There were just over 200 women in the virtual room. Women from different places, different experiences, and different stages of their lives and leadership. Some were entrepreneurs, some were professionals, and some were still figuring out what their next step would be. All of them showed up with a willingness to grow.
And on March 17 at 9am CST, I was the one leading the conversation.
That still feels significant to say out loud, not because it was a single moment, but because of everything that led up to it. This did not start with the summit. It started months earlier in smaller rooms, shorter talks and spaces where I was still learning how to use my voice in a different way. Through the Women Thrive Speaker Showcases, I had the opportunity to share pieces of my message in shorter segments and continue developing my voice in this space. Those rooms gave me space to practice, to stretch and to get more comfortable being seen and heard in a different way.
I was also showing up more consistently in visible ways through my posts, through my reels and through choosing to share my voice before everything felt fully formed. Before I felt completely ready. Before I had it all figured out. Looking back, I can see that I was building something long before this moment arrived. Last year, I had the opportunity to contribute an article to the Women Thrive Magazine, which allowed me to be part of the space through writing and reflection. This year, I returned as a speaker and was included on the March 2026 magazine cover alongside the other speakers. I am not going to downplay that. I am a cover girl!
And more than anything, it felt like a full circle moment connected to the work I had already been doing behind the scenes.
The week leading up to the summit felt different. There was excitement, there was gratitude, and if I am honest, there was also pressure. This was my first time delivering a full 45-minute speaking session, and my first time speaking to a global audience in this way. I wanted to do it well. And that is where I had to be honest with myself, because I know what it looks like when preparation starts to shift into something else. Perfectionism has a way of disguising itself as preparation. It sounds responsible and it feels productive, but if I am not careful, it can keep me adjusting, editing, and refining long after I am already ready. I could feel that tension in the days leading up to the talk. Wanting to make sure every point was clear, every transition was smooth, and every word landed the way I intended. But at some point, I had to make a decision. Not about whether I was ready, but about whether I was willing to show up. On the morning of the session, everything became very real. Logging on, seeing the space, knowing that women from around the world were in the room. And in that moment, I realized I did not need more preparation. I needed presence.
As I began the session, I asked my first question, and immediately the chat came alive. Women responding in real time, naming what they were feeling. Calm. Inspired. Confident. Brave. As we moved deeper into the conversation, the responses became more personal and more honest.
Perfectionism is my problem.
This is me.
I am in this slide.
Being ready is a myth.
There were moments where I intentionally invited participation, and each time, the response was immediate. You could see the recognition happening in real time as women named themselves in the conversation and connected their own experiences to what was being shared. And what stood out to me was not just the volume of the chat, but the depth of it. This was not surface-level engagement. This was reflection, honesty and awareness happening live in the room. There were moments where I found myself leaning all the way in, fully engaged in what I was saying and how it was landing. I even had to adjust my positioning because I was so into the message and the delivery. I was not thinking about what was next. I was in it. And I did not fall apart the way I had feared. I did not lose my place. I did not forget everything I wanted to say. I did not need perfection to carry me through. Instead, I found my rhythm. I trusted the structure I had built, and I stayed grounded in the message I came to share.
After the session, during a brief conversation, the co-host said something that stayed with me. “Thank you for coaching us.” That moment brought something full circle. Because when I was preparing for my first speaking engagement representing my brand, someone told me to approach my talk as if I were facilitating. At the time, I did not fully understand what that meant. Now I do. I did not deliver a presentation. I held a coaching conversation in a larger room. That is why the chat was active. That is why people were responding in real time. That is why the engagement felt different. It was not about delivering information. It was about creating space for reflection, honesty, and movement.
When it was over, there was a moment to pause. To exhale. To sit with what had just happened. And what stood out to me most was not whether every word was exactly right. It was the realization that I had done it. Not because I felt fully ready, but because I showed up anyway. The very framework I shared during my talk, that courage leads to action, action creates evidence, and evidence builds confidence, was not just something I taught. It was something I lived in that moment.
What this experience reminded me is that confidence does not come before the moment. It is built in the moment. It is built through the decision to move forward even when there is still uncertainty. This is something I see often in the women I work with. Brilliant, capable, thoughtful women who are doing meaningful work, and yet they are waiting. Waiting to feel more ready, waiting to have more clarity, waiting to feel more certain before they take the next step. Not because they lack ability, but because perfectionism is quietly asking them to hold back just a little longer.To adjust one more thing. To review one more time. To wait until it feels just right.
But there are moments where waiting no longer serves you. Moments where the next step is not more preparation. It is movement. I did not just prepare for this moment. I practiced showing up long before it arrived. In smaller rooms, in visible ways, and in moments that felt uncertain. And when the opportunity came, I was able to step into it not because everything was perfect, but because I had built the willingness to move forward anyway. That is what creates momentum. That is what builds confidence. Not perfection. Not certainty. But action.
So, if you find yourself in a season where you are thinking, planning, preparing, and still not moving, I want to leave you with this. Where might preparation be keeping you in place when it is actually time to move forward? And what would it look like to take one step, not when everything feels perfect, but when you know you are ready enough.
