What if your next chapter begins with letting go of everything you thought you had to hold onto?
At the end of 2021, I was bowled over by grief.
I had just completed a relationship that wasn’t ultimately right but had shown me what was possible. The decision to end it was agonizing and heartbreaking. I was unable to get out of bed for days.
Then, a childhood friend died unexpectedly. I was gutted.
What followed felt like a slow-motion collapse, as over the next 30 days, six beloved souls left this earthly plane.
Death was all around me, and it felt like parts of me were dying, too.
Meanwhile, my business was struggling. I kept showing up but something was off. Every time I thought I’d finally found solid ground, the rug was pulled out from under me again.
I knew something major had to shift.
Little did I know at the time, I was about to become living proof of my own “HEAL, CREATE, GROW” framework—soon to become the very heart of my bestselling book, Double Down on Your Genius: Own Your Gifts, Align Your Actions, and Flourish in Your Calling.
HEAL: Releasing, Realigning, Reclaiming Joy
Though I’d been living in Southeast Asia for years, I found myself in Portland, OR, when the pandemic hit, enjoying the idyllic summers but escaping to Mexico for the winter months.
That December, I flew to Austin to spend the holidays with my family, but despite being surrounded by loved ones, I felt so lost and alone as I navigated the weight of my grief and sorrow.
I’m usually incredibly resilient, positive, and confident, but it felt as though a veil had been parted, putting me face to face with deep, painful wounds. It took everything I had, but I eventually made it down to my home-away-from-home, Playa del Carmen—intent on finding my joy again and nurturing myself back to life.
I journaled through my emotional fog, soaked up the sun, and leaned on dear friends to remind me of who I’ve always been. Thankfully, two of my besties came to visit and made all the difference. I didn’t realize how deeply I needed the reflection of their love to feel like myself again!
As I considered returning to Portland for another summer, a powerful metaphor emerged clearly:
I need to change the locks and the keys. 🔐🗝️
At this point, I’d been coaching for 10 years (and consulting for 10 years before that). I’d built it all from the ground up, consistently putting so much love and care into every detail… and, a decade later, I had a beautiful “home” to show for it: a well-established practice as a masterful coach and facilitator, with an entire vault of trainings and smooth-running systems.
However, something wasn’t matching up energetically. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what was off, but I felt a spring cleaning was in order. I needed to (lovingly) kick everyone out of the house and carefully redefine the parameters of access, ensuring my energy and focus remained devoted to the work that truly lights me up and serves my clients best.
And clean house I did, on so many levels:
- I closed my group coaching program (after eight years running!), letting my clients know I didn’t have a timeline for when it would return.
- I decided my chapter in Portland, and the U.S., was complete.
I flew back home and did what can only be described as a full Swedish Death Cleaning: tying up loose ends, discarding everything unnecessary, and putting the remaining essentials into storage. I sold the car I’d barely driven and all the brand-new furniture I’d bought just a year earlier, all in preparation for an indefinite journey abroad.
This radical act of clearing away what no longer served me—physically, emotionally, and energetically—created powerful momentum.
By June, I set off to Europe with renewed energy, following my curiosity and staying open to wherever life was guiding me next!
That summer, I traveled to Amsterdam, Lisbon, Barcelona, and Paris. I also delivered a talk at a conference in London called Alignment for Growth & Expansion, where I shared my Alignment Trifecta framework for Embodied Leadership.
At the time, I had no idea I’d be diving back into writing my book that September, but even without a clear plan, my intentional hiatus was working. I was already feeling more alive and aligned.
From Part One of my book, OWN YOUR GIFTS [HEAL]:
“Healing and Integration require INTENTION and amplify Vision, which is essential for Creating.”
Listening to my truth and giving myself that long overdue recovery time became the foundation for the next phase—bringing my book to life.
CREATE: Committed to the Vision, Even Through the Storm
In September 2022, I arrived back in Chiang Mai, Thailand (my beloved spirit home!), reuniting with my stuff that had been sitting in storage for three years through Covid. Coincidentally, Chiang Mai is also where I started writing my book the first time, five years prior, back in 2017!
One rainy morning, while chatting with my best friend Mati, she suggested it might be time to revisit and finally finish the book. I’d shown her the draft of what I’d written so far during her visit to Playa, and she was blown away by how much I’d already written, encouraging me to see it through to the end.
The idea of returning to that “messy pile” of a manuscript felt overwhelming, but our conversation sparked a memory of a bestselling author I’d met, who once told me he spoke his books aloud. I reached out to him that same day and ended up hiring him on the spot to help me get it done.
Because I’d been living the content, teaching it, and refining all of my frameworks with my clients, the book was ready to pour out of me. So, I scrapped what I had and began anew, speaking it into existence through a series of recorded calls with my new book-writing coach. In just six weeks, this commitment resulted in a complete first draft…
Five years in the making, and I had finally done it! 🎉️
However, it was far from done, as now it was time to dive into editing.
Fortuitously, I scored a five-month housesit, overseeing a lovely 2-bedroom villa in Krabi, Thailand. Over the next few months, my days were a mix of focused editing sessions, podcast interviews, and refreshing breaks in the sun, skinny dipping in my private pool.
During this time, I also had the freedom to take a few short trips: I officiated a good friend’s wedding in Phuket, spent a weekend on Koh Phangan, explored Koh Lanta, took a visa run to Singapore, and reunited with my other beloved spirit home, Ubud, Bali.
