50 Shades of Crazy & the Truth About Building a Business That Works

Before I share how you can design a life and business that align with your unique zone of genius, let me tell you a little bit about who I am…

And why you should care about what I have to say.

Because…before I was helping high-achieving women reconnect with their dreams and build profitable, purpose-driven brands, I was living in the eye of the storm of 50 Shades of Crazy!

Big Dreams, Bigger Detours

I grew up in a working-class, blue-collar neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but from the time I was a little girl, I dreamed of more.

Fast forward… despite being warned to pick a career that was safe and realistic (read: told to get my head out of the clouds), I turned 21 in Paris, France, touring with a prestigious classical choir.

My dreams and determination were paying off. I was on track for an international career as a Classical Soprano.

Then life started lifing.

I returned to the States to continue my training, got married, and at just 8 months old, my second child had his first seizure.

You’ve never seen anything so small shake so hard.

In that moment, I made the choice that would change everything.

I released my dream of touring to care for my son, who spent more time in pediatric intensive care units than playgrounds, while providing as much normalcy as possible for his older sister.

And then… life lifed again.

From Toxic to Homeless to Rebirth in Paris

After 30 years in a toxic, unhealthy, and ultimately dangerous marriage, I put my belongings in storage and left quickly and quietly for my safety and well-being.

I was homeless for 3 months.

And then, exactly one year later, I flew First Class back to Paris to celebrate my birth and my rebirth on my 60th birthday.

Trust me when I tell you, I could give Reesa Teesa a run for her money with my story. (If you don’t know who that is, Google: Reesa Teesa “Who TF Did I Marry?”)

Christmas Carols, Les Brown, and a $1.2M House with No Money for Food

At one of the lowest points in my marriage, we were living in a $1.2 million home with no money to buy food or Christmas presents.

I was literally rolling quarters to buy groceries to fix a meal.

I started listening to Les Brown on YouTube just to encourage myself. Then, this guy named Tony Robbins started showing up in my “For You” suggestions.

I had never heard of Tony Robbins.

How did I live for five decades without hearing his name?

🧘🏽‍♀️ When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

Les Brown, Tony Robbins, and Christmas Carols got me through one of the saddest times in my life.

I decorated the house with ornaments I’d collected over the years and made the choice to tap into my inherent joy.

But I did more than that…

I started posting video messages of encouragement.

At the time, I had no real plan. No business strategy. No marketing expertise.

I just knew one thing:

If I needed to hear these messages, maybe someone else did too.

200K Likes, 12 Evictions, and a Wasbund in Denial

A few months later, I looked up, and I had more than 200K likes and shares.

I said to myself, Self, this is a thing, and you need to figure out what this ‘thing’ is.

I had no idea what I was doing.

Still, ever the eternal optimist, I believed there had to be a way to turn this into something sustainable for me and my son.

Because I couldn’t keep living like this.

You see… I was married to someone who was both in denial and delusional—insisting we live in houses we couldn’t afford to impress people who didn’t care.

⭐️We lived around the corner from a blockbuster movie star.

⭐️We lived across the street from a romance novel cover model.

⭐️We moved 12 times in 30 years because we kept falling behind on rent.

And…when I finally left, he was in the process of being evicted again.

50 Shades of Crazy!!!

I knew I had to make this online business thing work.

3 AM Zoom Calls & Poolside Course Instructors in Bali

I started listening to podcasts on business, branding, and marketing. I bought courses, attended conferences, and invested in online coaching programs.

I was so dedicated that I set my alarm for 3:00 AM to attend Zoom calls because the instructor lived halfway around the world.

I saw firsthand that it was possible to teach a course poolside in Bali or from a luxury hotel in London and still make money working from a laptop.

And yet…

It didn’t work for me.

Now, let me be clear: It wasn’t the course creators' fault.

The truth was… I wasn’t ready.

❌ I hadn’t dialed in my message.

❌ I wasn’t clear on who my Dream Client was.

❌ I couldn’t clearly articulate how I could serve them.

But most importantly…

❌ I wasn’t sharing my story in a way that made people see why my knowledge and experience could help them.

The Truth About Coaching (That No One Tells You)

All I wanted to do was coach and help people.

But I didn’t want to do… dare I say it???

🤫 Sales.

I really, really, REALLY hated the scammy high-ticket bro-marketing tactics I saw online.

Then reality hit me like a ton of bricks…

🚫 You can’t coach if you don’t have clients.

🚫 You can’t live the “laptop lifestyle” if there’s no one on the other side of the screen.

I had to figure out how to sell in a way that felt authentic, aligned, and true to my values.

So I did.

But that part of the story? Well…

That’s a story for next time.

Stay tuned to find out what happened next…