Oct 7 (edited) • General discussion
A little bit of an origin story
Hello, hello. Welcome to the GDP community. I'm so happy that you're here. I am just overthinking things a little bit, so I'm jumping on, as you know, I do—the one-take wonder lives. Yeah, I was just scrolling along looking for something and a Skool ad popped up. It said, “Six gentle reminders.” Number one: your first community doesn’t have to be perfect. What? Number two: starting with three members is starting. So hold on a second—how many members do we have as of today? Let’s get into it. GDP, we have 19 active members. What? 19? I’m so pumped. I love it. Okay, number three: you already know and care enough to help someone. I love that. Number four: imperfect action beats perfect planning. There’s no planning here—not on this one. Number five: your people are waiting for you to begin. Are you guys waiting for me to begin? Are you? Number six: community grows when you show up, not when you’re ready.
So for context, today I am just getting myself together. It’s almost four o’clock in the afternoon, and there is a parent council meeting that I want to make at six o’clock. In between all that, I have to get dinner going and spend maybe some time with my family. But I thought, okay—I cannot believe that two weeks have gone by since I’ve jumped on a live. I was so excited when this whole thing became possible for me, and then here I am playing shy, overthinking what I’m going to talk about, overthinking what I’m going to share. Something clicked for me with that post about taking imperfect action—just following the flow and doing the things without waiting to be perfect. That message of showing up as you are is really inspirational to me and helps me get out of my head. It connects me back to the origin of this community, to why I created ShineOn and what it means to me. I can’t let it go. I know this is something that’s calling deeply on my heart to show up courageously for.
It started years ago, really. I can even cast my mind back to when I was a young girl—10, 11, 12 years old. This kind of thinking and paying attention to the world has never left me. It’s always been with me. The most recent iteration of this story started in 2018, when I decided to take action after being diagnosed with an autoimmune condition. I wasn’t managing stress well, and I had a lot of pressure in my life. I had to come back to what really mattered to me, and that helped me settle my nervous system. I asked myself: what would really matter? What would a life well-lived look like, especially if it were cut short? That was a powerful energy—thinking, “If my time was limited, did I make the most of it?” That made me think: am I making the most of my time now, every day? It woke me up to myself and to the choices I was making, to the direction I was heading.
Somehow, my mind went to how young people grow up and the experience of growing up in school. I was particularly disturbed by the school system because, as an adult and a mom, I was trying to raise my kids to be smart, educated, and empowered—to make informed decisions, not emotional ones. I wanted them to be curious and willing to learn, to open a book, read, dive deep, and research. And I started asking myself, what was lacking for me in that growing-up experience? My mind snapped to the report card. Everybody thinks they’re doing well because the report card says so, but that’s an incomplete experience. It gives parents the assurance that things are on track, but it doesn’t capture internal development. I remember being 19 or 20 and discovering personal development for the first time, thinking, “Hello—that’s what’s been missing all along!” I hadn’t been in conversation with myself. I didn’t know who I was or how I fit into the world. I was supposed to make it in life because I had good grades, but I felt incomplete. That’s when I began reimagining the report card.
That’s what ShineOn is really about. The “shine” represents internal development, and the “on” is about living it out in the world. You’re not just letting time pass—you’re active in the experience, fulfilled and engaged. Shining on is discovering yourself. That’s why it’s called The Great Discovery Project: we are discovering our shine and learning how to turn it on in the world. That’s why I call it the ShineOn Method for Self Activation. I want to shout from the rooftops that we need to have empowering conversations with young people—conversations that help them realize there’s something powerful inside them that needs to be cultivated and explored alongside a great education. Because so many people grow up thinking we already know everything, but we don’t. History is unfolding every day, and it’s the activated ones—the curious, purposeful, self-aware people—who lead the charge. We need more people to come alive and live full-blast, activated lives. That requires internal exploration and development.
There are so many people without a clear compass who feel lost because they haven’t contemplated their values. They’re not grounded in truth or connected to community. We can’t do this alone—we need to work together. Too many people are sitting on the sidelines. That’s why I get fired up to go live and be in this conversation—because everything else feels like a waste of time. Being idle and just scrolling isn’t a life well lived. The GDP community brings this to life for me. The Great Discovery Project is here to do that inner work—to dig deep, clarify, and polish up that gem of a life you have. You’re here for a reason, and you want to live your life on purpose.
In the world of ShineOn and self-activation, there are three parts: mindset, curiosity, and action. These are the pillars of everything I teach. You need a healthy state of mind to get curious about yourself so you can be at your best and then take action to live an activated life. I often say in my talks: we create the world every day. What kind of world do we want to create? We need to talk to each other, learn from each other, and inspire one another to figure these things out and keep going.
So today I just wanted to capture what’s on my heart. There’s this deep pull, like a magnet—come to this work, come back to yourself. Do the internal work. Cultivate a space inside yourself that is evolving. Explore who you are becoming. Who are you here to be? It’s not a complicated question—you’re here to be you. You come with a unique set of gifts, talents, and strengths. You could be a dancer, a singer, an artist, a teacher, a scientist, a doctor—whatever your combination of strengths, when you’re on fire, lighting it up, that’s you shining on. That’s who you are.
This is the conversation missing with young people. They fear something’s wrong with them when they don’t know the answers. But you’re not supposed to know. Life isn’t about static answers—it’s a discovery process. You can’t skip it. Inside the GDP, we get into it. My dream is that report cards are replaced with clarity maps—tools that help develop mindset, curiosity, and action. You get your mind in a great state, get curious about things, learn and grow, and then take action. Wake up and do it again. Connect with who you are and who you’re becoming. Your purpose is to become more and more you.
If you wonder whether this is true, look at anyone thriving in the world. What makes them shine? It’s their essence—the result of doing the inner work, knowing who they are, and what they offer. They’re unstoppable. I want that for everyone. We just need to create the conditions for young people to grow up seeing their connection to themselves and to the world, to come back to community and connection. That’s the conversation we’re having here inside the GDP.
I’m thrilled to have you here. Beautiful—19 members! I’m committed to showing up more and more, whether I’m polished or not. I get in my head, thinking it needs to be perfect or scheduled or structured, but it’s okay that it’s messy. Maybe I’ll find a rhythm for resources and classes, but right now, I just want to connect and grow the community. I’ll keep creating and showing up with whatever inspiration strikes. Hopefully, this becomes a place of inspiration and self-activation, a place where people really come alive. Thank you for being here, for listening, for your support, and for your comments. I adore each and every one of you. Here we go—let’s keep going, and I’ll see you next time.
18:23
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A little bit of an origin story
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You are meant for more. The Great Discovery Project is where we get after it every day. We get clear, get activated and ShineOn!
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