Are you tired?

Do you remember being a kid and slipping your tiny feet into your parents’ or grandparents’ oversized boots? Maybe you even climbed halfway into them, wobbling around the house as if you were suddenly older, stronger, or wiser. Back then, it felt fun to imitate the people we admired. We copied their steps, their gestures, even their confidence.

Fast forward to adulthood. You land a job once held by someone who seemed like a superstar, and suddenly you hear the phrase: “You have big shoes to fill.” But do we ever actually fill someone else’s shoes? Or do we simply try, fail, adjust, and quietly carve out a new path that feels more like our own?

I thought about this deeply as I stared at an oversized chair on my drive home the other day. A literal giant’s chair—impossible for any one person to fill. And it made me pause. How many of us are still trying to squeeze ourselves into a role, an expectation, or a legacy created by someone impossible to duplicate?

The truth is, some “shoes” just aren’t meant to be filled by a single person. Just like that giant chair, you’d need help, support, and teamwork even to get close. Life is a group effort. We grow because of the people who guide us, correct us, support us, and sometimes even challenge us.

So if you’ve been trying to live up to someone else’s greatness, remember this: you’re not here to be a copy. You’re here to contribute something new. Their journey was theirs. Yours is yours. Don’t be afraid to step off the path you’re trying to imitate and begin walking in your own direction—one that reflects your strengths, your story, and your style.

Because the world doesn’t need another version of them.

It needs the first, real, and brave version of you.

Have you heard the famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”? Or what about the popular Michael Jackson song, Man in the Mirror? …”I’m starting with the man in the mirror… I’m asking him to change his ways”. The best way to see change in the world is to start with you! It is easy for us to complain about how things are going, or how businesses are run or about other people. It is much more difficult for us to make changes, especially when it comes to changing our attitude or our perspective. It is okay to have an opinion about things, but complaining will get you no where. I encourage you today, if you are feeling like complaining, stop and think… Is this productive? Will this change a single thing if I complain? The chances are it will not. Let’s be more productive and start making changes within ourselves first!

It’s important that you hone in on the skill of trusting yourself and your gut instincts. That small voice in the back of your head that tells you not to do something. Listen to your intuition and trust that it would not misguide or mislead you. It takes practice and repetition, and seeing the proof in what happens when you don’t listen to your gut. I invite you today to begin practicing the art of trusting yourself. You’ll be glad you did.

Do you ever have imposter syndrome? If you have, you know exactly what I’m talking about. That voice telling you that you can’t do something, or you’re not good enough or smart enough, or that what you’re speaking about you have no knowledge of. Don’t listen to that voice…

• You are good enough!
• You are smart enough!
• You are capable enough!
• You are knowledgeable enough!
• You are enough!

Walk into a room like you are meant to be there because you are. Speak up in instances where you have something to say because you do. Don’t listen to all of the background noise.

Have you recently gone through a difficult divorce? Are you still grieving that lost friend or family member? Did you just get a tough medical diagnosis? Have you recently had to move away from the only home you have known for years? There are so many times in our lives where we must be brave for ourselves or even for other people. Do you put on a brave face when you are dying inside? It is very easy to do. Sometimes we do it because we don’t want anyone to know our real stories. At the end of the day, we may only be hurting ourselves by keeping it all inside. If you want encouragement from 8 very brave women who have lived to tell their stories, check out this book in the Lightbeamer Series. https://amzn.to/3UJ8UV4

Voila! Ta da! Those are just a few exclamatory words to say, “There it is” or “Look what I have made”. Something you are showing to others that you are pleased with. You don’t think of that word as it relates to what you are creating because that would seem braggadocious right? You can spend years with an idea bubbling up inside of you and never letting it out, or you can take steps towards creating that life that you have always dreamed of. Whether it be starting a new career or business, or writing a book or creating something crafty. You owe it to yourself to release those ideas bubbling up inside of you. Don’t waste your God given talent because you are worried what others will think of it. Release it into the world so that everyone can appreciate it! This is your moment to say “Voila”!!