**The Power of YES!**

Two days ago, I was asked to speak at today's event.

So, for the last two days, I've been ruthlessly preparing, refining, and carefully articulating my message. Speaking is a refining process.

Today was another one of those days where an opportunity showed up, and I said yes.

I had a Zoom meeting at 12 and the speaking event was from 12 to 3.

I considered canceling the Zoom call, but I didn't.

I'm so glad I didn't.

First, the woman I met over a month ago turned out to be a phenomenal connection, and our conversation confirmed exactly why I wanted to learn more about her.

Second, that Zoom call is where another woman first noticed me.

I've been speaking every week since December.

And every single time, my heart beats so hard it feels like the audience can hear it. My body temperature feels like it rises 100 degrees the moment I hold a microphone. I can't eat the entire day before I speak.

None of that has changed.

I keep going because I want the women watching, and whoever is meant to witness my journey, to see what it looks like to do it scared anyway.

Today felt different.

I walked up with my notes in my hand.

I never looked at them.

Once I had the microphone, I knew exactly what to say.

Luck is preparation meeting opportunity.

When opportunities present themselves, we perform at the lowest level of our preparation.

Preparation gave me confidence.

Authenticity carried the message.

At one point, I told the audience I was simply demonstrating what it looks like to do it scared anyway.

Afterward, a woman came up to me.

She told me she'd seen me earlier in the hallway while I was on my Zoom call. Before I ever spoke, she'd already formed an impression of me. She thought I looked classy and powerful.

Then she heard me speak.

She said what I shared about being scared didn't align with what she had experienced. The image she had of me and the words I spoke didn't match, and she felt compelled to tell me.

She had no idea what was happening inside my body.

She didn't know I was trembling the entire time.

She didn't know I hadn't eaten all day.

She simply shared what she saw.

And I needed to hear it.

It reminded me that we are often the worst interpreters of our own presence. The way we experience ourselves isn't always the way the world experiences us.

I couldn't help but smile because my mission is helping women find congruence between who they believe they are on the inside and what they project on the outside.

Today, someone gave that gift back to me.

So, if you needed this today...

Keep preparing.

Keep saying yes.

Keep showing up.

Your authenticity reaches people long before your confidence catches up.

And maybe those nerves aren't fear after all.

Maybe they're purpose.

Thieves don't rob empty houses.