This blog has always been a labor of love. Believe it or not, writing is not my favorite thing to do. I have all these thoughts that I want to get out, but it’s surprisingly difficult to make the words fit what I really want to say. Still, I’ve persevered because this blog is such an important part of what I’m doing with Remarkable Women.

I made my very first entry in this blog in March 2015. In Allow Possibility to Feed Your Soul, I wrote about how I made changes in my life that led to personal fulfillment and satisfaction – and also sparked the idea for Remarkable Women. Even after that, I didn’t post regularly in the blog. In fact, I didn’t even post once a month.

Fast forward to now, and I’m writing and posting a new blog every week. That change alone shows just how far I’ve come since I began this initiative – since I made the decision to open myself up to new people, possibilities, and experiences.

I’m here to tell you that you, too, can effect this type of change in your life. It’s all about your mindset.

Every day, I am prepared to make meaningful connections. Not only am I open to them, I seek them out.

I seek them out when I’m speaking at business events. I seek them out when I’m recording my podcast. And I seek them out when I’m writing this blog and responding to readers like you.

I believe the highest way to learn is to take each moment of your life and realize that what matters is to live it fully. This means you’re growing. I hope that Remarkable Women is helping you to find your own inspiration just as it has helped me find mine.

Sharing stories is the most personal way of connecting. And it’s one way I’m helping to build and nurture a community of remarkable women. I am making these connections – and helping other women to make them – when I’m speaking at women’s business events or meeting colleagues for projects and networking.

I am also making connections when I work on my Remarkable Women podcast. This podcast is my major vehicle for sharing stories about the people I meet.

I interview anywhere from one to several women each month. These women come from all walks of life and places around the world. They are small business owners, nonprofit founders, life coaches, mothers, teachers, and so much more.

Most recently, I interviewed Cheryl Piper-Snyder, a business and executive coach as well as a holistic and HeartMath coach. Her real passion is helping others live whole and full lives. I found it fascinating to learn about the “brain, mind, heart” connection from Cheryl, and how those intangible emotions can be visually tracked and measured. In tracking, we feel like we can better control them instead of just reacting and feeling at a loss. Cheryl helps people get to that state of control, calm, and resilience.

Cheryl is just one example of the unique individuals featured in my podcast. I am so grateful to the women who share their stories with me – both business and personal. They expose their journeys of adversity and growth, failures and successes. They bravely reveal these intimate details for the sole purpose of connecting with me and our podcast audience, and in turn, helping me to connect with others.

Over the past few months, I’ve been writing about the origin story of Remarkable Women – what I’m doing with Remarkable Women, why I created Remarkable Women, and how I’m helping to connect remarkable women with one another. For the final part of this story, I want to delve deeper into the “when” of Remarkable Women.

When am I working on Remarkable Women? When am I making meaningful connections? What does this look like in my day-to-day professional world?

I am making connections when I’m giving talks and workshops at women’s business events. These include small gatherings of professional women, chambers of commerce, and any organization that wants to promote and support women’s successes. I talk to women about how to build meaningful connections and create physical, emotional, and mental spaces that allow them to reach their potential.

I also serve on the Valley Business Women Committee in my hometown, which organizes motivational luncheons for women in the Northern Shenandoah Valley. At these luncheons, the talk I give most often is about the “5 Levels of Connection” – my how-to guide to help women find ways to connect with each other.

In addition to formal speaking engagements, I make it my mission to network with as many people as possible. In fact, meeting someone new is the first level of connection. By networking, I’m opening myself up to new relationships – and new opportunities. I’ve met many of the remarkable women featured in this blog simply through casual conversation.

It is all too easy to let life get in the way of connections. But I think it’s up to all of us to allow space in our busy schedules for those connections to happen. That’s what I do on a daily basis. Whenever I come in contact with people, whether it’s through giving a workshop or waiting in line at the coffee shop, I’m always poised to make those meaningful connections happen.

As you know by now, I care deeply about giving women the resources they need to connect with each other. I believe it’s those connections that allow us to blossom and achieve our true potential.

That’s one of the reasons Remarkable Women is so important to me.

I want all women to feel remarkable. When I feel this way, it really improves my quality of life. It ignites an incredible sense of joy within me. In fact, it’s so contagious that I have an enormous feeling of spreading it to everyone around me.

Of course, I know that no one feels remarkable 100 percent of the time. Life is full of challenges, setbacks, and sometimes negative feedback from others. Those things can get us down if we let them. But I think it’s important to put those self-limiting thoughts in perspective and realize that they don’t define who we are. Focus on this truth: When you’re at your best, you are a creative and compassionate person with unique qualities.

Over time, I’ve learned a lot about how to be and feel remarkable.

I’ve learned that it actually requires less compromise, not more. I’ve learned

to be clear,

to be choosy,

and to be consistent.

I’ve learned to follow my heart with courageous energy. I view challenges as an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.

I’ve learned to bite off what I can chew – and chew it! I continually learn, as learning leads to continuous improvement. I give myself time to think.

I’ve learned that where your attention goes, energy flows. Cultivate more of what you want instead of what you don’t.

But the most important lesson I’ve learned in my pursuit of being remarkable is this: Remarkable women recognize that life is a balancing act between holding on and letting go.

I created Remarkable Women to share these bits of wisdom. On days when you are struggling, I want you to be able to easily call on your positive qualities. I want you to feel remarkable as often as I do!