The thing I love most about my coaching business is the connections I've made with incredible women around the world.

Whether I've coached them, mentored them, learned from them, or grew spiritually because of them, I wouldn't be where I am today without them.

They've all contributed to helping me live my purpose, and I couldn't be more grateful for them.

A few of these women have had some incredible success recently, and I'm taking this opportunity to brag about them :)

Because when one woman wins, we all win.

I’m not here to empower you.

Because I know that you already have everything you need to be successful.

You have charm and wit and strength and power beyond what you think you’re capable of. You have the knowledge and resources to learn more, do more, and achieve more. You have skills and life experience that no other woman has, and that gives you your own unique perspective on the world.

You are empowered because you have those qualities; no one can take them away from you. Nor can someone give you permission, authority, or power to show up as your beautiful, authentic self.

No one can give you power, because you are already powerful beyond measure.

I’ve always lived by the quote, “Do one thing every day that scares you.” It’s shaped my life in so many ways – from being the first person in my family to go to college, to negotiating my first salary and being called “entitled,” to leaving my lucrative corporate job to run my coaching business full time.

Doing scary things helped me become more confident, advocate for myself, expand my comfort zone, learn new things, and help other women navigate similar circumstances.

Those scary things weren’t always easy, and they often came with mistakes, uncertainty, change, fear, overwhelm and self-doubt. But they always came with a lesson that helped me grow as a leader.

I had known since I was little that I would be going to college to get a degree, although the degree of choice changed a little over the years, from marine biology to architecture to engineering. I was fortunate to have parents that told me I could be and do anything that I wanted, and supportive mentors and teachers throughout high school. When I got to college, things changed a little…

This time last year, I could barely get off the couch. I was in a job that destroyed my confidence, I was drinking too much, and I had a long commute that left me exhausted.

I didn’t recognize the person I’d become.

I used to be the woman who organized group events, hosted dinner parties and volunteered for everything. I held leadership roles and tried new things and thought of every day as an adventure.

This time last year, I wished my days away, just trying to get to the weekend or the holiday or the vacation.

I wasn’t enjoying my life, and I wasn’t taking care of myself.

Through months of therapy and personal development, I built a stronger self-awareness: a deeper sense of who I am and what matters to me.

I also left that job and chose to grow my own business. With my own rules. Where I could use my strengths and live my values every day.

And I’ve never been happier.

The TV show "Mad Men" shows, in part, the journey of Joan Holloway from stereotypical secretary who dreams of nothing more than being the pampered housewife of a wealthy doctor into a bad-ass single mother and entrepreneur. Through the course of the show, she manages to climb the ranks until she becomes a partner in her firm and even brings in her own clients. At the end of it, her company is taken over by a larger company which refuses to take her seriously and essentially pushes her out simply for being a woman in a high power position.

“Courage is what a woman has left when she’s lost everything else.”

On Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Women for Women International celebrated the courage of women everywhere at their 10th annual Match Her Courage Luncheon in New York City.

Internationally-acclaimed author and spiritual teacher, Marianne Williamson, joined the event as an ambassador for Women for Women International. When asked what this event means to her, she said, “If we want peace, we can have it. It’s not a mystery; it’s a lack of political will. There is no force more important than the awakening of American women to what’s happening in the world.”

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate the wonderful women in our lives who love and care for us unconditionally. Women who bring us hope, joy and meaning. Women who comfort us when we’re sad and know just the thing to make us laugh. Women who walked before us to give us a better life.

This Mother’s Day, consider giving another woman a better life. As we celebrate and honor the women who made an impact on us, we can partner with Women for Women International to make an impact on the world.

Photo credit: Monilekan/Women for Women International