✨ Two Years of Building Courage Capital Together ✨

Episode 1, Mar 31, 2023

March 31, 2025

This morning, I woke before sunrise and tiptoed out to the beach. The ocean was restless, waves rolling in with a persistent rhythm that matched my racing thoughts. Two years. Two full years of conversations about courage, impact, and the messy, beautiful journey of growth and change.

I sat in the sand, watching the sky transform from inky darkness to watercolor pastels, and felt the full weight of gratitude wash over me. When I recorded that first episode in my makeshift closet studio (surrounded by winter coats and my daughters' forgotten craft supplies), I never imagined the community that would grow from these conversations.

Two years ago, I was terrified. Truly. I had all those stomach-twisting questions we ask ourselves on the brink of something new: What if no one listens? What if I run out of things to say? What if this is just another project I start and abandon? What if I'm not the right person to lead these conversations?

But something deeper kept pulling me forward – this belief that we need more honest conversations about how change actually happens. Not the sanitized success stories, but the real, unvarnished truth about what it takes to build something meaningful while honoring our whole, messy human lives.

I've come to think of courage as a garden rather than a mountain to climb. Some seasons bring spectacular blooms, while others require patient tending of seemingly barren soil. The past two years of the podcast have been like that – moments of breathtaking growth alongside quiet periods of nurturing the roots.

In 104 episodes, I've spoken with women building movements, breaking barriers, reinventing industries, healing communities, and finding their voices – often while navigating their own transformations. The venture capitalist funding women founders while battling cancer. The nonprofit leader who walked away from her organization to save her marriage. The corporate executive who scaled back to care for aging parents.

Their stories have become our collective courage capital – a resource we can draw from when facing our own crossroads.

What I've learned from these two years:

1. Courage rarely feels like bravery in the moment. It usually feels like taking the next small step while your knees shake.

2. Impact isn't measured in followers or funding but in moments of connection where someone feels seen and possibilities open.

3. The most powerful question isn't "How can I succeed?" but "What can we create together?"

4. The best ideas emerge from play and experimentation, not from pressure and proving.

I'm curious: What conversation from the podcast has stayed with you? Which guest's courage has inspired your own? What brave step are you contemplating that feels both exhilarating and terrifying?

Next week, we're kicking off Year Three with a conversation that honestly brought me to tears. I spoke with Angela Wilson, who after leaving a “high-demand” religion, the loss of her mother, and the loss of her classroom and community realized what she missed most of all was a sense of purpose and connection, so she created one that asked her to step all the way out of her comfort zone by sharing her art with others to lift them up. I haven’t edited this episode yet, but I cried so much, that I’m a little nervous it’s just gonna sound like a sobby mess. I promise to warn you if that happens. ;)

Thank you for being part of this journey. For listening, sharing, showing up, and taking your own brave steps alongside this community. Your stories and questions fuel this work in ways I couldn't have imagined two years ago.

Here's to the next chapter we'll write together,

Aransas

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