My StepIn2Purpose Story

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Only 7 years ago, I was working full time, but frustrated and stressed by the nagging feeling that I just wasn’t doing what I was created to do. My time and efforts, no matter how extensive, just were not producing the results I wanted for my family, my career, and even for my team at work. I was miserable, constantly exhausted, mentally spent, and emotionally checked out. I was stuck, not feeling a sense of purpose, and living for Friday to arrive. I needed a change, but I wasn’t sure what kind of change or how to make the first move.

Until God and life put me in a time out – 4 days of back to back issues that left me with no other choice but to stay home and ponder my path ahead. As I cried and prayed and reflected… and cried some more… I realized that I was looking for whole life fulfillment, but only considering part of the big picture. I slowly began to understand that if I used every employment opportunity I received the right way, no matter how small or insignificant, I could create a path to my place of purpose – the point where my passions, gifts, education, and calling converged. It was in this moment that the seeds that would grow and become StepIn2Purpose were planted in my heart.

As I began to take bold risks, and get creative about cultivating my gifts that were going unused in my customer service focused 9 to 5 role, doors of opportunity to discover career fulfillment I did not know existed, one by one began to open. I said YES! to assignments and projects that put me totally outside of my comfort zone. I learned more meaningful approaches to networking, so that I would develop and deepen mutually beneficial relationships that would last beyond a job opportunity.

I discovered my love for writing, and helping individuals to tell their story through their career documents, interview preparation, and even in everyday conversations. I recognized that with the right career strategy, I could tap into various aspects of my personal and professional interests, and find new ways to bring all of my interests together into a career journey that brought me joy. Most importantly, I allowed my faith to lead me, and I discovered that as I became more authentic, bringing my whole self to my work, rather than the compartmentalized version, my gifts began to make room for me.

I found that as I helped others to tell their stories, I became all the more clear on how to share my own, leading me to author two books along the way – 40 Days Lighter: A Devotional Journey for Women Determined to Life Free, and my most recent release – The Beauty of the Bloom: Keys to Embracing Your Journey to Transformation. I discovered my passion for teaching, speaking and coaching recent graduates, established professionals, and growing entrepreneurs towards personal and career success.

And you can take your own journey towards your place of purpose as well!

My mission through StepIn2Purpose Consulting is to help you to embrace your purpose, develop language for your calling, and find opportunities to flourish in your personal and professional life. Whether you’re looking for podcast episodes that inform and inspire, easy-to-use career development resources, encouraging blog posts, or a knowledgeable sounding board to help you strategize your next steps towards your future, I want to join you on your journey as you step into purpose!

Join the StepIn2Purpose mailing list for FREE access to amazing career-cultivating resources and purpose-activating insights!

40 Days Deeper – Day 2: Are You Grounded?

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Image by sleddogtom1 on Pixabay

“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”

Ephesians 6:13, NLT

Today, as I continued to ponder the need to be “grounded” in life, I began to consider the need for electrical grounding. In terms of electrical currents, grounding “protects your appliances, your home and everyone in it from surges in electricity.” It is a means to direct an unexpected or sudden surge of electrical charge into the earth rather into your body or belongings. Without this re-direction, you or your appliance would absorb a level of shock that you are not equipped to handle – and damage or death can occur as a result.

If we are going to live free, we need grounding in our lives as well! Sometimes, life can simply get chaotic, and circumstances, emotions, or activity that is normally in our control, become out of control. We experience sudden surges in anxiety, disappointment, fear, or anger. And if we are not properly grounded – in God, in family, in solid, healthy, life-giving relationships and friendships, we find ourselves overpowered by the surge of negative emotions or thoughts. We begin a downward spiral of negativity overload, and without an alternate means to redirect all of that frustration, we sometimes explode.

