what she truly wanted—and why—she was destined to repeat the same unfulfilling professional patterns. Making a life choice based on her own preferences, rather than what others expected of her, was the boldest move she could make.

• The Internal Shift: Kathryne used the latter part of 2025 to reacquaint herself with her own journey and worth, declaring 2026 her “Year of Me.”

• The Aligned Action: She applied the Bold Moves Recipe to shift her internal script and actively expanded her network to find a role better aligned with her values and her professional potential.

• The Result: Kathryne recently pivoted into a new role that reflects her vision. By deciding to be the author of her story, she secured a position that honors her expertise and experience while staying grounded in her new identity of self-fidelity.

💡 BOLD TOOL TIP: Measure Your Momentum Through Impact

When you feel lost or you question whether your bold move was worth it, look around and realize the impact you’re having on others because of the bold move you made.

Jenna helps NICU families navigate the most challenging of times with confidence, and gives hope to these families in the darkest of hours. Kathryne role models how putting your needs first can make for a happier and more fulfilling life, inspiring others around her to do the same.

Final Thoughts: 1,095 Days of Turning My Desire into Action

1,095 days later, I am more fulfilled because I’ve aligned my goals with my authentic desires, and nudged myself forward on a purposeful path that I designed, learning, growing, and making an impact with every step.

And when I get stuck, I simply follow the Bold Moves Recipe to clear the resistance and get moving again. I ask, “What do I want?” “Who can help me?” and “What are the aligned micro-actions I can take to make progress one step at a time?”

At this 3-year milestone, I’ll answer the final question I ask all my guests: What do you know about being bold today that you wish you had known earlier?

If you’re ready to make a bold move, but need the clarity, structure, and accountability to get started, message me to join the Bold Moves Mastermind waitlist!

Message Me!

🥳 🎉 Help me celebrate this 3-year milestone and share your thoughts on one or all of these:

• Which part of the Bold Moves Recipe (YOU, WHO, or DO) do you find the most challenging to navigate right now, and how can this community support your next micro-action?

• If you gave yourself a 'Green Light' today to make one intentional choice—not the easy or expected one, but the aligned one, what would that choice be?

• Where in your life are you currently feeling like a square peg—and what would it look like to stop sabotaging your potential?

👉 Leave me a voicemail: https://www.speakpipe.com/BoldMovesHowDidYouKnow

👉 Or join the conversation right here »

Leave a comment

It’s what we say when we’re miles away from our responsibilities, lying on a beach, choosing to take the surf lesson, get scuba certified, or do the bold thing just outside our comfort zone.

For me, it was conquering the Path of the Gods in Italy, climbing Table Mountain in South Africa, dodging London rush-hour traffic on an e-bike, sledding in Zermatt (where I managed to slice open my nose!), and swimming the cenotes in Mexico.

For a moment, we let ourselves live out our full desires.

But then the trip ends. We come back to “reality.” We settle right back into our habitual daily choices—the safe, responsible autopilot that keeps our lives moving forward. Meanwhile, a deeper desire is quietly calling to us from the inside, and more often than not, we just ignore it. We tell ourselves we need to be realistic. We say, “It’s probably just a pipe dream... I need to have all my ducks in a row first… I have too many other people depending on me… It’s too late in the game to pivot now…”

You’re being practical. You’re playing it safe, choosing the comfort of the known over the risk of the unknown. I get it.

But I also know that quietly, in the background, a question keeps pinging you: “Is this all there is?”

Because underneath the responsible autopilot, you are craving real purpose. You want to know that your everyday life actually means something.

If that question has been keeping you up lately, I have something very special for you.

My friend Erin Fortin and I are co-hosting a radically different kind of 1-hour, free virtual workshop called Dream Out Loud, and I would love for you to be in the room.

We’re here to give your dream the space it deserves—without the judgment, the logic, the “buts,” or the “shoulds.”

We are simply putting down the red pen to bypass your inner critic. This is the one place where you get to be your most honest, authentic self, and finally say out loud the thing you’ve always wanted.

You’ll walk away with the profound relief of giving your dream a place to exist unapologetically, clear visibility on the external “shoulds” keeping you stuck, and a private workbook to protect your dream long after our hour is over.

You don’t need the “When in Rome” moment to finally dream out loud.

You just need to join us on Wednesday, March 18 at 12 pm EST.

Grab one of the limited spots now because if not now, when? When will you take the space and dare to dream? The opportunity is right here!

