In 2013, I hit a wall. I was working hard but feeling more like a cog in the wheel than a woman following her calling.

I’d raised two beautiful sons, helped hundreds of leaders step into their brilliance, and yet… nothing was gelling. 

I relished the clients I had the privilege of working with. It was clear my branding was working… but it wasn’t enough. 

I needed a next level of authenticity to carry me into the next stage of my business. Something that represented ME as beautifully as I represented others. 

I needed to connect with my empress essence. 

You see, like you, I was born with limitless passion. You couldn’t box me up, shut me down, or fit me neatly into a square box with neat edges. 

I was born to sparkle and shine. 

Funny how those who are born to stand out can take the longest time getting comfortable with it, isn’t it? Maybe you can relate. 

I grew up in Corvallis, a 50k-person corner of the world, and from the beginning I felt different. 

Too different, I thought, to be acceptable. 

(Little did I know that only DIFFERENCE stands out. The rest just fades into the gray background of a noisy world. I was a star and I didn’t even see it.) 

For many of my younger years, I tried to mold myself to an outwardly-prescribed version of me. Look pretty, be cool, and wear my cloak of “invisibility” when needed. 

I found myself in a pivotal moment, ready to be shot at… as if I was looking down the barrel of a gun. However, it was actually a Canon camera lens at a Hollywood studio for my first paid photoshoot for some marketing photos. I felt totally naked, sprawled out, and totally exposed to be on the other side of the camera trying to mimic poses I had seen models over my lifetime in various stances, and more recently the personal brand portraits I see on the entrepreneur leaders of our industry.

I was getting this shoot because a high-investment coach I had been thinking of getting photos with had a photoshoot as part of the coaching package.

Instead, I sought out a photographer and had some headshots done. This was a pivotal moment of my journey switching from a professional brand to a personal brand and being more visible as myself, as the face of my business.