Last month, I wrote about the idea of celebrating ourselves – finding internal validation rather than seeking external, and how it changes the way we show up. It got a lot of response from many of you (thanks for sharing your reflections with me.

It’s that time of year, my year-end traditional piece of content. Like your favorite holiday movie, you (hopefully) don’t get sick of it, and, similar to that movie (again, hopefully), it’s a new experience each time – you get something out of it you didn’t last year. 

Since we’re in the season of reflection (and lots of sugar), I’m writing in to report back on an experiment that started on my birthday in May. 

I have a dozen or so stories in my personal library that I draw from for my keynote speeches. I choose which stories I’ll include based on relevance to the audience (nonprofit, corporate leadership, or a women’s conference).

It’s been a long time since I worked in a corporate environment as an employee. I had some good experiences—interesting projects here and there, fun holiday parties, good connections with colleagues—but here are the more prominent memories:

“Fast and free buses.” That’s what people call out to NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani when they see him on the street.

There are two kinds of people: those who lead the energy and those who reflect the energy in the room. Which are you? Here’s a test if you aren’t sure:

I finished my keynote and relaxed into the audience Q&A that the organizers asked me to do. An audience member in the back raised his hand and asked, “Who is a CEO I particularly admire for their storytelling skills?” 

My phone rang at 10:36 am PT last Wednesday. It was my husband, Patrick, from inside the house. I answered, wondering if he had fallen and couldn’t get up.