Four years ago, I almost talked myself out of this

Four years ago, I sent a newsletter to 6 people… including my mom.

Today, it reaches thousands of people each week looking to get out of their own head, find a little more ease in the daily grind, and build a life that actually feels good.

That very first edition took me ~ 743 hours to finish💃

I remember thinking:

Why would anyone care what I have to say?

Is this actually useful?

What if I get it all wrong?

I felt like I needed to be 'The Expert'.

Like I needed full clarity.

A perfectly polished plan.

Confidence before I began.

Spoiler alert... I didn’t have it all figured out then. Still don't now.

And I'm so glad I did it anyway.

Because over the past four years, this space has become something I didn’t expect.

A place to think things through in real time.

To make sense of experiences - big and small.

From a random raccoon in my hallway,

to a lesson learned from a broken toe,

to a yoga class in Mexico that I still think about to this day.

And somewhere in all of that, one thing became really clear:

I didn’t need confidence to start.

I needed to start… so confidence could build✨

✨ I N S P I R E

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

- Confucius

 ✨ T H R I V E

If you’ve been stuck in your head lately, try this:

1- Lower the bar

↳ Make the first step so small it feels almost too easy to skip

2- Set a 10-minute timer

↳ You don’t need more time, you need a starting point

3- Decide once

↳ “I’m doing this today”, before your brain starts negotiating

4- Let it be slightly messy

↳ Done and real beats perfect and delayed

5- Don’t wait for confidence

↳ It shows up after you begin, not before

Remember, confidence isn’t what gets you started.

It’s what shows up after you begin✨

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By the way, I’ve loved hearing from so many of you over the years❤️ 

Your stories, your reflections, what’s resonating.

And if you’ve been reading quietly, please know I’m so glad you’re here.

It is a genuine gift to show up in your inbox every week.

And if you’ve never said hello, please do. I read every single note.

Have a beautiful rest of the week friends!

Carolyn

✨ R E S O U R C E S

Stop Thinking Everyone Else Has It Figured Out: Why that assumption quietly holds you back more than anything else 

The Communication Skill Most People Never Learn: A subtle shift that changes how others experience you 

What’s Quietly Holding You Back (And How to Fix It): The patterns that limit you - and how to start changing them

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