The Season That Almost Ended It All (It Actually Rebuilt Me)

A few months ago… I hit a wall in my business that I’ve never hit before.

I was the closest to quitting than I’ve been in 12 years. 

I went down so hard it rattled everything.

I watched the news, the world, politics – and disillusionment set in. 

And amidst the outer changes – I had been innovating so much – it felt relentless… to keep up with the changing online landscape. 

As many of you know – I built and programmed my own AI platform. I pulled multiple late-nighters (which I rarely do). I restructured my team. I ended my relationship. And in that same moment, I ended up with the worst case of poison oak of my entire life.

If you’ve ever had poison oak internally – you know what I’m talking about.

The fire inside me got out of balance – too hot. 

My body was inflamed.
My heart was cracked open.
My brain felt fried.

And underneath all of it was a quiet whisper:

What if I just stop?
I was terrified I was falling out of love with my business.
I was questioning my decisions in a way I hadn’t in years. 

There are moments when – it all feels so hard.

(I’m sure you can relate.)

Moments when… I regret growing a team this big.
Moments I feel the weight of being accountable to thousands of women.
Moments I miss being a school teacher and having June, July, and August off.

I had to stop pretending I was fine.

I went to the hot springs. I got quiet. I let myself unravel. I unpacked the box.

And what I found wasn’t failure.

It wasn’t even fatigue.

It was a misalignment. 

It was emotions I had been “too busy” to process.
It was grief.

Those thoughts about quitting?
They weren’t truth.
They were my body nudging me to step away.
To turn toward myself.

And tear by tear, hug by hug – as I let myself unwind… for several days, I realized…

The real regret would be walking away from something I’ve built for 12 years… something that has changed lives… something that I love… because I was scared.

I began to find a reset deep inside me, with a quiet invitation to build my business in a way that felt EVEN more aligned. 

If you can relate to any part of this – here’s a few things that unfolded…

1. Radical ownership of my real story
   Not the curated one. Not the leader version. The raw one.
   “I’m resentful.”
   “I don’t know if I want this level.”

Our nervous systems cannot metabolize what we refuse to name.
Truth is medicine.

2. Reclaim the Identity Beyond the Season
   Recalibration is needed.
   Contraction is natural.

Expansion always comes again when we listen.

And you?
You are the woman who builds.
You are the woman who stretches.
You are the woman who does hard things and becomes more powerful because of them.

Separate who you are from what you’re experiencing.

3. Get in Proximity to Strength
   I told my most trusted colleagues what was actually happening.
   No performing. No “I’ve got this.”

We become the average of the five people we spend the most time with.
If you are stretching into a new level, you cannot surround yourself with people who are comfortable at the old one.

We all need a few people who understand our expansion, our stretch — who remind us who we are when you temporarily forget.

Every time we recommit — after doubt, after fatigue, after heartbreak — we don’t just “keep going.”

We get stronger.
We get clearer.
We shed what isn’t aligned.
The year of the snake is over sister.

The year of the firehorse is here.
We have to let ourselves burn in the fire – so we can become the women who are meant to carry this message.

So sis – if you’ve been quietly fantasizing about quitting something that once lit you up…

Pause.

Unpack the box.
Tell the truth.
Get in proximity to strength.
Then recommit from power — not pressure.

Because the moment you truly commit, something shifts.

As Goethe said:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness… The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred… Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”

I’m honored to walk with you. The world needs us.
We were born for these moments.

Always loving you, 

Sage