Many of you don’t know about me. You think I’m “pollyanna,” and the only reason I can say the hopeful and positive things I say so fervently is because I’ve never had it hard. You decide:

I dropped out of 9th grade and hung out with gang-members and convicts.I was a welfare mom living in a garage at 19. I climbed out of that life, with Spirit’s help, and did some incredible things: opened a business, went to an accredited law school (still never finished high school), built my dream home, fell in love and married, and graduated in the top 3% of my law school class.

Then, the carriage in my Cinderella story turned back into a pumpkin. My husband had a brain aneurysm. It ruptured and washed away his memories, personality, and ability to live normally. I was effectively a single mom again. This time with two kids, a huge mortgage, and a shattered heart. It took years to remake my life. With Spirit’s help, I built a new business, raised my children, provided for my now ex-husband, discovered my passion for empowering women who’d “been through stuff” and overcame the deep fears and inadequacies that had held me back since childhood.

I became a coach with a full waiting list, a published author. I did a radio show and hundreds of interviews and appearances. I opened an online school to help women become confident and make a living with their passions, gifts, and strengths.

Then, this year, my mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent aggressive treatment that held her on the precipice of death for months. It ravaged me, and left behind a stronger, clearer, more confident and bold me. With Spirit, as always, I’m making it through.

The reason I teach what I do with such fervor isn’t because I’ve never had any real challenge or tragedy. It’s because I have had real challenges and tragedies. I’m determined to use all of them to create something good for someone.

I believe in myself, and I believe in you. I know, firsthand, how powerful we are. I see the potential in you and life, regardless of whether you recognize it.