Everyone has a system for you. Wake up at 5am. Never set an alarm. Niche down. Never niche. I used to collect advice the way some people collect hotel soaps — compulsively, with no real plan for what to do with it. Here's what I learned raising money for a living: preparation isn't the same as progress.

I ran into a friend in the Trader Joe's parking lot the day before she started at a new job and she told me she felt like a fraud. Here's the thing: imposter syndrome and permission-seeking get treated like the same problem. They're not. One asks if you belong. The other asks if you're allowed. Knowing which one has you changes everything about how you move.

We love choosing an outcome. We are less enthusiastic about the experience required to get to the outcome. And discomfort is usually what's underneath people saying they don't feel ready.

Meet Brooke Kaplan, Endurance Athlete & Type 1 Diabetes Advocate Brooke Kaplan was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 19, during her sophomore year at the University of Maryland, where she studied Spanish. She went on to earn her Master's degree in HR Management from the University of Maryland University College, and spent 14 years living and working in the DC metro area before relocating to South Florida, where she now lives with her husband and two dogs and spends summers at

Charla B. Stevens, JD, is an employment law consultant and workplace culture expert who spent nearly four decades practicing law before founding her own consulting practice, offering workplace training, independent investigations, strategic HR consulting, and mediation and conflict resolution. Charla graduated from Boston College Law School in 1984 and practiced law in New Hampshire and Massachusetts until her retirement from full-time legal work in 2021. She spent the last 2

Robert Frost wrote one of the most famous poems about choice because his friend couldn't pick a path on their walks. Turns out, confrontation and avoidance look a lot different than we think and one of them is usually disguised as being responsible.

I need to tell you something. I don't actually coach women to achieve their goals. I know. Weird thing to hear from someone whose coaching framework is built around a 90-day plan to achieve your goals. Goals are usually why women hire me. And our first conversation almost always sounds like one of two things: "I know what I want, but I don't know how to get there...or I can't seem to stick with it." Or... "I don't even know what I want anymore. I just know this can't be it/I

Jeremy Swick, known online as @TheAverageHistorian, is a podcast host, historian, and content creator whose story spans continents, adoption, rugby, and a passion for making history genuinely engaging.

Life has a way of making us believe we should always be somewhere else. Maybe a little further along, more accomplished, more certain. Whatever season of life you're in, don't rush through it. Don't convince yourself you should already be somewhere else. And if the season you're in genuinely sucks, I feel that, and I'm sorry. I hope you take a moment, this moment, to be proud, because in the muck and haze, you are still showing up for yourself. Before you move on to the next

Richard Taliaferro and I recorded the final regularly scheduled episode of Scrambled Eggs with Richard & Meghan this week. And while endings make me a little sentimental, this one feels less like a goodbye and more like standing at the edge of a trail; looking back at where you've been before heading somewhere new. When Richard and I started the podcast, we weren't coming in as experts with all the answers. There are too many "gurus" in the coaching industry, and we had no in

Burnout isn't about working too hard, it's a mismatch between you and your job. Here's the research, and why redesign beats recovery.

I've been watching the World Cup and the games have been great, but the thing I'm loving most isn't happening on the field. It's all the reactions to the US from visiting fans. It's like a giant sleepover with cousins we don't get to see enough because our parents aren't that close anymore. There have been so many videos about the beauty of the landscape, the food (RANCH DRESSING!), how big everything is, and how friendly Americans are, just joining in the vibe, even if some

I was watching Sex and the City recently when someone mentioned they'd clipped Carrie's article and stuck it on the refrigerator. I used to do that - clipped a magazine piece, taped a photo into a journal, tucked a recipe into a drawer with every intention of making it someday. We all did. Now it's screenshots. Pinterest boards. Saved Instagram posts. The way we collect things has changed. The reason we collect them hasn't. We're curating a life for a future version of oursel

We don't have enough information, experience, time, or money. We're stuck. Surprise! You're not. You're standing at the edge of growth, and the discomfort you feel is expansion. It's a sign to keep going. You're choosing between what you have and what you want; between who you are now and who you need to become. Because every goal and dream requires capacity. What Capacity Actually Means Capacity requires us to tolerate uncertainty, have honest conversations with ours

"I'm Not Ready" Is a Suprisingly Insidious Phrase. It sounds vulnerable and thoughtful, even responsible. You've probably said it about a promotion, a relationship, writing the book that lives in your head, getting in shape, starting the business, doing the things you keep saving, pinning, vision boarding, and journaling about. You need to think about it some more. Ooh, and more research — yes, definitely more research. And you need to think through everything that could go w

Almost 16 years ago I became "Mom" for the first time. Actually, I became "Mommy" which has since been shortened to "Mom" and more recently, inexplicably to "Unc." In becoming a mother, I learned a completely different set of things nobody actually prepared me for. That my capacity for love is seemingly limitless. That berries, specifically raspberries during toddlerhood, will bring you to your knees financially, emotionally, and spiritually. That unhealed wounds from your ow

Let's talk about roadblocks, real and perceived. But first, let's talk about Jonah and the Whale. As one does. When I was a kid, I was OBSESSED with this story, mostly because of how weird and scary it was. The super short version is God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them to stop sinning. Jonah got scared and decided, nah I'm going to Tarshish. Because I guess God wouldn't find him? LOL I don't know… So he's on the boat to Tarshish when a huge storm comes! He's freaked

A note for my former gifted and talented students and every woman comparing her process to someone else's highlight reel. Sometimes I write via longhand because it helps me process thoughts better and because I was born in the 1900s. This is one of those times. I’m at the beach, and everyone is having a different experience. Some people are in the water, playing, floating, or swimming. Some people are walking hand in hand, side by side, alone with headphones in. Some people a

Close and Staley are testaments to how great coaches design environments of growth, leveraging the intersection of talent, standards, trust, and belief.

Watching the Artemis II launch sparked a powerful reminder about perspective, connection, and what it means to be human. A personal reflection on excellence, purpose, and belonging.