My journey started with a planner back in 2011. I had just realized I'd lived the same year twice—and it was a mediocre year. In that moment, I resolved to take 100% responsibility for my life and make every year ten times better than the last.

*A picture of my original "Ultimate Life Binder"*

I started cobbling together a binder full of printables—some I made myself, others I found online—and used them to map out my dreams, desires, and plans. That binder, which I called my "Ultimate Life Binder," became my precious companion. I carried it everywhere. It was tangible proof that I was going somewhere with my life, regardless of my current circumstances.

Pretty soon, other women were curious about my binder and wanted to join the little personal development meetings I'd have with myself. So I started hosting in-person get-togethers, showing people how to make their own Life Binders. We'd meet at cafes, discuss how we were taking 100% responsibility for our lives, and I'd bring plenty of printables to pass around—of course.

One night, out of the blue, I started a blog to post my notes from those meetings online for anyone who couldn't come in person. I called it The Secret O.W.L. Society.

*Folders I made with printables inside for my Secret O.W.L. Society meetings.*

People of all ages started attending my little masterminds, and my adventures into the online world of blogging were expanding too.

I started hosting classes about "How to Make Money Blogging"—teaching them in person and even from stage at a conference once. People would pay $20 to attend, sitting on the couch in my living room in a home I shared with five other roommates.

I wasn't making a lot of money from teaching yet, but I was growing into the identity of someone who could. The first time I spoke in front of people, I completely froze and forgot what to say. The speech I gave was for a challenge among business owners. The task was to share our business idea and potentially win a small sum to invest in it.

After failing the first time, I knew I needed to face this fear. I tried again at the next challenge—and that time, I won! The prize was around $200, and one of the judges even gave me an extra $50 when I bumped into her later. "I really believe in what you're doing," she said. I'll never forget that. Her encouragement meant so much more than the money.

I used that money to buy more personal development books and CDs (yes, this was back in the compact disc era) for my O.W.L. Masterminds. I'd pass out the books to random strangers—facing another fear—and invite them to my next meeting.

I handed out over 50 books and O.W.L. invitations to people at gas stations, grocery stores, anywhere. A few years later, a young man came up to me and introduced himself as one of the people who'd received a book from me. "That book changed my life," he told me. I'll never forget that either.

A pic of the invitation cards I would make and pass out

An early version of my website: The Secret O.W.L. Society

Now here we are. It's been over a decade since I committed to taking 100% responsibility for my life, and I'm still helping people make their own planners. Still hosting my little personal development get-togethers. My Ultimate Life Binder has grown and transformed into a sophisticated Notion system, but the heart of it hasn't changed—that commitment to honoring who I really am and what I really want.

So much has changed, but some things really haven't changed at all. If anything, my story is proof that we already have everything we need—if we give ourselves permission to honor who we really are and what we really want.