Leadership Reflections: A Year of Opulence, Hard Truths, + a New Beginning
I get even more introspective around mid-November. (This cold weather draws in inside + inward!) So, as I reflect on 2025, I'm struck by how much transformation happened when I asked God for eyes to see clearly.
My word for 2025 is opulence—but not in the way most people think. I wasn't chasing gold or financial excess (well maybe a little); I was pursuing opulence in excellence, precision, + craftsmanship. Opulence in freedom, health, + community. Opulence in becoming who I am + my purpose.
BABY in all that seeking, I found opulence doesn't come without cost. It requires you to get specific about what you want, to be willing to see the truth even when it breaks you, + to accept people exactly as they show up + THEN decide how you get to move forward with said info.
Q1: The Betrayals
The year didn't start gently AT FUCKING ALL!!! Betrayal hit hard—from a longtime best friend, from a father figure I'd known since I was ten. These weren't abstract hurts; they were the kind that make you question everything about love + humanity. I became leery of people + their intentions…this is so not me y’all. I am a wide open ass spirit who stays ready to receive the beauty of other humans – this shift in closure scared me.
I'm grateful for my therapist who was home + safety when I needed it most. She held my hand through the unraveling + reminded me who I was underneath the pain + doubt.
Q2 + Q3: The Acceptance
Once the initial shock wore off, the real work began: acceptance – which equates to truth-telling.
When I accepted people for who they are – who they showed themselves to be, (remember what Queen Maya said, “When someone shows you who they are, listen the first time.”, I could see clearly. I watched patterns. I noticed that cowardice breeds betrayal. People who don't have a backbone in their own lives will inevitably betray others because they're too afraid to show up authentically. They're terrified of exposure, of ruffling feathers, of the mess that comes with real (self) leadership.
But beautiful people, leadership requires ruffled feathers. Authentic leadership requires you to disturb the comfortable order of things. It requires you to tell the truth, even when it's messy. And if you're not willing to do that, you're not leading—you're performing.
Acceptance taught me that I had been settling. I had been allowing people to use + manipulate me because I was contorting myself to fit their expectations. That's not leadership. That's fear dressed up as flexibility! Whew! I’m honesty still unpacking this y’all because SURPRISE, life has layers!!
Q4: The Harvest
Q4 has shown up as a long-awaited journey home. Q4 has been harvest.
At the beginning of the year, I took a much-needed leap of faith I brought on Meghan, our Growth Specialist, + something shifted. For the first time, I had support in moving from vision to execution. We launched a podcast. We built a consistent newsletter. We got intentional about the brand. We built community.
And here's what nobody tells you: when you finally stop twisting yourself into shapes that don't fit, when you lean into your authenticity instead of contorting to meet others' expectations, when you step out on faith – the staircase appears (ok, maybe people have told you that before, but Imma tell you again!😛) The fruit of my labor is undeniable. It's opulence. ✨
2025: The Outcomes
Beyond the business + the healing, something unexpected happened: I fell in love with stand-up comedy + improv in a way I didn't anticipate. There's something about standing on stage with nothing but my truth, voice, + experiences that mirrors the work I've been doing off stage. Every open mic night, every improv set, is another act of showing up authentically. I'm excited to see where this passion takes me in 2026 + beyond.
And then there's the deepest shift of all: I've fallen deeper in love with myself!!! 🥰 I can look at my flaws + my strengths with the same grace + acceptance. I see my worth in the world. I’m seeing my value clearly now - not the value others assign to me, but the actual, intrinsic worth of who I am. It’s taken a lifetime including the betrayals, the acceptance, + the micro-decisions made to believe in my own worth.
2026: The EXPANSION
If 2025 was about getting real with hard truths, 2026 is about is expansion – my 2026 word of the year.
I want to be more open. More curious. More accepting. I want to leave room for God to surprise me. I want to show up + trust that my presence alone - not my strategy, not my over-planning, not my curated image - is more than enough. I WANT TO GROW + THRIVE!
There's a depth to openness that goes beyond acceptance. It's about releasing the need to control every outcome. It's about being in the experience instead of managing it. It's about trusting that when you lead with authenticity + show up with integrity, the rest follows.
The Invitation
What did 2025 represent for you? What do you want 2026 to bring?
Consider choosing a word or phrase for the year. Get specific about it – look up the meaning in the dictionary + peep the synonyms. Lead with your gut + try not to “make sense of it”.
Create a vision board. Put it on your phone's home screen. Journal on it daily: "How was I open today?" or "How did I show up in excellence today?" or whatever your word calls you toward.
I’ve been doing a “word/phrase of the year” for about 5 years now + this practice has transformed how I move through the world. It keeps me tethered to intention when everything else is noise. It reminds me who I'm striving to become.
The year ahead is yours to define. I hope you'll define it boldly.
