There’s one thing commonly at the core of our hesitations. It’s why we don’t take that step forward, try that new yoga class, launch a new product or service or look for a new job.

That one thing? Fear.

Fear is a natural response to the world around us. After all, our brains use fear to keep us safe. Think about it: when you’re about to get on a roller coaster or give a presentation to a new audience, you start to feel the physical symptoms of fear, like fast heartbeat, sweaty palms and butterflies in your stomach.

That’s normal. But, we run into trouble when we’re held back by our perceived fears. The fears that we worry about and agonize over that aren’t really things we need to be afraid of.

Things like public speaking, interviewing for a new job, asking someone on a date. Those are perceived fears. We fear the end result – something that hasn’t even happened!

The bad news is that those fears can cripple us, cause anxiety, depression and keep us in our comfort zones.

The good news: fear is only as powerful as we make it.

There's actually something to those magazine collages you made in summer camp as a kid.

Are you a Goal Getter? If you're anything like me, you love setting and achieving goals.

I'm super competitive with myself, so I'm always thinking about what I can do next; how can I improve? How can I reach even further?

But for some of us, goal-setting doesn't come as naturally.

Luckily, there's a simple tool you can use to set and achieve goal with ease. And I bet you already have all the supplies around your house.

“You’re not good enough.”

“No one will pay you for this.”

“Who are you to give people advice on being confident?”

These are just a few of the thoughts that run through my head on a daily basis.

As soon as I became a full-time entrepreneur, I started to question every move, every decision, every program or service I designed.

As a healthcare executive, I rarely questioned myself. I believed in my ability to be successful in my job, and I often heard great feedback on my programs and training from colleagues and supervisors.

But even though I still hear great feedback from my clients and friends, I don’t believe them.

Ever have one of those days where you don’t know where to start?

You look at your to-do list, and there’s so many different and competing priorities that you start to feel anxious about how you’ll get it all done.

And in the throes of anxiety, you give up. You relinquish your stress to your couch and start binge-watching Netflix instead of hustling for your goals.

Trust me. I know this story all too well.

Oh boy, this is a big one.

We’ve all had moments in our lives when fear stopped us from doing something. Whether that was setting up an online dating profile, buying a new car or starting a new job. Think about a time in your life when fear stopped you in your tracks. What thoughts ran through your head? What emotions did you experience?

I’ve pushed through a lot of fearful thoughts in my life: I was afraid to go to college 10 hours away from my family, I was afraid to leave my six-figure job for an uncertain future, and I was afraid to start coaching. My dad passed away in 2011, and the one thing he taught me that I continue to teach others is to always do the thing that scares you.

Because here’s the thing about fear: it’s only as powerful as you make it.

Ever have that feeling that you just don’t fit in?

Maybe it’s at work or with a new group of friends. You try really hard to impress them, you give up part of who you are to be like who they are, but at the end of the day, something doesn’t feel right.

That’s how I felt in my last day job. I knew the organization’s values were different from my own, but I didn’t want that to be an issue because I cared deeply about the work I was doing.

But it was always an issue because I wasn’t being true to myself. My confidence plummeted, I felt like I could never live up to who my boss wanted me to be, and I lost a sense of who I was.

That sense? That’s self-awareness. That feeling that what you’re doing isn’t matching up with who you are on the inside. That inner wisdom that you stand for something bigger, or you’re meant for something more.

Self-awareness is the most important quality any woman can have. When we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values.

Knowing and understanding ourselves are powerful guides toward living our best life. Improving our self-awareness builds confidence to help direct us on our life’s path.

You made it! You’re traveling the world and living your dream life. Remember back in 2016 when you first dreamed of this moment? Remember sitting in your blue paisley chair visualizing how it would feel to make an impact on millions of lives?

You inspire women across the world to believe in themselves and have the confidence to pursue their goals. You teach women in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand the skills they need to start their own business. Many underserved communities benefit from your work.

As you know, this didn’t happen overnight. The road to success was not an easy one; there were potholes, pitfalls, ditches, sudden turns.

I’ve been reading since I was 3 years old. That’s not an exaggeration.

My mom and dad used to read to me every night. Sometimes my dad would make up something in the story, and I would say, “that’s not how it goes, Daddy!”

Books have always been a huge part of my life.

I have books piled in my nightstand, on bookshelves, on coffee tables. I can never have too many books.

There’s nothing quite like the feel and smell of a new book, bursting with possibility, just waiting to be opened.

I always share what I learn in books with my family and friends, and I love giving books as gifts, especially when I know a book can make a difference in someone’s life.

My life is better because of the wisdom of countless books, and in honor of World Book Day, I want to share some of those books with you.

I’ll be the first to admit it – I don’t always believe in myself.

My inner critic tells me I’m too young to be an expert. That I don’t know enough about business or marketing. That no one will want my services. That I’m not pretty unless I’m wearing makeup.