Register Here

See you at the workshop in just a couple of weeks and I can’t wait!

Kristen Rocco

Once I arrived, I struggled to find the words to describe that pull. The feeling, that’s easier to describe. It’s the energy of a city that never sleeps. It’s the vibrance that unfolds in every new block. It’s the wonder of having something new to explore every time you walk out the door. It’s the feeling of being tiny amongst buildings so tall, and untraceable in a crowd of millions, yet well known by your building’s doorman, the bodega guy, and the bartender who pours your favorite happy hour cocktail before you catch the subway home.

But there is something more to New York’s story that makes it magical.

It hit me like a gut punch crossing Avenue A and entering Tompkins Square Park this fall. Walking toward me was a girl talking on the phone while tears ran down her cheeks. Did she just get dumped? Fired? Fight with her best friend? Was it something worse? A tragedy?

Straight ahead, in a corner of the park, was a group of people gathered in a circle uniting around a shared mission. The beats of their drums and the chants of their voices caught my attention. I stopped to wonder what they were musing about.

A few steps later, a group of teenagers skated in front of me. Some hung out on a bench, chattering. It was late afternoon, so they must have been burning off energy from sitting in a classroom all day. Hundreds of other people passed by on their way home, to work, or to their next adventure. Who knows. Some were on their phone. Some were with people—laughing, storytelling, processing. Some were solo, just walking with their heads up.

All that life, crammed into one square block. That’s when the light bulb went off, and I could finally put words to the depth of New York’s story.

In New York, you see people live their lives out loud. Unlike many other places where private moments happen in cars and homes, in New York, everything about life unfolds all around you, all the time.

When you step back and witness it, you see hundreds of stories playing out at once and you realize that you’ve also played the lead in every one of them. You felt overwhelming joy just like that person over there, and debilitating sadness like that person over there. You don’t know the nuance of their stories, but you can relate to their emotion. It connects you. You want to tell the crying girl it will be ok. You want to jump up and down with the guy celebrating across the street. And sometimes, strangers actually do unite.

I remember walking either to the office or home from the office one day visibly upset (although I can’t remember why), and a woman approached me and told me I would be ok and then asked if she could hug me. I let her.

This is the story New York has been telling for centuries. We aren't a collection of isolated, individual lives. We aren't just bumping into each other like pinballs in a machine. We are seeing each other, acknowledging that we’re all in this together.

From the outside, though, that story is hard to read. It has a facade. You could be put off by shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, the smell of hot garbage on the streets and urine in the subway, and the directness of the bodega owner who needs your lunch order and nothing else. New Yorkers are abrasive, rude, and always in a rush, many think. This is the facade New York puts on. Underneath it is the real story. It’s visible to all, and yet only some see it.

I felt the magic of New York before I truly understood the humanity underneath it. For a long time, I just thought the city had good juju—like the universe was conspiring in my favor. It felt like a sign I was on the right path. I always used our Valentine’s Day in 2013 as proof. I would tell the story about Valentine’s Day in 2013 to bring my point to life: On the way to our Valentine’s Day dinner, Greg (my husband) and I stumbled upon a sponsored pop-up event. Bartenders were mixing elaborate cocktails, and light bites were being passed around. There was also a raffle to win dinner for two at Fig and Olive that night. We entered, obviously. And Greg won! We ditched our original plans and changed to the reservation that had been prearranged for the raffle winner. Our spontaneous Valentine’s Day experience was all we could talk about over dinner.

It’s that same electric feeling I got turning onto 48th Avenue from Vernon Boulevard and looking at the Manhattan skyline from Long Island City at dusk when the sun was setting and the city lights were beginning to glow. I felt a wave of gratitude. It was the strange contrast of being so small in a city so big, yet feeling like you matter more than you ever have because you’re part of something bigger than yourself.

But when I stopped and looked at the world around me—not from my perspective, but as a bystander watching everything unfold in Tompkins Square Park—I finally found the real story New York is telling.

It’s the story of humanity living out loud. In New York, people live their own lives, fully and openly, in front of an audience.

That was the answer to the "pull" I had felt all along. I realized I wasn't just craving the energy of New York City; I was craving connection. Standing in Tompkins Square Park, watching strangers live out loud, I finally understood: Our messy chapters aren't flaws to hide. They are the bridges we have to reach each other, and the way we feel the most connected and seen.

