When I was 13, I was determined to be a lawyer, and starting then, I focused on that goal without really considering the implications. At 17, I left the comfort of my home in Honolulu. I started my college career in southern California and in New York City where I began a quiet struggle to establish a healthy relationship with my body and myself that would last for years and negatively affect many aspects of my life. At 22, I began what I thought would begin the pinnacle of my journey, law school, and finally start the career I thought I was meant to have.

At 24, I met the man who I would eventually marry and with whom I would have two beautiful children. At 27, I got married, and almost two years later, we moved to London, where I took a deep breath and left the security and prestige of my job as a corporate lawyer in order to begin an adventure at an American start-up company in London.

Throughout this process, even though I did well professionally and had a fulsome personal life, my self-esteem and confidence ebbed and flowed, ebbing, I would say, more than it flowed. In retrospect, I recognize that there were many opportunities I denied myself because I lacked faith in my abilities and maintained a number of self-limiting beliefs.

Then, I had an epiphany that changed everything.

By 30, I had practiced law in New York for a number of years and functioned as a corporate executive in the United Kingdom. It was in London that I discovered that I did not have to trudge to work just to collect a paycheck. I realized that didn't have to be bored at work or with any part of my existence.

I realized that I could love each and every aspect of my life.

I was 30 when I experienced this revelation. I finally realized what I was good at and what I was meant to do both professionally and personally. It was momentous for me to understand that I could truly have passion in all aspects of my life. more