Sound familiar?

That nasty voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough to do the thing you want to do is stealing your confidence.

You likely have an idea of how more confidence would impact your life – or you wouldn’t be here.

In case you need a reminder, confidence improves your chances in the dating game and in relationships. It increases our perceived physical attractiveness by others and improves our performance at work. It even improves our mental and physical health.

But we can’t live healthy, confident lives when our inner critic is screaming that we’re not enough.

So much of what we say about ourselves is negative. Affirmations give us the opportunity to choose words that help create or eliminate something in our lives, such as creating success or confidence or healthy relationships, and eliminating low self-esteem, destructive behaviors and even pain.

Affirmations help us retrain our thinking and speaking into positive patterns so we can truly transform our lives. We can get more of what we want and less of what we don’t.

But be careful because everything we say is an affirmation. Every thought, every sentence is just confirming what we want in life.

So, if you say “I’m so happy and grateful now that I lost 20 pounds,” one minute, then say “this won’t work” the next minute, which one do you think will win out? The second one!

Negative thought patterns are so deeply ingrained in all of us, and it’s really hard to break them. Practicing positive affirmations is one way to break that cycle.

A few weeks ago, my mom was in a car accident which left her car totaled, her back fractured and fractured fingers on both hands. My sisters and I were very upset about the situation, because we all realized that if she had a different car, things could have been much worse.

We were all so angry when we heard about the accident. There was a terrible snowstorm that day, and another driver was driving too fast and lost control of his truck. He left the scene without a scratch on him, and my mom was rushed to the hospital in a neck brace.

We were angry at the other driver because he almost took away our only living parent. We were angry that she was the one who was hurt and would be out of work for 4 weeks. We were angry that he was driving so fast during a snowstorm, that he was even on the road at all.

But all that anger left us feeling helpless, depressed, frustrated. We were powerless to change the circumstances. Meanwhile, the man driving the truck doesn’t even know we exist.

We’ve all had those days where we feel like we’re floating through time: struggling to start a project, lacking the motivation to get out of bed, facing a blank screen without a clue what to write.

That’s where I am this week. Sometimes, when I feel stuck like this, I don’t even know what day it is!

It can be difficult to pull ourselves out of the cycle of overwhelm, confusion and disinterest.

The good news is that there are simple things we can do to give our brains a break and let inspiration flow naturally.

My top strength is Competition. I love pushing myself to try new things, build new habits and improve my life.

30-day challenges speak to my soul! They’re a great way to try something new for a month. At the end of the challenge, if you like it, you can keep going on your own! If you don’t, you can move on to something else. The Sagittarius in me LOVES that there’s an end date.

Read on for my list of 15 favorite 30-day challenges.

You like your job, but it doesn’t excite you anymore. You’re entering the job market but aren’t sure what you really want to do. You feel like something is somehow missing from your life.

Sound familiar?

We’re all souls having a human experience, trying to figure out why we’re on this Earth.

I’ve been there.

And from my countless existential crises, audiobooks and cups of coffee, I’ve found my life purpose. Or at least, my purpose for now.

How did I do it?

In 2016, I started a new job, in a new town, with a new car, and I was on top of the world.

All my goals seemed to have fallen into place. I had the opportunity to build relationships with a new group of leaders, I had more autonomy over my work and full access to the senior leadership team. Not to mention a hefty bump in salary.

But about a year in to this position, I stopped feeling the high that brought me to that role in the first place. I enjoyed the work I was doing; it was challenging and rewarding. I liked many of the people I worked with (okay – some of the people). So what was missing?

Challenging work and a good team weren’t enough for me anymore. The missing piece was passion. I didn’t feel anything for the work the way I did in my previous position.

Then I remembered something my mentor told me, “things come into your life for a reason or a season.” Was my season up? Was I meant to do something more with my life? But what?

I started doing some research on purpose and passion. I listened to audiobooks on my commute and read articles on my lunch break. The resources all pointed to similar things: asking ourselves deep, thought-provoking questions.

These questions are designed to make us pause and think deeply about the answers. We don’t often give ourselves the luxury of time and solitude to figure things out. But when we do, we have the power to transform our lives.

Imagine a world where we wake up every morning and say, “Wow, I just can’t get enough of my life!”

Imagine being so in love with what we do and who we are that we feel genuinely happy every day and share our happiness with those around us.

Imagine always knowing the right decisions to make so that all of our dreams fall willingly into place.

On a recent trip to Miami, I sat at Oeno Wine Bar in the United Terminal of Newark Airport reflecting on the chain of events that led me to that very spot. I was traveling to Miami for the first in-person weekend of my professional coach training through University of Miami. I picked up a copy of The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates at Hudson News on the first leg of my flight, and as I sat reading and sipping my Chardonnay, I came across a passage that struck me: “The choices we make about the lives we live determine the kinds of legacies we leave.”