I believe so wholeheartedly in the value of community that it became the credo for my podcast: “No one said being bold is easy—so we do it together.”

So when the incredible Amy Nelson invited me to The Gathering, where 100+ women podcast and newsletter creators gathered for two days of connection and skill-building, it was an easy yes.

Then I got there.

Stepping into a room full of women I’ve admired for years was exhilarating. I wouldn’t just get to learn from them, but experience them—their energy, their spirit, their essence. It was also an immediate reminder that impostor syndrome is alive and well.

These women were authors, global keynote speakers, and founders with multi-million dollar exits. They were creators with hundreds of thousands of followers.

I had to keep telling myself:

You are here for a reason. You are also doing incredible work. You also have an important message to share. You are also making bold moves. You are worthy of this experience.

Thank goodness for Kristina Flynn, the first keynote speaker, who normalized what I was feeling. As it turned out, I wasn’t alone.

She asked, “How many of you looked around today and thought, ‘I must be in the wrong room?’”

You know my hand shot up. But I wasn’t the only one. Nearly everyone in attendance felt the exact same way. As Kristina put it, “90% felt like impostors who got lucky.”

Do It Scared

But you know what? We showed up anyway. We had all made a bold move just by putting ourselves in a room with people who intimidated us.

Small Bold Moves Compound

On the way to dinner, I shared a Lyft with five other attendees and I just had to ask about their bold moves. (It’s a great conversation starter; try it!)

What surprised me was that most of the answers weren’t about enormous, life-altering decisions; they were small, micro-actions that pushed them just outside their comfort zone.

You might think a “bold move” has to be a single, massive leap. But what I continue to learn from asking this question is that big, bold moves are almost always the result of many smaller, micro-actions.

Think about it. Kristin in the Lyft said her bold move was simply requesting an invite to this conference. By taking that small step, she put herself in the room. Who knows what opportunities are on the other side? Maybe a new collaboration. Maybe a chance to guest on someone else’s podcast or Substack. Maybe a new client.

That’s a bigger, bold move in the making.

Process that for a minute and then answer: What micro-bold move can you make today that will get you closer to a bigger goal?

Leave a comment

No One Has It Easy

It’s easy to look at people on a pedestal and think it all comes easily, that opportunities just fall into their laps. But I’ve learned that the most successful people don’t wait for opportunities. They create them.

Just take The Gathering’s curator, Amy Nelson, who has amassed a following of over 500,000 people. It’s been amazing to see her bold moves up close as a Riveter member these last few years. Bottom line: She works to create opportunities that keep her business growing.

I wondered if she considered curating The Gathering a bold move? And if so, why?

Setbacks Are Setups

Two speakers stood out for their ability to transform incredibly difficult situations into powerful launching pads for their next chapters.

Minda Harts, interviewed by Emily Tisch Sussman of the “She Pivots” podcast, revealed how microaggressions and toxicity dimmed her light and made her increasingly uncomfortable at the office. “Over time, I realized how it slowly started chipping away at who I was... all the concessions I had made at the expense of my own well-being.”

Her pivotal moment came in 2014. “I cried in the car that day. And I just was like, God, I’ve done everything that I was supposed to do, and there’s still no humanity for me in the workplace.” In the car, she resolved to commit the rest of her career to making sure women who look like her would feel seen, heard, and respected.

From there, she started a side project, a newsletter called the “Monday Memos.” Through the Memos, she was able to validate her own experiences and those of other women of color. Over the next four years, these newsletters gained tremendous popularity and became the foundation for her first book, The Memo, which was her off-ramp from her corporate job and the on-ramp to her greater purpose.

As the closing keynote, Reena Ninan shared how being let go from her high-profile job as CBS Weekend News anchor influenced her next move. Instead of immediately seeking another anchor job, she pivoted to entrepreneurship, starting her own media company, Good Trouble Productions. She transitioned from public-facing talent to a CEO, taking control of the stories she wanted to tell.

The best piece of advice she got was this: “Let go of the oar and see where it leads you.”

Bold moves are about self-trust. You deserve to work on the things that are purposeful to you, even when you can’t clearly see what’s ahead.

A Final Note on Showing Up

If you have the opportunity to attend an event where some of your role models will be – GO! Fight the impostor syndrome and show up. Chances are everyone else will have impostor syndrome, too.

There were so many other women with amazing Bold Move stories at The Gathering, many of whom share their work right here on Substack. Follow them, too!

