New job, new chapter, new business, next project? Celebrate a fresh start - you’re not starting over, you’re starting informed. What glimmers and lessons will you pull forward as the foundation for this year’s success? Here’s what I’ve learned.

Along my journey, I’ve held many roles - corporate executive, entrepreneur, and founder. Like many of you, I spent years looking for fulfillment in traditional jobs. One thing I know: the sooner you step toward what calls you, the more fulfilled you will be.

In this chapter of life, many of us are caring for kids, parents, even grandbabies. We generously give of ourselves to family and others as we nurture and support. What about you? As a woman, a creator, an entrepreneur, or a business owner? We put others first, yet we sit on the sidelines of our desires, ignoring what we feel called to do, share, and create. 

With your years of knowledge and experience, your age is an asset. Now isn’t the time to downgrade or downshift; this is when your skills, accomplishments, and experience converge to reveal your next exciting chapter - the business, the body of work, you are destined to deliver. 

I invite you to put yourself at the top of the list, knowing your ripple effect spreads far and wide.

Adapt & Excel - Moving forward with ease and pace means knowing how our minds excel at any given age. Learning which tasks and roles to let go of and where to focus is key to a more relaxed and fulfilling next chapter.

In Arthur C. Brooks’ book From Strength to Strength, he shares how our skills shift. We fade in some skills and advance in others. Recognize that your years of knowledge and expertise are a strength. How many of you consider your age an asset?

The road to more calm and less anxiety is knowing how your talents naturally shine. Imagine the expectations and work frustrations you can release when you stop trying to do the same things you did at thirty? This shift doesn’t require abandoning the industry or the work you love; it’s about tweaking your role to maximize your knowledge and experience. 

Brooks offers a helpful analogy: our minds operate like we have a librarian up there, rummaging through a vast number of files, looking for a name or data point we want to remember. Sometimes, it takes a minute (or ten) to find it. Sound familiar? The benefit of this “librarian” is that we have extensive, valuable knowledge to retrieve, teach, and share. Understand this shift and decide how best to use it moving forward.