Happy September–and happy birthday to us! I cannot believe it’s been a whole year since we launched this platform: a year of new beginnings, a year of growth, and a year of being constantly inspired by this amazing community.

I’m just so excited that we’ve learned as much as we have. I feel like our mission is clearer than ever: we want women over 40 (and every age!) to feel encouraged and inspired to live more fully–to live for themselves. I’ve realized how unseen so many of us feel, how we don’t feel valued after a certain age, and I want us all to feel seen and heard and valued and championed. There’s so much we’re capable of, we have so much ahead of us, and I want women–myself included!–to have the confidence to do it. And we don’t have to ask permission. We just have to tell ourselves that it’s okay to want something different, to want something more. We’ve earned this; it’s a necessity. 

I’ll be honest, the launch of Beginning is Now was daunting. Career-wise, I’ve never really felt like I was in the driver’s seat. I joined projects that were already in motion rather than starting something myself. But this was something generated just from me. At first I thought, who do I think I am? Why do I think I can be a business owner or an entrepreneur? But now, my whole world has opened up. I can go into rooms that used to intimidate me. I don’t know all the answers, but I know I can ask the questions. I know the power of this team around me. It's been really big for me. 

And as much as I’ve learned from the process, I’ve learned even more from this community. I’ve learned that we’re so much more similar than we are different. We’re so diverse and varied of course, but we’re all women trying to figure out who we are, and what we want, and how to embody a bigger version of ourselves. It’s been so nice to be a part of this amazing group. Hearing your individual stories and watching you encourage each other has been such a gift.

When we talk about birthdays it can be easy for it to feel like a destination–but the fact is, every day we’re birthing something new. This has felt like 365 days of birthdays. Each day you get to start something new, each day is a new beginning. Which, as you know, is my favorite way of looking at things.

I truly can’t thank you enough for being on this journey with us. I can’t wait for more new beginnings to come.

xo, Brooke