Her Voice. Her Journey. Her Purpose.
Discovering the Power Within: How Your Past Shapes Your Purpose, Not Your Destiny
Her Voice. Her Journey. Her Purpose!
There comes a point in a woman's life when she has to stop allowing where she has been to determine where she believes she can go.
I know because I have had to make that decision for myself.
My journey has taken me through more than three decades in the insurance industry, motherhood, becoming a single mother, writing and publishing books, serving my community, encouraging women, and stepping into opportunities I never imagined would have my name attached to them. There have been accomplishments that I am proud of, but there have also been difficult seasons that required me to keep going when I could not see what was ahead.
Through it all, I have learned something that I now carry into every room I enter: a woman's voice becomes even more powerful when she understands that her journey has purpose.
Your Journey Does Not Disqualify You
Too many women look at the chapters they wish they could rewrite and believe those chapters somehow make them less qualified for what comes next.
I once could have looked at being a single mother only through the lens of struggle. Instead, that journey became part of my determination to thrive, not simply survive.
I had children watching me.
That changed the way I looked at giving up.
I wanted them to understand that life may not always happen according to the plans we make for ourselves, but a change in the path does not mean the destination has been canceled.
Sometimes, we spend so much time questioning why the road changed that we miss what the new road is teaching us.
My journey taught me perseverance. It taught me responsibility. It taught me compassion. Most importantly, it gave me a deeper understanding of women who are trying to hold everything together while quietly wondering whether there is still more for them.
There is.
Your Voice Belongs in the Room
After spending decades in a professional environment, I have learned the importance of knowledge, experience, relationships, and remaining teachable. I have also learned something I wish more young women understood earlier:
You do not have to shrink yourself to fit into a room you have already earned the right to enter.
Ask questions. Learn from people who know more than you. Be willing to say, “I do not know, but I am willing to learn.”
At the same time, do not confuse being teachable with believing that you have nothing valuable to contribute.
Your title does not determine the value of your voice.
Your age does not determine the value of your voice.
Being the newest person at the table does not determine the value of your voice.
There may be times when you have to speak while your voice is still shaking. Speak anyway.
Growth does not always happen when we feel ready. Sometimes, growth begins when we decide that fear will no longer make our decisions for us.
Success Is More Than What People Can See
Our culture often measures success by titles, income, awards, degrees, recognition, and accomplishments.
Those things can certainly represent hard work, and I am grateful for the accomplishments that have come into my own life. But my definition of success has grown.
Success is also being able to look back at a season that almost broke your confidence and realize you kept going.
Success is raising children while building a career.
Success is learning something new after decades of doing what is familiar.
Success is encouraging someone else when you could have kept the wisdom you gained to yourself.
Success is walking into another season of your life and still having enough faith to believe there is more purpose ahead of you.
Sometimes, the greatest evidence of success is not what you have accumulated. It is who you have become.
Turn What You Have Lived Through Into Purpose
Writing became one of the ways I learned to give language to my experiences. What began as a personal outlet eventually became an opportunity to encourage others.
That taught me another important lesson:
What helps heal you may one day help someone else.
You do not have to become an author or speaker to make your experiences meaningful.
Maybe your story will help you mentor a younger woman at work.
Maybe what you learned raising your children will help another mother.
Maybe the mistake you once felt ashamed of will become the wisdom that keeps someone else from giving up.
Maybe your voice is needed in your workplace, community, family, church, or simply across the table from one woman who needs to know she is not alone.
Purpose does not always begin on a stage.
Sometimes, it begins with a conversation.
Have the Audacity to Become Her
This belief is also part of the heart behind HERdacity LLC. For me, HERdacity represents women having the courage to recognize their worth, use their voices, and move forward with faith.
Beautiful. Brave. Bold. Blessed.
Those words are not about perfection.
They represent a woman who understands that she can acknowledge where she has been without living there forever.
You can be grateful for the woman who survived yesterday while still making room for the woman you are becoming tomorrow.
You can change.
You can grow.
You can begin again.
You can walk into spaces that once intimidated you.
You can discover gifts within yourself that were buried beneath responsibilities, disappointment, fear, or simply years of taking care of everyone else.
There is no expiration date on purpose.
Your Voice May Be the Encouragement Someone Else Needs
One of the greatest lessons my journey has taught me is that influence is not always about how many people know your name.
Influence is also about what happens because you were willing to use your voice.
Did someone keep going because you encouraged her?
Did a young woman believe she belonged because you made room for her?
Did your children learn perseverance because they watched you refuse to give up?
Did someone begin believing in herself because you were transparent enough to tell her that you once struggled too?
That is influence.
We do not have to wait until our stories are perfect before we share the wisdom we have gained from them. In fact, some of the most meaningful encouragement comes from women who can say, “I have been through something too, and I am still standing.”
I am still growing. I am still learning. I am still becoming.
My journey is not built on perfection. It is built on God's faithfulness.
So, to the woman who is questioning whether her voice matters, I want you to know this:
Your story matters. Your voice matters. Your journey matters.
Do not allow your past to silence the woman you are becoming.
Use your voice.
Honor your journey.
Walk in your purpose.
Because your past does not define your future. Your faith does.
