A Second Chance

A few years ago, I started designing this website with the intention of pivoting in my business. (You can read a brief overview of my 27 years in business here). For a very long time, I’ve had this deep longing and desire to help other women start their own home-based businesses, through coaching and teaching. Over almost 3 decades of business, I’ve actually done some coaching/teaching/mentoring a few different times, but didn’t often charge for the help I offered, or charged very little. I had a bit (lot) of imposter syndrome for 10 or 15 years, thinking “I don’t really have that much to offer – and it’s not worth charging for”. I was wrong, but it’s taken quite awhile to realize that, and then another long while to finally decide to do something about it.

Two years ago, right before my 50th birthday, I was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. It’s high blood pressure between the heart and lungs, and for someone like me who was born with a heart defect, it wasn’t good news. I’d had open heart surgery as a child back in the 70’s, when doctors were just beginning to do such things. My generation was the first to live to adult-hood with my particular defects, thanks to technology and modern medicine. I’ve lived with a level of chronic illness my whole life, but pushed through, working hard to keep up with others, and struggling a lot.

Anyway, back to the diagnosis. We spent two or three months living with the idea that I might not get to live a long life, and that in fact, I might be gone in 5-10 years… or less. But, long long story short – while testing to determine how best to treat me, the doctors actually found a hidden heart defect that had been missed for 50 years! Or rather, it had not been fixable back in the 70’s, and then it had been dismissed or forgotten between the changing of cardiologists over the years. Either way, it was a bit of a miracle that they found it, and it was another miracle that they thought they could fix it AND give me a second chance at a long life.

Of course, there are no guarantees, and I had to endure a significant open heart surgery, reconstruction of my heart, and a long recovery. (SO long). But so far, so good and now, two years later, I sit here with energy, stamina, clarity, hope… and that second chance.

Why do I tell this story? Because I am ready to grab hold of my second chance, AND to tell you it’s NOT too late, and you can DO it! It’s not too late to go after your dreams, to dream big, and to work hard to go the direction you want to go. Whether you are a young mom of littles who wants to turn her hobby into a business and second income for her family, or you are an empty nester who’d like to fill her hours with something meaningful, or a grandma who wants to show her grandkids that nana can do this – I’m here to help. If you are someone who wants to build a business doing something you love, but you aren’t sure how to do that… I’m here.