Listen up, boss lady. You didn’t come this far to be held down by failure. For as hard, uncomfortable and embarrassing as our shortcomings may be, they don’t have the power to define us.

By nature, you are tenacious. Entrepreneurs are a daring, resilient breed. We are bound to take big risks, to aim high and dare greatly to reach our goals! But that doesn’t mean we won’t miss the mark sometimes. And that doesn’t mean that those missed opportunities and overshot marks won’t sting and smart.

But failure is part of our creative process. It’s from the ashes of our shortcomings that we learn more about ourselves, and about our abilities as creatives, as we rise. Remember, you are not defined by your failures. And you certainly are not bound by them. Failure only has the power over you that you allow it.

Let’s stop glossing over our failures. Let’s stop pretending that we’ve never experienced them, or that they’re not a part of our history. And most importantly, let’s stop shaming ourselves, beating ourselves up and allowing our missteps to cause us pain.

My failures are part of my story. And I have the power to own my story, or I can spend my days running from it. As researcher and author Brene Brown reminds us, if we can learn to own our stories then “…we can write our own brave endings.”

And I believe that our brave endings can be more courageous, more tenacious and more beautiful than we ever could’ve imagined.

Our illume retreat community is made up of daring dreamers and fantastic failures. But we own our stories and give ourselves the grace to learn from each season of life. And together, we can not only teach others the lessons we’ve forged out of our failures, but we can also help lift one another out of those painful pits we dig for ourselves.

Whatever season of life you’re in, friend, whether it’s all sunshine and blue skies or grey clouds are filling your horizon, remember that you are not defined by your misadventures. You have the power to write your own brave ending, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Are you ready to join us for our April retreat experience, sweet friend? There’s an all-inclusive seat with your name on it right here.

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