As I finalized my networking program for 2020, the challenge of planning during a pandemic deepened my meditation practice. I also knew I needed to be as healthy as I could be, with a lot less alcohol in my diet… and a lot fewer Love Bites from 1906.
It’s 2025 now, and I’m coming back to edit my stories and fill you in on where I’ve been. Those Love Bites? I fell a bit too in love with them, so when they stopped selling them in Colorado, I was slightly relieved. It was all I could do to make it to the weekend for one of my little pink pills, a THC/CBD blend that made my body feel really, really good. Wade was the saddest when I couldn’t get them anymore.
So, back to 2020. My last event before the pandemic was a panel discussion with Aspen’s top architects sharing stories about their most magical projects. My plane was finally lifting off, aside from the fact that my volunteers messed up the drink tickets and gave everyone two free drinks instead of one, and a good friend accidentally put all of my sponsor banners in somebody else’s electric-blue VW that clicked open when he unlocked his car. It was most likely already unlocked. Those banners disappeared for an entire week before one of Wade’s apparently absent-minded architect friends decided to do something about the strange boxes in his trunk.
In these past five years, and perhaps turning 60 has something to do with it, I’ve done my best to dissolve my blocks and just go for it in business. Doors are flying open, and what I’ve learned is that I need to surround myself with smart people to help me navigate the wind. As someone said to me the other day, being an entrepreneur is like learning how to fly a plane while you’re flying it.
One of my biggest blocks is fear, but now I feel I have no time to be afraid. And who am I afraid of anyway? As a predominantly nonjudgmental person, how could anyone hate me for trying? So now I’m speaking everywhere I’m invited, and I’m getting invited. I can’t say no because of fear, so I say yes and am scared to death.
Fear and the Solutions That Worked
Fear: Even though I produced nine inspirational, meaningful, sold-out events, I was still afraid I couldn’t bring in sponsors and that my guests wouldn’t return.
Solution: I just kept going, not worrying about how many people showed up. I stayed focused on the good I was doing by giving people a platform to share their stories.
Fear: When I finally drummed up the nerve to make sponsorship calls, I was afraid the people I called would doubt my value.
Solution: I had my pitch ready and fully believed in my worth.
Fear: I HATE the hustle and would love for all of this to happen organically.
Solution: I stopped thinking of it as a hustle and instead believed that sponsors were lucky to be part of helping others.
To wrap this up, I know a lot of this comes down to patience, which I, as a Taurus, do not have. I need to trust that the Universe has my back, and that if I keep giving, I will receive before I burn out, as long as I stay focused and move with integrity and clarity. Five years later, I realize this was the only way for me to move forward.