Amy Shoenthal’s

Hayley Folk’s

Jennifer Basset’s

Katherine Goldstein’s

KJ Dell’Antonia’s

Laura Brounstein’s

Lindsay Pinchuk’s

And…. a few fun pics from The Gathering!

Every time I disrupt my own status quo, I realize the refresh you get from outside the confines of routine is critical to maintaining the routine. My creativity can only flourish so long before it needs another spark.

The more days on end I spend in my normal work routine – up between 7 and 7:30, working by 8:30, winding down for a workout and dinner around 5:30, and picking up the computer again after dinner for an hour or two – without a shake up (I’m talking a shake up that isn’t something you have done thousands of times before), the more drained and uninspired I become.

I need to get refueled.

Creativity is not born through routine, and creativity is where you get fuel to keep cracking away at your goals.

Is it any wonder why artists need muses? I imagine that even creative careers become boring. I bet this is where the muse came from! It’s a way for artists to be inspired to create their next masterpiece.

So this fall, I’m being intentional and seeking out creative refreshes, and I’ve already gotten started. Here’s what some of my own musings have looked like lately:

Creative spark 1: I attended the Atlanta Art Fair and properly appreciated art for maybe the first time. I remember a time when looking at art did nothing for me, but those days are long gone.

Last year, I interviewed Seth Hiler, an artist, who gave me a deeper understanding of how to perceive art. This is what he shared with me: Once it leaves his hands, it’s out of his control. It’s up to the viewer to determine what it means to them.

Was this the permission I needed to interpret art in my way? Not look at it through the lens of the artist, but through my own? Perhaps. Perhaps that’s why I’m more interested in art than I ever have been.

Now, I ponder: What do I see in this artwork? What’s its significance to me?

At the Art Fair, there were paintings, sculptures, mixed media, pencil drawings, and photography. The fashion was also something to admire. One of the artists had even custom-designed his artwork on his suit!

Creative spark 2: Next, I spent time in Kentucky with horses (and some bourbon, too). Here, I experienced awe. Awe of the horse’s strength, stature, performance, and humanity.

I was lucky to ride in the start car that carries the mobile starting gate for standardbred, harness races. I watched the race, not from the sidelines, but looking directly into the eyes of the horses from only a few feet away. I witnessed what it looked like for a horse to turn on its game face in the heat of competition - their eyes solely focused on the track ahead. It was a look I’ll never forget. Focus, determination, a winner-take-all attitude were written all over their faces.

(But when they’re in the stable, it’s the kindest, sweetest face you ever did see)

So you see, these sparks to refuel my creativity didn’t have to do anything with actually creating anything, except for the way my mind was able to loosen and feel more free to wander. I get to take all new juice back into my routine and benefit from a renewed sense of excitement for what I’m doing. I may get new ideas or vantage points to make more progress in my bold moves.

But before I go knocking routine, though, schooled me (figuratively) on how it plays a role in building momentum in a bold move. He shared, “Boredom of routine is a cost of entry for success.”

He goes on to say:

“An observation of the most successful people I’ve been around:

They have a high tolerance for boredom. The most meaningful things in life are built through the consistent execution of the very boring basics. Businesses are built through years of pounding away on a core, central idea. Careers are built through years of showing up and doing what you say you’re going to do. Relationships are built through years of presence. Bodies are built through years of basic daily movement and nutrition.

Find joy in the boring. Show up, do the work, repeat.”

It comes down to discipline, at least this is my interpretation. You need discipline around “the boring basics” to stick with something long enough to see it grow and thrive.

So, it’s both. It’s creativity and routine that build momentum and keep it going.

If you’re like me and spend too much time in routine, plan a creative refresh. It’ll refuel you to make the impact you’re working toward.

My next refresh is coming soon. I’m attending The Gathering, a summit connecting today’s most influential women newsletter creators + podcasters. I’m honored to be invited to this incredible, inaugural event coordinated by The Riveter’s founder, Amy Nelson.

Surely, I will have many things to share. Stay tuned!

*UPDATE: Read about my experience at The Gathering right here👇

What creative refreshes have you enjoyed lately? Do you also need creative refreshes to maintain your daily momentum?

Leave a comment

I’ll see you on the mic in the Bold Moves: How Did You Know podcast every other Tuesday and behind the mic here on Substack for candid community conversations to elevate each other as we navigate our bold moves, together.

