So here it is. I launched a website. One check list item down. And then there's the panic. The doubt. Why did i do this? Who am i kidding? The pressure to perform - stockpile blogs, schedule social media, execute programs and processes, worry if the product reflects the brand, worry that i haven’t sat down and defined my brand with “power” words, catch phrases, hashtags. Oh God. What have i done?

Well. I took a step. Maybe presumptuous, maybe premature. Definitely brave. And as a result? Honestly not much has changed. Except this feeling, this pressure of being an entity beyond myself.

As I say to my toddlers what feels like thousands of times a day -- “But, like, why?” And then the teenager inside me resounds “Thanks a lot society.”

And that teenager is someone that i love and respect. I honor her truth, her fighting indigo spirit, the way she doesn’t even know how to not be herself. I also see what she carries. The weight of those formative years. The need to set oneself apart for college entry, scholarship essays. On a quest for definition, declaration, differentiation. What are you good at? What do you have to develop that you can offer to a productive society? What do you want to become? How and why are you worthy?

And now it boils down - branding.. Be your brand, build a brand, share your brand, live your brand. Define it first. The only thing that echos in this ache for explication is authenticity.

I believe in positivity too, but it can be a trap. I believe in mindfulness, but not as another desperate means of control. I believe in transparency but also that it’s ok to keep parts of yourself your own.. I believe in compassion. I believe in connection.

So here’s my brand i guess: Connecting through compassionate authenticity. There’s a tagline for my billboard and business cards.

But what does it mean? It means my services are an expression of compassion. A way to connect with you as myself authentically. It means with this blog i will try to present you (preferably semi-regularly) with the wisdom i feel called to, the wisdom feel is truly mine to offer. I do have a backlog of blog topics in a book full of lists. As this is a professional enterprise i will try to be that - professional. As much as professional means to me. I will be honest sometimes raw, sometimes well thought out with intention. I will be human. Sometimes irreverent. I will share from my heart, my gut, and hope that you are encouraged to do the same - to embrace your own wisdom and share it.

I’ll probably never settle on a label, or define myself in one mission statement. Not because I'm not constantly trying. But because with this cornerstone - authenticity - there is also a fluidity. I give myself permission to be just myself. Craving connection, believing in all refusing to comply completely.