I grew up having to make due with what I had. I learned how to fix things out of necessity. Cooking was an experiment made out of whatever we had available. Basically the theme of my formative years was, don’t ask, just do what needs to be done. I learned at a young age to do things on my own. Connecting with others wasn’t really an option.

Fast forward forty years or so, now as I look back on my life I see that those lessons stuck. They stuck hard. It wasn’t until recently that I really figured out how this thought process has impacted my life. The lone-wolf mentality doesn’t really allow for deep, meaningful relationships. It was hard for me to reach out for help. Most of the time it doesn’t even occur to me that asking for help is an option.

Recently I participated in a leadership and emotional intelligence workshop. It was more than that. Way more than that. But when explaining it to others, workshop makes more sense to them than saying I participated in a life altering experience.

Ascension Leadership Academy is the name of the program that I was a part of. It was held in San Diego, California. It was about learning who I am, what is holding me back, transforming the obstacles I have created for myself into benefits. It helped me dig deep to find my purpose. It is a whole story unto itself as it changed my perspective on life as a whole.

This wonderful experience showed me how valuable it is to have like minded people in my life. It has helped me achieve some goals I have for myself while also helping others attain theirs. The amazing individuals I took this journey with live across the country. Although I keep in touch with them, we support each others endeavors, we all have busy lives and it is harder to cross the timezones on a regular basis. The day to day trials of life seem to impact these relationships more than I would like. The biggest thing is meeting in person requires an airplane and my current financial situation doesn’t make that easy.

That brings me to why I asked some of my most wonderful friends here in Minnesota if they would be interested in creating a group that would be all about supporting each other in growing. Whatever that means for each individual as we each have different paths, different goals, different growing opportunities. They can be simple, small, scary, exciting, huge, motivational, inspirational or educational. They can be about anything. The main part is that we support each other in moving forward with the personal goals we each have. We keep each other on track. We hold each other accountable.

Our first meeting was November 27, 2018. We named our group Spark of Courage because self improvement of any kind takes courage from that spark in your soul. We currently meet on a monthly basis to discuss how we did on our goals that we set the previous month. I can see that each one of us has taken this journey seriously. Obviously life gets in the way sometimes but that doesn’t stop any of us from supporting each other.

It took me years to figure this out. YEARS! I now know it is important to have this type of relationship. These ladies understand me. They help me when I struggle, they are my biggest cheerleaders when I succeed. Joining with them has created a sisterhood, a place where like-minded people gather together in a sacred supportive relationship.

I can drop the title of being a lone-wolf now as I have a place to call home. I have a group of people I can call family. With this tribe of like-minded ladies, I can guarantee that I have created bonds and friendships like never before. These ladies are my people. They fire me up! 

As an entrepreneur, when I surround myself with other individuals who are also growing personally, all I want to do is to level up my own success. Being in this type of community inspires me to grow and evolve into the person I wish to be. Collaborating with these ladies is helping me create an even bigger impact on the world. Aligning my missions and values with theirs is definitely increasing my chances of my success by working together.

Now I know it is possible to create my own tribe of people and we can inspire each other to enhance our mark on the world even more. Thank you beautiful souls for taking on this adventure of ‘Spark of Courage’ with me. I am excited to see what we all accomplish.