The Power of Saying "Yes" to Opportunities

I just came back from the most incredible weekend.

I was in Tacoma, Washington as a keynote speaker for a women's empowerment summit.

(For the men reading this, don't drop off here — I promise this newsletter issue is for you too.)

Before I tell you more about the event, let me take you back to the beginning.

It was December 2023. I had just gotten on Instagram (I'm an atypical millennial — I know).

Somehow, the mysterious Instagram algorithm showed me a post from someone named Dr. Tiffany Lamberton of TMD Collective. We'd never met and we didn't have any mutual connections (I probably had about 3 "followers" at the time — thanks, guys!).

But, the almighty algorithm thought we should enter one another's orbits.

The post was of her sweet Cavapoo, "Wookie."

My husband and I had just gotten a mini poodle puppy ("Edison") a couple weeks before — similar color, curly, and absolutely adorable.

So, I messaged Tiffany about her dog and said, "Such a cutie! He looks like a bigger version of my guy, Edison!"

She responded. And our friendship blossomed from there.

A couple months later, we talked about doing an episode together of her podcast, "Jaw Talk." (For context, Tiffany is an amazing general dentist with a practice focused on care of patients with temporomandibular joint/TMJ issues. Her podcast focuses on this as well.)

As many of you know, before my career in keynote speaking and professional performance coaching, I used to be a cleft and craniofacial orthodontist, which is a different subspecialty of patient care than TMJ.

When I messaged with Tiffany about whether we should do the podcast, I prefaced our discussion with this detail and that I may not be her preferred guest demographic for that reason.

"No problem! We can talk about anything you'd like," Tiffany replied.

And, so we did.

We started talking about cleft care. Eventually, that transitioned into other topics we both are passionate about — business, online entrepreneurship, education. And, of course, our fluffy dogs.

It was a blast.

After that, we decided to collaborate and host an Instagram Live together (which we both stumbled through, given so many tech glitches).

Nevertheless, we had a great time. And the audience saw we were having a great time laughing our way through the inevitable hiccups of live events.

I quickly began to see how warm, kind, genuine, and fun she is. No pretenses. Just rolling with things.

(All great things in both a healthcare provider AND a friend!)

A few months later, Tiffany messaged me about speaking at her inaugural IPUWD event — (Interdisciplinary Perspectives Uniting Women in Dentistry). It had been a dream of hers for a LONG time to bring together incredible women to further patient care as well as advance all women professionally.

It would be a boutique salon-style event in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest (where Tiffany lives), including top notch clinical and business talks, followed by brainstorming sessions to solve one another's most challenging professional issues.

And, of course, no fun and fabulous women's weekend would be complete without a private shopping event, Pilates session, and wine tasting! (Thanks, Tiffany!)

She wanted me to be their keynote speaker.

"YES!"

I was so honored she asked, and I was thrilled to take part.

The summit weekend arrived — September 5th, 2024.

We met in person for the first time that day.

It was surreal. Finally seeing this amazing person I'd grown such a special friendship with online — now, in person!

For brevity's sake, I'll fast forward through the summit sessions themselves. Suffice it to say though — Every. Single. Woman. Was. Amazing. At. This. Conference.

No competition. No cat fights. Just camaraderie.

So refreshing.

And, it's all a testament to one woman's courageous (and crazy!) idea to get us all together — most of whose paths would have never crossed otherwise.

So, I'm writing this to all of you Curious Entrepreneurs to remind you of one thing. In a world where it's trendy to talk about how to say "no" to things, imagine where "yes" could take you?

• If I hadn't commented on this "random lady's dog post" on Instagram last year, none of these amazing events would have happened. And my life's experience would be less rich as a result.
• If Tiffany hadn't opened her podcast to a guest outside her traditional topic area, we wouldn't have had the chance to see how much we actually have in common.
• If Tiffany had listened to all the naysayers who said a summit like this "couldn't be done" in just a few months' time, none of the women who attended would have had this incredible experience.

And, back to the beginning again...

If I hadn't responded to that adorable dog post in December 2023, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to deliver the most powerful #keynote speech of my life in September 2024.

This weekend was symbolic for me in another way as well — I spoke twice that weekend. One talk was in my clinical area of expertise and the other was my keynote on women's professional empowerment.

One talk represented who I was in my prior career as a doctor, and the other represented who I am now as a keynote speaker and professional performance coach.

It marked closing one chapter of my life and fully turning the page on my next.

So, men, women, and everyone reading...

If you've ever said "no" — maybe because it was the easier default response, or you were too scared, or too busy — think about all the opportunities that you may miss out on because you didn't say "yes"?

There's still time.

Take one step outside your comfort zone today.

• Meet new people.
• Try a different routine.
• Explore an unfamiliar activity or one you're not good at.

Maybe your next life changing event is just on the other side of "yes."

Until the next issue, stay curious!

P.S. Whenever you're ready to grow your confidence in negotiating, networking, or speaking up for yourself, I can help.

I offer 1-on-1 and group performance coaching to help you feel confident in life and business.

P.P.S. Liked this issue? Have comments to share?

Feel free to send me a DM. I'd love to hear from you.

Hi! I'm Kathryn — the no-nonsense performance coach to help you be "Bold + Brave" in life and business.

I help people in high-stress careers confidently negotiate, network, and speak up for themselves so they can make deals, land opportunities, and build careers they love.

Join me through my posts and this newsletter, "The Curious Entrepreneur," to explore the hard and soft skills necessary to build and run a successful venture (even if your venture is "life").