The honeymoon period of leaping into a bold move feels similar to the honeymoon period of a new relationship – exciting, energizing, and empowering. The difference? You might not get the butterfly feelings, but what you get instead is the proof to yourself that you believe in your dream or vision enough to start, and that anabolic energy produces a tremendous amount of momentum initially.

But, inside of your bold move, navigating the journey is a volatile mix of emotions, isn't it? It's the glamorous highs of the hard-won milestone and the unglamorous lows of a setback. It's the pride of seeing your vision come to life, followed by a wave of imposter syndrome. It's that constant feeling of, “Wow, this is way harder than I thought.” But also the deep, quiet satisfaction of knowing that you're finally the main character in your life.

The leaper life is about living in the messy reality of the constant, nagging question, “What now?” It’s here where you keep the momentum going or face yet another point of stagnation in the journey.

Between seasons, I’ve been exploring what it takes to keep my momentum going. And for me, when I reflect on dogpaddling in uncharted waters and figuring out how to zig and then zag, I realized that what I do when I face something challenging is decide to rise to the occasion.

I can either hide and play small, or I can put my best foot forward with every new thing I try and reach for new opportunities that match my vision.

At the Bold Moves dinner in Seattle this summer, I asked the group of Bold Movers how they keep the momentum going inside their bold move, and one Bold Mover said, “Find the connection to your bold move and use that as a catalyst when you get stuck.”

This idea hasn’t left me since. It’s the connection to your why–your purpose–that can also unhook you from stuckness inside of a bold move.

So, what has rising to the occasion looked like for me this summer?

First, I launched this Substack channel for our community! The season 4 premiere provides even more context for why I’m so jazzed about this space, so definitely take a listen, but it’s based on three things:

• Here, we get to connect and build a true community of 'elevators' to support each other’s Bold Moves (check out time stamp 47:20 to learn about elevators!). It’s a conversation space exclusively for subscribers—kind of like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll share topics that are on my mind, and you can jump into the discussion like THIS one and even start your own. If you’ve been looking for a place to connect with other like-minded Bold Movers, this is it!

• It’s an all-in-one hub that houses all the resources you need to be inspired and empowered for your Bold Moves journey! And, for the first time, you’ll be able to leave comments on the episodes! You can share what you learned, loved, or found insightful. All episodes will be posted under the “Podcast” section.

• I get to share my personal, behind-the-mic, Bold Moves journey with you in a channel that celebrates the real, raw, and often messy parts of being human and navigating bold moves.

Subscribe now

Second, I’m collaborating with a new partner to create a new content marketing strategic approach. Marketing, and in particular my field of content marketing, is experiencing seismic shifts from the rise of AI as we know it today–and the old content marketing model is collapsing alongside it.

Enter the need for a new approach. This is where my partner and I found common synergies in our understanding of both the problem and the solution. So, we decided to partner up and help clients navigate through it with a solid strategy and a sustainable and scalable model.

Third, I’m helping the CEO of a professional services firm develop the business’s signature services framework. This represents an elevation of my work. I’m applying the knowledge and experience I have in conducting audience research and crafting positioning strategies that solve both rational problems and emotional needs to a new application of developing a signature services framework. Think The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman or The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss, or even the one you know and love, S.M.A.R.T. Goals. Frameworks help a business deliver a unique, consistent, and memorable customer experience through a repeatable, defined methodology or process.

Each one of these opportunities that I’ve embraced to build momentum in my business this summer has required me to rise to the occasion. There were plenty of obstacles in each of them that I had to figure out in order to keep the momentum going – and I did!

I share much more detail about the trials and triumphs of these bold moves in the podcast episode, “What It Really Takes to Level Up.”

As I looked back on the momentum I’ve created this summer, I created a mini framework for rising to the occasion of my own:

1. Choose preparedness over self-doubt

2. Put fear in the passenger’s seat.

3. Embrace a growth mindset over perfection.

Tune into the episode linked above at 16:40 to hear me walk through each part of the framework and how each practice has helped me rise to the occasion this summer.

I would love to know how you have risen to the occasion to keep the momentum going in your bold move. Have you tried these practices yourself? What advice do you have for me – and us – to keep on the path of our bold move?

Leave a comment

I’ll see you on the mic in the Bold Moves: How Did You Know podcast every other Tuesday and behind the mic here on Substack for candid community conversations to elevate each other as we navigate our bold moves, together.