From Part Two, ALIGN YOUR ACTIONS [CREATE]:
“Creating and implementing require COMMITMENT to acting on behalf of your desires. This amplifies Structure, which supports and sustains Growth.“
By March 2023, I partnered with an exceptional editor who provided invaluable structural and line edits. As a result, large portions of the book were completely overhauled, with some sections being entirely rewritten from scratch.
By this time, the 5-month house sit was complete, and I traveled back to visit friends and family in North America. I spent time in Playa del Carmen, then headed up to Austin, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz. From there, I made my way down to Puerto Vallarta and San Miguel de Allende, then back up to Portland, over to Steamboat, and finally to NYC, where I spoke at Camp Indie.
Once again, I embarked on another summer in Europe, visiting Amsterdam and London and enjoying pet- and housesitting in Rome, Lisbon, and Chania, Crete. I then had a quick weekend trip to Istanbul on my way to a month-long dog-sit in Dubai before finally returning to the peaceful islands of Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, where I celebrated making my very final edit. Woohoo!
If my itinerary seems bananas, that’s because it definitely was.
From start to finish, it took me 16 months of writing, editing, formatting, and designing to publish this book. During that time, I lived in 27 different cities (took 40 trips total), across 13 countries and three continents. 🥵
Yes, I was living the dream—enjoying stunning scenery and exploring new cities and countries I’d never been to. But the truth is, while working feverishly with my editor to complete my book, I was also navigating incredibly challenging perimenopause symptoms: hot flashes, anxiety, depression, and a deep longing for meaningful human connection after traveling solo for so many months.
Though it may have looked like a glamorous adventure from the highlight reels, the reality was that I was standing in the fire for much of it. By the end, I was running on fumes. But honestly, I relished and thrived being solely focused on stewarding this project. It was a fierce commitment, and that gave me life. Not only for the creative process but also for myself, my vision, and my truth.
I had to embody the very invitation I offer in my book: to remain clear on my desired outcome, aligning my actions daily with the work that wanted to come through me. To actively iterate in the spirit of “progress over perfection” and be willing to “get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
It was this commitment that cultivated flow states that led to prolific creation.
GROW: Anchoring Next-Level Expansion with Integrity
Growth isn’t always graceful.
Sometimes you’re not in crisis—you’re just expanding so fast that it’s hard to keep up.
That’s the part no one talks about: Integration is vital for expansion.
You don’t just need support when things fall apart, you need it when everything’s coming together, too!
The truth is, we’re often navigating several layers—both beautiful and brutal—and our ability to move fluidly between the big waves is what increases our capacity to hold more.
From Part Three of the book, FLOURISH IN YOUR CALLING [GROW]:
“Growth and Expansion require INTEGRITY and amplify Flow.”
This section is arguably the linchpin of the entire framework, as Integrity is the key that supports continued cycles of Healing and Creation, allowing you to expand into further Growth.
Understanding how this holistic model works helped me recognize that the physical, mental, and emotional challenges I faced weren’t barriers. Instead, they were invitations to grow, strengthen, and anchor into my truth. To step into an even deeper and more unwavering embodiment of my genius.
After working my ass off through Christmas and New Year’s to complete the formatting and design, I landed back in Chiang Mai (where it all began!) in January 2024 to joyfully celebrate the culmination of this intense, life-altering adventure.
I held a book launch party for Double Down on Your Genius, and it was magical to share that moment with dear friends, clients, and my incredible community of creative, spiritual entrepreneurs.
In the next few weeks, book sales went live, and it rapidly achieved bestseller status across multiple categories—my 7-years-in-the-making dream had finally come to life!
Reflecting on a Two-Year Journey
I see clearly now: I didn’t just write about the HEAL, CREATE, GROW framework. I fully embodied it.
I moved from the darkness of grief and burnout to embracing joy and freedom, and from painfully questioning my purpose to realigning with my creativity and finally publishing my book.
Today, I feel more aligned, more energized, and more in love with my work than ever before. And my mission is clearer than ever:
To support visionary entrepreneurs and creators in listening to their truth, aligning their actions with their true desires, and courageously expressing their gifts in service of the work they’re meant to do.
Because I know what it’s like to have built something beautiful and still feel the ache of something deeper calling you forward. Over my 20+ years of serial entrepreneurship, countless pivots, and many dark nights of the soul, I’ve navigated this path more times than I can count, and it’s what’s given me the embodied experience to guide others through the same.
Maybe you’re standing at a crossroads right now?
Maybe what once fit no longer does, or something new is emerging?
You’ve done the work, you’ve stayed the course, and you’ve healed so much already. And yet, here you are, quietly wondering… What now?
This is the on-the-precipice, life-shifting level of inquiry I’m here for.
Double Down on Your Genius isn’t just a book. It’s a way of being and a powerful map for those who feel called to create something meaningful but want to do it in a way that’s rooted in your truth, honors your energy, and cultivates sustainable growth.
In my private coaching and group mastermind programs, I provide both strategic business guidance and emotional support—which I’ve found to be paramount in navigating the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.
If you’re ready to bring your next-level vision to life with clarity and confidence, let’s talk. Until then, here’s to your continued evolution and prolific creation on the transformational path of becoming!
“Arms up, enjoy the ride.”
🎢 🙌 🏄