A Birthday Wish For You

This week is extra special because I just celebrated my birthday, and while birthdays are usually about receiving, I want to focus on giving. What matters most to me is that you, my listeners, are supported and encouraged. So listen up as I share my birthday wish for you.

Recently, I turned 46. Instead of receiving birthday wishes, I'd like to flip the table a little bit. I'd like to share a few wishes with you. Think of this episode as my gift to you… words to carry into this season that I hope will give you an amazing year.

Here are my five wishes for you. They come from me reflecting on the past year, and each comes from lessons I've learned the hard way: moments when I've had to choose boldness, when I desperately needed rest, when joy reminded me why I do what I do, when freedom became the real marker of success for me, and when faith carried me through uncertainty.

(If you prefer to listen to my podcast episode, listen here. If you prefer to watch me on YouTube, go here. Both platforms share the same topic.)

1. Boldness

My first wish for you is boldness. My theme this year was to be bold, and I was feeling like I haven't been my full self for probably the first time since before COVID. After my Dad’s passing, losing my FB account, changing how I run my business and all the layers of stress that came with it, I realized I wasn’t showing up as my full, bold self.

I felt like I didn't have the emotional capacity or stamina to be bold, and that's really hard for me because one of my values is challenging myself.

My wish for you is boldness… to ask for what you want, to take up space, to step into opportunities without hesitation (as long as they align with your big vision). Playing small keeps you safe, but boldness opens doors for growth, visibility, impact, and reaching that big vision and mission in life.

Without boldness, you risk staying hidden in places you've outgrown.

2. Rest

I wish you the kind of rest that truly restores you, deeply, emotionally, physically. As high-achieving women, we carry everyone's needs: our clients' needs, our team's needs, our family's needs, our friends' needs, our neighbors' needs, the world's needs. We often put ourselves last.

But rest is a strategy, not a weakness. Without rest, burnout is inevitable.

I realized by tracking my sleep with my Fitbit that I was only getting an average of five to six hours of sleep, which is not good enough. Women typically need eight to nine hours of sleep (men need less, according to research). When I was able to stay at my childhood home with my mom, I started getting seven and a half to eight and a half hours of sleep, and I started feeling so much better.

My wish for you is that you get rest at a deep level, not just with sleep, but in all capacities.

3. Joy

I wish you joy that bubbles up in your daily life, not just in the milestones. Not just in those big successful moments when you've published the book, gotten the promotion, or bought the house, but in every single small moment in life.

Too often, we reserve our celebrations for big wins, overlooking small achievements that we dismiss as insignificant. But joy along the way fuels resilience and helps you keep going. Without joy, business starts to feel like a grind, your career starts to feel like a grind, and your vision starts to feel like a grind.

We're starved for acknowledgment and recognition, so I hope you can recognize your daily life joys, plus the joys in who you are, who you're being, and what you're doing in the world.

4. Freedom

I wish you freedom…

• The freedom of time to decide what happens and what comes into your calendar. 
  
• The freedom of choice to choose who to be with, what you do, and to make your own decisions. 
  
• The freedom to be who you are, completely.
  

I've recently realized that I have a high-achieving, follow-the-rules, get-things-done, responsible side that's quite different from the fun, quirky, playful, cracking-jokes, slightly edgy side. I want her to be able to show up more, just like I want you to have the freedom to be who you are in all aspects.

We can become entangled in our obligations and forget that freedom is why many of us started our businesses in the first place, or why we dreamed of having the career we have. I want freedom for you… freedom of time, choice, and to be who you are.

5. Faith

Whatever faith means to you, I wish you faith. 

• Faith in yourself (belief in self)
  
• Faith in the process you're going through
  
• Faith in your mission and that big vision you have
  
• Faith in God's plan for you
  

Life will always bring uncertainty and struggle, but faith is what steadies you. When logic says “stop” and fear whispers “you can’t,” faith gives you the strength to keep moving. My wish for you is an extra dose of faith, because without it, fear and doubt take over, but with it, you’ll always find the courage to move forward.

My Personal Examples

These wishes come from real moments in my past year:

Boldness: Like going Zorbing in New Zealand (getting inside big rubber balls with water and being pushed down a hill). I didn't want to do it, but I chose to be bold.

Rest: Saying no to things, staying home when I had commitments (and I am a commitment keeper), but really honouring myself and rest.

Joy: Hearing successes from clients. I just had a client message me saying she'd only sent half her emails and already had three people interested in her offer. I take joy in that, and I enjoy simple things like sitting on my patio and watching the leaves blow in the wind.

Freedom: The ability to spend three weeks at my mom's, house the freedom to pull weeds from her patio to help her out. That's the real marker of success: choosing who to be with, who to spend time with, who you’re going to be, and what you’re going to do.

Faith: Saying yes to a mission trip in Kenya despite uncertainty. There were protests, and some people were killed before we went. It was scary and uncertain. But faith carried me through that and so many other things in my life.

Your Turn

As I blow out my candles this year, these wishes are not just for me. They're for you. I hope you have the boldness, joy, freedom, rest, and faith to not only make your business stronger, but also to make your life feel fuller and more fulfilling.

If any of these resonate with you, I'd love to hear about it. Email me at [email protected] or DM on your favourite social platform. Tell me which of these five wishes you needed to receive most right now.

If you'd like to give me a gift, the greatest gift would be to share this blog with another amazing woman who deserves these birthday wishes as well.

Until next time, stay dynamic!