Welcome to a Record-Breaking Year!

I say that a bit in jest, as 2023 will be my first full year as an entrepreneur, but I am going in full of hope and optimism and, more importantly, ready to put in the work and hit the ground running. Since I started this newsletter nearly a year ago, many of you have decided to join me on this journey. Some of you know my story well, but I wanted to reintroduce myself and my why for those that don't. I find it's essential, even for me, to regularly reflect on why I do what I do and recommend you do the same when in need of a motivation boost.

So here's how we got here…

At 24 years old, I achieved a goal I had worked toward for over five years. I was a fighter pilot! Against the odds, I had done it. And once I got there... I felt completely in over my head. I suddenly struggled to succeed for the first time in my life. It turned out there was a lot more to being a fighter pilot than just flying the jet. The technical aspects and tactics were complicated.

I had gone after this dream, not thinking twice about my gender. However, small barriers began to pop up generated by a few individuals and the institution as a whole. I don't often get into the specifics of these because they pale in comparison to the situations faced by the women who paved the way ahead of me. However, each time these things occurred, I felt less and less like I fit into this new culture in which I was trying to find my footing.

I felt like an imposter.

It was like I was living a double life where I had to put on my fighter pilot costume to become the persona I thought I needed to fit in. I was sure everyone else was better than me and knew more than I did.

There was a good portion of my first assignment where I would have walked away if that were an option. I found myself stuck in my head and consumed by my self-doubt. The amount I needed to learn was so overwhelming that I avoided it by procrastinating. I was scared to raise my hand when I had questions because I didn't want anyone else to discover how little I knew. I had to put up a wall, not show weakness. This reaction only made the problem worse.

In hindsight, this response to adversity was so flawed. I had never truly experienced failure, I hadn't developed grit, and my identity was wrapped up in my achievements. There were so many people I could have connected with for mentorship to help me through this time, but I kept them at arm's length.

It took me that entire three-year assignment to take ownership of where I was at and decide that only I could change it. No, I couldn't change my gender and the fact that only 2% of fighter pilots were women, but I could change how I let being different affect me.

The move to my next base acted as a catalyst for change. I promised myself that I would stop letting my self-doubt and fear of failure control every decision. Previously, many opportunities had come up that I was drawn to but had stopped myself from pursuing because of the risk of failure that came with them. Allowing myself to be controlled by fear needed to stop. I made a commitment to start saying "yes" to those opportunities from then on.

My question to you is: how do you become your own catalyst for change? Taking that leap can be intimidating. But if you take charge of the things in your control, like preparation and planning, putting in the work, leveraging your network, and controlling how you react to adversity, you will find you are capable of much more than you realize.

?This change took time and small steps. Over the next 18 months, I started running marathons, got into technical mountaineering, traveled to Nepal by myself to trek to Everest Base Camp with a group of strangers, deployed for the first time, and spent a summer instructing in Poland. I started to grow an Adventure Mindset...one of curiosity, openness to new things, and a completely fresh perspective on failure. The voice of doubt was still there, but I didn't let it control my decisions and actions.

This was the result:

-Confidence

-Grit

-Resilience

-Perspective

-A desire to fail forward

That decision to change my mindset completely changed my trajectory. That change is what made me even consider applying to be a Thunderbird. It was something that had popped into my mind from time to time, but I had never set it as a goal because I didn't think I was good enough. Applying to the team is intimidating, and there is a good chance of not getting hired, of failure.... but I did get hired.

The three years on the Thunderbirds were the most fun flying of my career. My time in that role was coming to an end after the 2021 season, regardless of what I was going on to do next. After some reflection on the last 13 years, I realized the thing I found the most rewarding was the ability to inspire people, that I suddenly had as a Thunderbird. I finally felt like I had found what I was supposed to do.

I was told by others repeatedly how they could never do what I was doing and that I must be so brave. I realized I was meeting people all the time that struggled with the things that I did during my first assignment. I also realized I was in a unique position to use my own story and what I had learned to empower others. Upside Down Dreams was born.

My passion is to inspire individuals and teams to make bold decisions, empower them to face fears, and help them find the inner strength to reach their true potential. I do that through keynote speaking, workshops, my children's book, and content creation. There's even more in the works that I will share later this year!

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