I remember sitting in my annual review, being asked a question that had nothing to do with my performance: “Do you plan on having kids?”
And we all knew, if you said yes, your growth stopped right there.
You wouldn’t be trained up.
You wouldn’t be invested in.
You would be quietly parked
because someone decided your future had an expiration date.
That was the unspoken reality many of us climbed through.
From the 1950s to now, women didn’t just “enter” the workforce, we fought to evolve inside of it. We climbed ladders that weren’t built for us. We proved ourselves in rooms where we weren’t fully valued. We learned to outperform, outlast and outwork.
And we did it.
Today, women are CEOs. Founders. Leaders. Mothers. Visionaries.
We’re running companies, raising families, building brands and managing every moving part in between.
But let’s be honest
Somewhere along the way, success started to feel like a race.
And for many of us, it turned into a treadmill.
I know it did for me.
I was one of those women. Driven. Focused. Working my buns off.
And without realizing it, my identity became directly tied to my productivity.
The more I achieved, the more I thought I was my achievements.
At one point, I even wrote an article titled:
“Men Failed to Get the Memo”
Because from where I stood, it felt like we were carrying it all and then some.
But here’s what I see now, from a different vantage point:
The real shift isn’t just about climbing higher.
It’s about choosing differently.
This is where discernment becomes everything.
Where is your time going?
What are you saying yes to that’s costing you your energy?
What are you building and is it aligned with who you truly are now?
Because there is another way.
A way where success doesn’t require burnout.
Where your worth isn’t measured by output.
Where you can lead, nurture, create, and live without losing yourself in the process.
To the younger women coming up:
I have some beans to spill.
You don’t have to prove your value by exhausting yourself.
You don’t have to earn your place by sacrificing your well-being.
And you don’t have to wait for permission to define success on your own terms.
Climb if you want to. Build if you’re called to. Lead boldly.
Just don’t lose yourself on a treadmill that never intended to stop.
There is another way.
And it’s a powerful one.
Stay within this community.
Learn from the wise women here.
We have been there. Done that.
Get mentored. Live your dream.