I grew up singing the song “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand…”, but now I realize that being “grounded” on the Rock isn’t just about avoiding shifting sands and slippery slopes. Rather, it is about understanding where to direct our fears, doubts, our hopes, and our dreams. It’s about knowing that your whole life is in the Master’s hands, and that because He is in control, you don’t need to implode when hardship comes. Rather we simply need take the following steps:

  1. Prevent emotional overload by “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, ESV).
  2. Allow God to direct the current of your life. Ask Him to establish order in the flow of your finances, friendships, resources, gifts, time, talents, and day to day efforts. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV).
  3. Know that God can handle the hard stuff of your life. Give it to God, knowing that there is nothing to hard for Him. “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:37, ESV)

Ephesians 6:10-17 instructs us to put on the whole armor of God so that we can ultimately stand. Armor protects against attacks, deflecting deadly blows, and covering essential organs. It reminds us not to put our trust solely in our own ability and strength to stand, but rather in the wisdom and might of our Maker!

15 Ways to Prepare for Your Blooming Season – Here are Tips 1-5!

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I’m so excited about this blog/FB/IG Live series, as I truly believe that many of us are moments away from our blooming seasons!

So let’s get started – here are Tips 1-5 from my list of “15 Ways to Prepare for Your Blooming Season”:

  1. Find good ground.You may be the most well-intentioned seed, with all the potential in the world, but if you aren’t planted in the right place, you’ll never produce at the level you were created to – if you bear fruit at all. Click the image below to see yesterday’s video on the important of right placement for fruitfulness. And be sure to check out today’s episode of Wisdom Wednesday’s on the StepIn2Purpose Podcast for an interview that will inspire you to find good ground and shift to your place of purpose.

Find good ground.

StepIn2Purpose Podcast

2. Don’t fear the dirt. Stop worrying about people who speculate about your future potential (or lack thereof) based on what they see right now. They can heap all the dirt they can find on your name, but if you just keep growing, you’ll push right through it!

3. Shed the shell. Say goodbye to your comfort zone. That seed may be comfortable and familiar with that hard shell. But if it stays in there, it will never grow or produce anything.

4. Grow deep roots! Study. Listen. Read. Learn. Pray. Worship. Serve. “The deeper you go, the higher you can sustainably grow.”

5. Embrace the stretching. I know it feels like you’re being pulled even farther away from the “familiar”, but if you stay in what you’ve always known, you’ll eventually stagnate, shrivel up, and waste away. To resist the stretching, is to miss out on the necessary life upgrades to your knowledge, skill sets, patience, and capacity to learn and grow. Don’t limit yourself! There is more in you!

Stay tuned for the release of Tips 6-10, and be sure to check out my #IGTV channel to join the conversation!

Pick up your copy today!

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15 Ways to Prepare for Your Blooming Season

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Spring is here, the weather is slowly warming, and after a cold winter, many of us are looking forward to brighter days filled with activity.

Even as the trees turn from bare, brown branches to growing fresh green leaves, it’s a reminder that we have also been waiting for the manifestation of our prayers, plans, and preparation.

Maybe you think your career goal is far off.

Maybe you think that you’ll never get past that writing block to finish that book.

Maybe you’re feeling like you’ll never get the resources to start that business.

Maybe your dream hasn’t come to life just yet.

Let me encourage you — your blooming season is on the way!

It can be so tempting to just give up on a vision we can’t touch with our hands, or a dream we can’t seem to reach. In an effort to save ourselves the disappointment, we decide to put our plans on the “back burner” of our minds, and relax our efforts.

However, what we do now, while we wait, determines the quality and impact of our harvest. How you treat your growth process matters! What you do today sets the tone for how you live tomorrow.

You could be right around the corner from the moment that will change your life.

Are you ready for that door you’ve been praying for to open?

Are you prepared to put in the work to reap the harvest you’re expecting?

Over the next few days, I’ll be sharing 15 ways that you can get ready for your #BloomingSeason through blog posts, Facebook/IG Live, and inspiring email releases.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey as we get ready to #BLOOM!

For more inspiration and encouragement on your journey to #transformation, pick up my new #eBook, The Beauty of the Bloom: Keys to Embracing Your Journey to Transformation.

Be sure to join the StepIn2Purpose email list to receive timely inspiration and encouragement, stay up to date with the latest StepIn2Purpose news, and receive amazing resources that help to propel you towards your purpose as you bloom!